Maine

[superchemicalgirl]

I am being blasted by hawks here. The cat came screaming into the house a couple of hours ago. Chickens were screaming. I went out to see a huge red hawk take off through the trees. I am not happy about this. It's getting real old real fast. Having a hard time keeping the chickens in the electronet, but there's some measure of protection there. I hate to clip wings, but may have to.

Have you tried a radio, yet? I can loan you a CD of Cannibal Corpse if you like. I'm certain that will scare away the hawks

(and neighbors)

 

[buckabucka]

Any more flying Mickeys???

The rest of that night was crazy! Went to bed, relieved that DH had caught the last one and holes were stuffed with plastic wrap. DH was joking that he was going to tickle my face with a feather in the night to freak me out. Less than a minute later, I felt him blow on my face, and thought haha, very funny. Just as I thought that though, I realized he was facing the other way in bed, and opened my eyes to see a bat circling the bedroom.

DH jumped up and chased it towards the stairs while I shut both bedroom doors. Once downstairs he yelled, "there are two!" He caught one in the towel and threw it out, but the other went into hiding, so he just closed the bedroom door again and we went to sleep. An hour later, he jumped up and turned on the lights and was chasing another in our bedroom (we realized later it came up from the livingroom through an open vent in the floor).

In the morning DH came up with the theory that the bats were coming in around a new door that hadn't been foamed around the edges. It certainly didn't look like an area the bats could get through to me, but he foamed it yesterday and we had a bat-free night last night! What a relief. Still, we wonder why suddenly the bats were coming in when the unfoamed door was there all summer.

In chicken news, I put Crusty Houdini back with the flock. On bat-night, I had bathed her and put antiseptic and preparation H all over her vent area, plus fed her crushed calcium tablets on scrambled egg. Yesterday morning, she had passed an egg shell. It was fragile and crushed, but somewhat intact. In the evening, she was feisty, but I repeated the whole procedure. This morning I let her out. She is not straining anymore and looks pretty good. Things may quickly go south when the next egg comes along, but for now, she is enjoying time as a regular chicken. We'll see.

 

[lazy gardener]

Congrats on CH. I think you might want to contact your MD re: the bats in the bedroom. I've heard that a bat bite can be VERY small, and for the most part, you may not even know that you've been bitten. While not at all fun, rabies shots might be warranted. My Son was taking a group of kids on a church youth group trip in a 15 passenger van. A bat flew into the van, and as I recall, everyone in the van was advised to get rabies shots.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

If you're incapacitated around a bat (defined as inebriated, mentally retarded, children, asleep) then a rabies series is recommended.

 

[buckabucka]

I'm not going to seek out a rabies shot. The bats never came into contact with either of us. DH has always wondered though: they make you get regular rabies vaccines for your dogs and cats, why not people? I realize it is rare for people in the U.S. to get rabies, but they vaccinate for tetanus, diphtheria, and other not-so-common diseases....

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Because, for the most part, people can tell you when they were exposed.

I'd like the Lyme disease shot to come back but that's just not going to happen for money reasons.

 

[Feather duster]

I am being blasted by hawks here. The cat came screaming into the house a couple of hours ago. Chickens were screaming. I went out to see a huge red hawk take off through the trees. I am not happy about this. It's getting real old real fast. Having a hard time keeping the chickens in the electronet, but there's some measure of protection there. I hate to clip wings, but may have to.

So far I haven't had any hawk problems thank god. Last year I had one chicken run through the electric poultry fencing just before it was full grown,but none have gone over or through it this summer. With all the foxes, coyotes, and coons around here I don't think I could keep chickens without it.
But I have another story to tell you. I have a separate coop that I use to grow out the chickens that hatched this spring. So a couple of weeks ago I made two temporary nest boxes out of 5 Gal. buckets and placed them in the coop. As the chickens are now 20 weeks old . During the day when my old chickens and this years pullets are out together in the electric fencing one or two of my layers have been sneaking over and laying a egg in the buckets. So yesterday the wife and I went to the Blue Hill Fair for the day. Late in the afternoon when we got home I went out to top off their food dishes and check for eggs. I got the eggs out of my regular nest boxes and then opened up the grow out coop to check for eggs. One of the buckets was flipped up on end ,and inside it was one of my good barred rock layers dead from either suffocation or heat. So I lost my first hen do to my own stupidity for not securing the buckets down. I had two small pieces of wood screwed on the bottom of them so they wouldn't roll around, but I did't think they would flip them up on end. I feel bad , but lesson learned the hard way. They had been going in and out of them for two weeks without a problem and then bang.
I've also had them on the ff for a couple of weeks now they put it right to them. You kind of peaked my interest on that so I tried it. Thanks.

 

[lazy gardener]

Glad you're doing well with the FF. One thing that I've learned by reading so many stories on BYC, is this: If there's any way possible for a chicken to figure out a way to kill themselves with anything in their environment, they will surely do it. Some of the more ingenious methods: Chicken getting head stuck in a bucket handle. Chicken falling in any body of water... including a bucket, a pond of any size, including a little goldfish pool, even a chick waterer for littles. Coop door blowing closed, trapping them in an overheated oven without access to water. Getting tangled in any kind of fencing. Flying into dog's fenced area. Chicks falling into FF, and doing the quick sand drowning method. Any thing falling over and trapping a chicken or chick. Overheating from heat lamp in the brooder. Chicks getting trapped between wire frame and heating pad in an improperly constructed Mother heating pad (btw: absolutely the best way to brood chicks since the invention of electricity... if constructed correctly)

 

[Feather duster]

Thanks LG I know there is so much that can go wrong. I guess, I got complacent. I just wish it hadn't been one of my most friendly, inquisitive,and best producers. She should of had at least another year of good laying. You can be sure I'll try to double think everything from here on in. I think I've got another really nice standout in this years pullets. Every time I go out to tend them she comes running right up looking for attention and lets you pat her. I hope she turns out to be a good layer as well. The others are shy and dodge away from you when you try to pat them. There is a few that are starting to squat when I reach down to pat them, but that's just instinct not friendliness. There getting ready to lay soon. Well anyways thanks for the encouragement, onward and upward we must go hopefully learning from our mistakes.

 

[lazy gardener]

To infinity and beyond!!! I just posted all of those deadly experiences so you'd know that you're not alone!