Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[RaZ]

No helpers yet. Still waiting for a guy to call me back.

That stinks about your furnace. I hope you get it fixed and get a warranty on the work. I have to get the living room organized so I can get to the fireplace. Can't use it with all the junk piled in front of it now. Stuff that should have been in the garage by now.

 

[rachelsflock]

Oh foxes. Looks like I've got a lot fewer birds to decide between for winter numbers now. I just chased an adult big red fox out of my garden chicken pen. I pushed remaining birds back into the more secure run and closed the gate between the pens. Trap baited with a dead bird and waiting Trap is probably too small for this guy so it may not work.

Cleaned up 5 dead birds left in the run. I need to count tonight once everyone's settled in to see who's left and who didn't get dragged off after being killed so I couldn't count their carcass.

 

[Folly's place]

Rachel, so sorry for your losses! A fox can be a nightmare, and they are very difficult to trap. There are some threads here, and try google, for trapping ideas. He will return! Can you get a shot at him?
When we had this happen, I visited all my neighbors within almost a mile who had chickens to let them know, and talked to the next door neighbors too. The next week, someone 3/4 mile down the road with chickens was able to shoot him. We couldn't get a safe shot when he returned, and it was a very distinctive looking animal.
Your birds need to be in until he's gone for good.
Mary

 

[1muttsfan]

I have said this before, and will probably say it many more times, but you will not be able to keep chickens safely if they are not in a secure location anywhere in this state. You can shoot or trap or kill all the predators you want, but there will always be another predator coming along. Building a secure location certainly seems like a better long-term solution than continuously killing off wildlife, whose only crime is to try to keep themselves alive. It is certainly not illegal to kill wild animals that are attacking our livestock, but I think careful planning and building a proper facility leads to being able to live in harmony with our wild environment.

 

[1muttsfan]

Big, back in the day you actually could bring any booze you wanted to into Pine Knob. You just could not bring in glass containers. We would pour the wine into a plastic juice jug, and haul the whole cooler and all right in.

 

[RaZ]

Oh my. Fox, eh?
My neighbor called me this afternoon to say that she saw a fox coming from my property to hers. I was outside with the dogs and didn't see anything. Walked the property a couple of time. Second trip around, the squirrels were out, so I guess the predator was gone then. I still checked the coop. Got a bunch of littles in the brooder. They were OK. Coop is double wrapped in welded wire with hardware cloth around the foundation and inner walls. Still, I'm worried considering the losses I've had this year.

I won't be getting any warning calls from the neighbors tonight. I seem to have lost my phone. Can't look for it since night fell and it's raining like mad. I tried to look for it but...
If I dropped it while working the tractor then it has probably been plowed under. Crap!

 

[RaZ]

I have said this before, and will probably say it many more times, but you will not be able to keep chickens safely if they are not in a secure location anywhere in this state. You can shoot or trap or kill all the predators you want, but there will always be another predator coming along. Building a secure location certainly seems like a better long-term solution than continuously killing off wildlife, whose only crime is to try to keep themselves alive. It is certainly not illegal to kill wild animals that are attacking our livestock, but I think careful planning and building a proper facility leads to being able to live in harmony with our wild environment.

I totally agree. It sucks to lose your birds but killing a predator isn't the answer. A Fort Knox coop is your best bet.

 

[aart]

If I dropped it while working the tractor then it has probably been plowed under. Crap!

Oh, that stinks!

 

[RaZ]

Oh, that stinks!

A couple of friends have called it. Seems to still be working.
It is dark out and raining cats and dogs so I haven't gone out to listen for it.

 

[aart]

A couple of friends have called it. Seems to still be working.
It is dark out and raining cats and dogs so I haven't gone out to listen for it.

No umbrella and raincoat?