Nevadans?

[sherylreno]

What a great picture of VC and the snow! I would love to make a copy of it and post it on a wall in my house. WOW!

When it comes to nature like hawks and such I don't mind having them attack the flock and such, I don't know why either, but not racoons and other larger preying animals. I don't know why I feel this way.

 

[SagebrushMama]

I was warned last spring about the falcons up here, but I only saw one juvenile late last summer. Had plenty of buzzards but few hawks, and now fewer owls. Normally, you can hear the owls at night calling back and forth to each other. But it's been quite.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Yippie! The power is on! My son has been praying for snow since Christmas, and I think he over did it a little.

Super pretty though! We got a healthy dump here too. I think Mother Nature is making up for lost time.



Quote:

I didn't know that bullfrogs ate ducklings!

 

[SagebrushMama]

She sure is! At least this snow is the sticky kind (great for snowmen).

 

[SagebrushMama]

I didn't know that bullfrogs ate ducklings!


And carp, catfish, snapping turtles...

 

[NevadaRon]

hmm did a google search, it wasnt either of those. It was completely black and white barred, no other colors. maybe a young red tail or something?

eta: but i didnt see its underbelly, just the top of it as it pulled up to not hit the deck

Search Google for "American Harrier" - that might be what it was. Your description sounds like the way they hunt, though I don't recall them being barred.

 

[Peep_Show]

Yes, they do! Our bullfrogs were pretty big... When they sunned themselves on the dam bank they looked like shiny cowpies. Our neighbor used to regularly gig his because they were interfering with his turtles. I told him to sell them for the Calaveras Jumping Frog Contest instead and make some $$. (Spoiler alert: The winning frogs regularly came from my friend Connie's pond in Auburn. For some reason Placer County frogs were more athletic) I used to love listening to the froggy chorus at night because they were really loud... One of them, I swear, sounded like the ominous Jaws music when he got going.. (Bah-dump Bah-dump) My Mom is such a city gal; she heard the frogs and thought it might be cows.....

The frogs used to lay big clumps of eggs in the reeds which the forgotten goldfish would eat...So named because they were dumped in the pond years earlier and grew to be these big grotesque fish which would sometimes in a flooding rain wash out of the pond via the spill pipe and have to be fetched from the horse pastures... They would not die!. And the fish would breed and the fry would feed the frogs. I think herons were the final piece-of-the-puzzle thing that kept the others in check. Ahhhh.... Nature.

I found a mallard's nest and decided to incubate the eggs. Had the ducklings for about a week until they were just so messy I couldn't stand it -- always swimming in the brooders water -- and they had grown significantly from their hatchling size. Sure enough, I guess the frogs got bigger, too, because they were easy pickins. Sigh.....

 

[americanvalkyrie]

Seth she's beautiful!!! I'm jealous.

Cecelia, congratulations! I hope the morning sickness gets better.

Peep_Show that's like a live-action horror film. If they were my ducklings I'd be crying and freaking out, trying to save them, even though there's nothing I could do.

SagebrushMama how pretty! It's snowing here, but it's the slushy kind that melts when it hits the ground. A lot of mopping to do tonight, thanks to dogs and hardwood floors.

Which leads me to the dumb question of the season. This morning, I let my chickens out to roam around, then it started raining again and they got drenched. They were more concerned about strutting around the garden than going someplace warm. I wasn't ok with it, though, so I locked them back in the coop. But though the coop is sheltered, it's unheated, and they don't like to go into the warmest part for anything but laying an egg. So do I need to be concerned about wet chickens when the temp drops below freezing? Do I need to (and I'm laughing as I type this) bring them in and let them dry off?

 

[SagebrushMama]

I think they'll be alright. I went into the run this morning and none of my birds would even come out. I think they're trying to figure out who to sacrifice to the chicken gods so they'll bring back the sun.

 

[sherylreno]

Seth she's beautiful!!! I'm jealous.

Cecelia, congratulations! I hope the morning sickness gets better.

Peep_Show that's like a live-action horror film. If they were my ducklings I'd be crying and freaking out, trying to save them, even though there's nothing I could do.

SagebrushMama how pretty! It's snowing here, but it's the slushy kind that melts when it hits the ground. A lot of mopping to do tonight, thanks to dogs and hardwood floors.

Which leads me to the dumb question of the season. This morning, I let my chickens out to roam around, then it started raining again and they got drenched. They were more concerned about strutting around the garden than going someplace warm. I wasn't ok with it, though, so I locked them back in the coop. But though the coop is sheltered, it's unheated, and they don't like to go into the warmest part for anything but laying an egg. So do I need to be concerned about wet chickens when the temp drops below freezing? Do I need to (and I'm laughing as I type this) bring them in and let them dry off?

How old are they? If they have been out there this whole time then I would say not to worry. Their oil gland helps with protecting the feathers pretty much. My chickens were in the rain yesterday and didn't even bother to get into the dry run until they got really damp and then they went in there but they didn't even bother with the coop. Just like you my chickens only go in there during the day to lay eggs or when I open the egg doors then they come up to see what I'm doing.

Boy this computer here at work is so slow it isn't even funny. I keep closing the browser and open it again but it takes me over a half hour to get back if not longer.