Marans Thread - breed discussion & pictures are welcome!

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It is called a scrub jay, they are pretty little scavengers and it is illegal to shoot them in Oregon! They are about the size of a Robin, maybe a little bigger. My chickens free range all day, some go back to the coop to lay, the rest lay in the hay barn which is open on one side so not possible to use netting. Someone else suggested putting out some treats for the jays, that worked for them. So, tomorrow up go several bird feeders hung where the chickens can not get into them. I am also going to try some bird netting just attached at the top inside of the auto door, I am pretty sure the chickens will push through it, they are so used to going in and out that little door. We shall see!
 
Hi Folks!
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Sorry I've been missing in action lately. There's just so much to do here in the summer, and I tend to submerge myself in projects. Here's one of my latest. This is a planter I built. It is on the axle from the antique horsedrawn blacksmith wagon that I am now using as a chicken coop. I used 2 x 12's that we have in abundance. They were salvaged from the old baracks at Schilling Air Force Base, Salina, KS. I coated the wood with a creasote-type paint to waterproof. I hope it doesn't inhibit plant growth too much!
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In this picture you can see the chicken tractor I built last summer from salvaged material. The top of the run is covered with part of our old trampoline tarp that was destroyed in a windstorm.
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How about some chick pics? Here are a couple of the BCM chicks I hatched. These are a couple weeks old now.
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I'm really slow with pictures sometimes. The thing in the background sniffing their hiney is my boston terrier, Rooter.
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Here are a couple bantam partridge wyandotte chicks. Oh, and Rooter, of course, checking them out. He smells all of them. I don't know what he is expecting to find!
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I've got geraniums, petunias, ivy, begonias and some spikes to add height and variation of texture. There are a couple other foliage plants that I don't know the name. They should add some color as well. The petunias and ivy will cascade over the front and geraniums will fill in behind. I used to plant some really large hanging baskets. They were beautiful and I always got a lot of comments on them. Where I live now, however, there is no good place to hang them, and the wind would just beat them up.
 
That sounds really pretty. I like adding stuff for hieght too. I've always loved geraniums especially the red ones and ones with the different fragrances to the leaves.
Back to the marans lol.
I am going out there in the 99 degree heat and taking pics of my birchens now LOL. I am so happy because my older ds just fixed my laptop. I thought the hard drive was fried but he fixed it..I knew those college classes would come in handy LOL.
 
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It is called a scrub jay, they are pretty little scavengers and it is illegal to shoot them in Oregon! They are about the size of a Robin, maybe a little bigger. My chickens free range all day, some go back to the coop to lay, the rest lay in the hay barn which is open on one side so not possible to use netting. Someone else suggested putting out some treats for the jays, that worked for them. So, tomorrow up go several bird feeders hung where the chickens can not get into them. I am also going to try some bird netting just attached at the top inside of the auto door, I am pretty sure the chickens will push through it, they are so used to going in and out that little door. We shall see!

Check with your local wildlife agent. Most protected - but not threatened or endangered - birds can be shot when in the act of depredation (sp). I keep a little single shot .410 shotgun just for that purpose. I call it my "Garden Gun". You can buy the weakest loads for it and it hardly makes as much noise as a small fircracker.
 
Susie, I love the planter!! I can just pictured it filled now, how pretty. I just bought some window boxes today to put on the deck. Going to fill them with Marigolds and Geraniums. The red geraniums were always my Mom's favorite, that and Portulaca (Moss Rose). May just put some of that in there too. Bought a huge Citronella candle today (about 3' tall). The mosquitoes have been thick this year. It also supposed to be a really bad year for ticks here too, but evidently my chooks are doing their job and eating them all up. I've only pulled 5 ticks off of me so far this year! Usually, it's 5 ticks for every 5 feet I walk. I can walk from the house to the truck, about 6', and have that many ticks on me. Gooood chickens...
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No one is watching right?

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Double checking..............

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Going in for the nab

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HMMMMMM Egg gone within minutes again!

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I am going to try the trap again tomorrow with a really thin shelled, large egg that will break. Maybe that will make the bird trip the trap, change his rhythm
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Thank-you Mountain Mel, I will look into that, obviously this method is not working too well
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DH has a garden gun or two!
 
Try putting the egg farther in towards the closed end. Use the light trip setting. Brazen little bugger!
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Another thought, try taping the egg to the bottom of the cage so he has to struggle to get it. bouncing around may trip the plate easier?
 
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