Maine

[lazy gardener]

Is your coop secure from his attention? Now that he knows that you have a chicken buffet, he will be back, and looking for some meat to go with his eggs. They will come out in the day. And, you can bet that he will be very hungry, and probably has friends that he travels with. Can you get a trap? I once lost most of a flock to a coon in one night, then he came back in broad day light the next day to finish the job. He met my husband's .22. After this harsh winter, I'm betting that the predator losses will be severe this year. I think I saw a couple of hawks yesterday. Any one else seen hawks? I've seen a couple of road kill foxes.

 

[MEMama3]

Last year, some of the particle sizes on the crumbles were a bit too big, so I buzzed them in my blender.  I think i'll just buy a small bag of starter to hold them for a couple of weeks, and then they should be good to go with the fermented pellets.  Too much hassle to return them... just an other lesson learned in not trusting the feed store employees. 

Any other Maine readers using fermented feed?

Everybody ready for this next blizzard? 

I ferment. In past years I only did it during months that were warm enough to store the barrel outdoors, but this year we have ducks and chicks that were wasting horrible amounts of dry feed, so I'm fermenting year round now.

As far as the latest snow storm, it can kiss my

I JUST finished cleaning up in front of the Windows so we can see sunlight.

 

[Jazor]

Mostly seeing roadkill deer in my area, which is too bad. I'd much rather see fox pelts scattering the roadways. Definitely a good time of year to stock up on some ammunition to keep the predators away.

 

[anyasmifya]

Is your coop secure from his attention? Now that he knows that you have a chicken buffet, he will be back, and looking for some meat to go with his eggs. They will come out in the day. And, you can bet that he will be very hungry, and probably has friends that he travels with. Can you get a trap? I once lost most of a flock to a coon in one night, then he came back in broad day light the next day to finish the job. He met my husband's .22. After this harsh winter, I'm betting that the predator losses will be severe this year. I think I saw a couple of hawks yesterday. Any one else seen hawks? I've seen a couple of road kill foxes.

My coop is secure at night. During the day I am now keeping them enclosed in the run which is semi-secure. It is surrounded by fencing that was seven feet high at the beginning of winter now it is probably 4-5ft high and lower in some areas! I just want to scare it off. I thought maybe a light would help during the night. I can't guard my chickens 24/7 unfortunately. I'll have to look into trapping. I've also seen many fox and coyote tracks around too. Luckily not too close to the coop yet! Last year was horrible with the foxes. I feel bad for the wild animals, this has been a very harsh winter for them but I don't want them eating my chickens (well they can have the roosters .

 

[striperon]

The foxes I've seen (only 2), this late winter, seemed very thin. They will be hungry. The vixens need to put on weight to support their kits that will be born in a month or so.

 

[lazy gardener]

Every time I think about how miserable this winter has been, a lot of not so nice words rattle around in my head. It's hard to even think positively about the approach of spring, at the rate things are going.

 

[yankeehill]

Do you know a trapper? I'm not sure on the laws, but could you set a foot hold trap in the outside nest box with either a real egg or a fake one to entice it? Another alternative would be to use a large live trap, put some hay in it with an egg in it (to try to trick the coon into thinking a chicken laid an egg there) and hopefully you'll catch it. I would think that most predators are pretty hungry this time of year. I feel very bad for the deer especially.

 

[striperon]

Trapping season is, typically, October to the end of December. I would contact a Game Warden to find your possible remedies to livestock predation. The fines are onerous for out of season trapping.

 

[yankeehill]

Yeah, I figured that would be the case. Then a live trap would be the way to go. Sometimes you can borrow one from the Animal Control Officer.

 

[Wee Acre Farm]

Trapping season is, typically, October to the end of December. I would contact a Game Warden to find your possible remedies to livestock predation. The fines are onerous for out of season trapping.

If anything is killing or trying to kill your livestock you can trap and shoot it. ACO will trap the raccoons but they will charge most of the time and then they will shoot them. Of course birds are another story.