Minnesota!

[Coffee 1st]

OK here is how my day went yesterday.... I went to let the girls out of the coop and i always say Pooper Pack,,,Pooper Pack,,just to give them a heads up Mommas coming so we can start our day and they wont be startled by the door.. ANYWAYS as i said that i hear this loud restyling inside the coop and i thought Holy Sh$t whats in there,,the girls are chirping away and i was scared to open the door but knew i had to.. so i cracked it open a little and there was some guy in there.. OMFG i screamed and yelled W$F are you doing in my coop!!! he was saying sorry sorry sorry i was just looking for a dry place to sleep.. i told him get the F off my property he is lucky i didn't have my gun on me otherwise i would have shot him.. and if he EVER comes back i will shoot him then call the cops...
So in the heat yesterday i spent the day wiring it and went and bought locks to lock the nest boxes,pop door,big door and screen door.. it was so HOT working in that heat i thought i was going to pass out couple times..i was sweating more then i could drink..
Again this was supposed to be a temporary home until my husband retired BUT for now i have to make it my permanent home..we are right off the freeway and there is a halfway house couple blocks away...nice house nice yard BUT way to close to people for me.. the lady across the alley said she had to get rid of her kids playhouse because people would always sleep in it..

had to edit,,guess i cant swear they automatically delete it...LOL

 

[Cebarmlds]

OK here is how my day went yesterday.... I went to let the girls out of the coop and i always say Pooper Pack,,,Pooper Pack,,just to give them a heads up Mommas coming so we can start our day and they wont be startled by the door.. ANYWAYS as i said that i hear this load restyling inside the coop and i thought Holy Sh$t whats in there,,the girls are chirping away and i was scared to open the door but knew i had to.. so i cracked it open a little and there was some guy in there.. OMFG i screamed and yelled W$F are you doing in my coop!!! he was saying sorry sorry sorry i was just looking for a dry place to sleep.. i told him get the F off my property he is lucky i didn't have my gun on me otherwise i would have shot him.. and if he EVER comes back i will shoot him then call the cops...
So in the heat yesterday i spent the day wiring it and went and bought locks to lock the nest boxes,pop door,big door and screen door.. it was so HOT working in that heat i thought i was going to pass out couple times..i was sweating more then i could drink..
Again this was supposed to be a temporary home until my husband retired BUT for now i have to make it my permanent home..we are right off the freeway and there is a halfway house couple blocks away...nice house nice yard BUT way to close to people for me.. the lady across the alley said she had to get rid of her kids playhouse because people would always sleep in it..

had to edit,,guess i cant swear they automatically delete it...LOL

That's creepy, I'd let the cops know so maybe they'd drive by your house more often.
Motion detector lights? also get one or two of those NiteGuard things, they deter predators and maybe stupid people too.

 

[KlopKlop]

BiG buck is honking like a goose. Is that normal??

 

[Minniechickmama]

Thanks Ralphie for the link. I am looking it over now. You could send your guineas over here. I seem to be able to reduce flock numbers a bit easier.

Coffee-The first attack they tore open the duck house in 2 spots and took 7 of my ducks. 3 were the ones in my avatar. Nice big fattie pekins. They ate 2 and took the other 5. Last night the door must have blown open from the storm on my run on the chicken coop and 2 of the free range roosters were eaten. One in the chicken run and one by my garden. I have 2 turkeys and 12 geese that are completely free ranged and they have not been attacked yet. My baby chickens were not attacked either night. Which doesn't make sense to me at all. We are trying to make the animals as safe as possible.

First, I doubt it was a dog or dogs that got in this time. Dogs don't kill and run off with it, they kill, and kill, and kill and then if they are going to eat it, will leave what they don't want.
I suspect that you could have had two different predators this time and the last. I am thinking wolves this time if you are in their range. The reason I think the waterfowl aren't getting snatched is because they can actually see at night, and I believe turkeys as well. I know ducks I had could see just fine and night and when I would go out that after dark, they saw me coming and would start acting like I was coming with feed.
I think your game cam is your best bet. Also get pictures and sizes of those prints. Could maybe even be a couple of bobcats? or Fox?

 

[Cluckies]

We had another attack last night. Lost 2 roosters. Only a pile of feathers. No carcass again. Game camera was not turned on so no pictures but it was not in the right area of the attack. There are prints galore thanks to the rain. Am I dealing with dog or wolf? Would dogs eat the whole bird? Perhaps a hungry runaway. Should I call the DNR?

I am at a loss still. Kids are so upset and frustrated. I can relate.

Oh no, that is terrible! Hope you are able to find out what they are and how to deal with them.

OK here is how my day went yesterday.... I went to let the girls out of the coop and i always say Pooper Pack,,,Pooper Pack,,just to give them a heads up Mommas coming so we can start our day and they wont be startled by the door.. ANYWAYS as i said that i hear this load restyling inside the coop and i thought Holy Sh$t whats in there,,the girls are chirping away and i was scared to open the door but knew i had to.. so i cracked it open a little and there was some guy in there.. OMFG i screamed and yelled W$F are you doing in my coop!!! he was saying sorry sorry sorry i was just looking for a dry place to sleep.. i told him get the F off my property he is lucky i didn't have my gun on me otherwise i would have shot him.. and if he EVER comes back i will shoot him then call the cops...
So in the heat yesterday i spent the day wiring it and went and bought locks to lock the nest boxes,pop door,big door and screen door.. it was so HOT working in that heat i thought i was going to pass out couple times..i was sweating more then i could drink..
Again this was supposed to be a temporary home until my husband retired BUT for now i have to make it my permanent home..we are right off the freeway and there is a halfway house couple blocks away...nice house nice yard BUT way to close to people for me.. the lady across the alley said she had to get rid of her kids playhouse because people would always sleep in it..

had to edit,,guess i cant swear they automatically delete it...LOL

OMG! OMG! wow, I told DH we should get locks for mine too, at least the big doors. OMG, can't imagine! That would have scared the b'jesus out of me.


I picked up a webcam for my run. I may have to get one for the coop as well. I haven't put it up yet as i'm still working on the run. I'm also thinking of getting a baby monitor for the henhouse so when they are sleeping I can hear if all of a sudden they are making lots of noise for some reason and can run out there. I've been pricing them as I need one that can reach about 150 ft in range. Might be something to think about. I doubt the webcam will do much good without me knowing if something is going on, hense the monitor...

Does anybody have webcams or baby monitors? if so, how is it working?

 

[Coffee 1st]

Oh no, that is terrible! Hope you are able to find out what they are and how to deal with them.

OMG! OMG! wow, I told DH we should get locks for mine too, at least the big doors. OMG, can't imagine! That would have scared the b'jesus out of me.


I picked up a webcam for my run. I may have to get one for the coop as well. I haven't put it up yet as i'm still working on the run. I'm also thinking of getting a baby monitor for the henhouse so when they are sleeping I can hear if all of a sudden they are making lots of noise for some reason and can run out there. I've been pricing them as I need one that can reach about 150 ft in range. Might be something to think about. I doubt the webcam will do much good without me knowing if something is going on, hense the monitor...

Does anybody have webcams or baby monitors? if so, how is it working?

i think the webcam and monitor is a good idea.. gives me something to think about.. if not for the safety of the chickens but for my own....

 

[Cluckies]

Lots of baby monitors now come with a display as well, don't know how they hold up in below zero weather though.

 

[Rhetts]

Coffee holy smokes that is scary!

I took pictures of the tracks with a quarter by them for comparison. I have to load them to show you. Will take me a smidgen to get that done. I will show both times of prints.
They seem more canine than feline. And they seem too big to be fox. I will try to load them for you all to see.

 

[Cluckies]

Paw prints
Cat prints do not have a claw mark as they are retracted while walking, not needed.

Dog and Wolf prints
Very subtle differences, like Minnie said, may be hard to tell

Coyote and Dog prints



Wow, wolf paws are usually 4" long by 4" wide, huge!

 

[duluthralphie]

I dont understand why you dont like them so much...why did you get them????

Because I was ignorant to the bad part of owning guineas.

I thought they were so ugly they were cute.

I heard they were great bug and tick eaters. and they are

I heard they were great watch dogs and made lots of noise when strange animals or people come into the yard. They do, but they make the same noise 24 hours a day, they never shut up. There iis no way to tell if they are making stranger alert of just noisy.

Here is what I did not know:

They are mean, they chase every other bird just for the fun of chasing them.

They refuse to go into a coop or pen if you want them in it.

They refuse to eat bugs in the areas person wants them to.

They prefer to eat bugs on the edge of a busy road.....

They will walk in front of cars just to watch the car lock up its brakes and skid.

Their favorite place to gather at 4 am is under my bedroom window. ( after they refused to go into the coop)


Guineas are like boats the two greatest days in a guinea or boat owners life is the day you buy it and the day you sell it.







Anyone wanna buy a guinea?