Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

[jajeanpierre]

Your best bet are the dogs chasing it off. I've had losses to both foxes and bobcats - both leave feathers or no trace at all. Raccoons are vicious and leave a carcass or pieces of a carcass. We have a friend that used to be a trapper, and he said foxes and bobcats are pretty darn hard to trap. (and said the best way to get them is with a snare, which I wasn't willing to do) And if the trap fails or closes prematurely with the fox there, you'll never get it in a trap. Foxes can climb easily as well, so take that into consideration when trying to protect your flock. Try to make it harder on the fox too in your coop/run set up.

My dog has chased many foxes off and a bobcat. They come around every so often, but don't stick around with my dog chasing them.

That was my thought, too. Trouble is that my dogs aren't out all the time and there is a backyard flock and a front yard flock that both share a fence line that the predator crosses to get to my chickens. I'm going out a lot more with the dogs than I have been. I think that when I was away my son didn't have the dogs out at all in the day and the fox took advantage of no dogs around. My neighbor lost 20 chickens when I lost none early this year.

It could be a bob cat. Heck, it could be a mountain lion as they are in this area.

A snare isn't a good option--those darling deer are more likely to step in it than the fox. Then what would I do? Call Texas Fish and Wildlife to have them dispatch the deer that probably tore up its legs and try to explain my trapping, because I am sure there must be some permits required. I can't see my deer-feeding neighbor agreeing to snares on her property. A trap, yes.

 

[Tomtommom]

I'd like to but it is illegal to fire a gun or a cross bow on my property. Somebody else would have to do it anyway since I have one heck of a time culling the cockerels from my straight run orders and hatches. No one I know is prepared to lose their opportunity for legal hunting and risk whatever other criminal charges they would face. I would like to fence the property in 6 or 7 foot high fencing, but I have to think long and hard about the cost of that. I have two acres.

Deer can jump that still, too. It sucks but you may have to build the birds a run with wire over the top.

 

[Kusanar]

Deer can jump that still, too. It sucks but you may have to build the birds a run with wire over the top.

My dad says he knows someone with a 10 foot fence that regularly has deer belly hair on top from them hopping the fence.... it might slow them down, but it won't stop them.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I think it depends on the slant of the land where the fence is. We have a 6 foot fence surrounding our orchard and garden and have never had a deer in either one. But the land is higher on the side they are jumping from and lower on the other side. It probably depends on how hungry they are too.

 

[bachbach1]

Those deer can be pretty tasty if you cook them right.

Foxes can be hard to trap, still it is doable. You have to out fox him, LOL. Use his instincts against him and you will win. Granted this is a bit brutal, but what in nature isn’t. I tie a small live chicken in a have a heart type trap as bait. You will loose the bird, but foxes cant resist a live bird. Use the trap type that only has one open end, cover most of the closed end with anything to attract the predator to the open end. Set the trap right up against your chicken pun/coupe. You can sacrifice one chick, or a noisy roo and knock out a problem predator. The cold hard reality is he will probably take a lot more if you don’t eliminate him. Hunting them with a gun is so hard, the right place at the right time is tough, that is why they call it hunting. If the predator is a mother she will be bringing her young and teaching them that your birds are a source for food. Use a piece of nylon string to hold the chickens leg, larger diameter string wont cut the bird.

 

[Double Kindness]

I Would love deer, elk, caribou in my fridge yum!

This weekend 5 of my dp 9 week old meaties started crowing at 5 am, now 4 am. Caponizing equipment is probably shipping this week, I'm pleading with my dp meatie roos to not get loud until I can at least try to caponize them next week or two I hope.

If not, my bf says lets take them to the chicken swap on Saturday and sell them. WHAT!? I raised these for meat, why would I sell them to someone else? I will however use this as an excuse to go buy 3-4 muscovy ducks this weekend to add to my meat pen. Once my 25 dp meaties are gone, 3-4 ducks will be quite happy there and then yummy ducks to eat in the spring along with bunnies!

I have 2 meat rabbit does now, 1 is 11 weeks old pure breed nzw and the other 6.5 month old nzw x silver fox doe that I'm breeding with a 16 lb nzw buck in 3 weeks.

We're definitely going to be buying a new big deep freezer soon to put in the barn as a whole hog is coming in a few weeks and also these 25 meaties gotta go somewhere. I'm encouraging my bf to go hunting for wild turkeys, boar, elk, deer etc to provide us variety.

If I liked lamb I'd get one for the freezer. But for some reason I dislike lamb.

12 white bresse ship today I hope, I have 12 ayam cemani with 3-4 haffies in the bunch. Black meat project lol.

I had my son put bird blocking netting over the raised garden bed run a couple weekends ago after a hawk got in, smart chickens hid under the coop in the more protected part of their run. I lost 2 of 27 to my greyhound Sagan.

My bf jokes with me several times a day, "How's the farming going kimmy hen?"

The joke is on him, his name is Duck and his nickname for me has been kimmy hen for almost 9 years. Self fulfilling prophecy if you ask me. He said he's gotta start calling me "moneybags" then if that's the case.

 

[ronott1]

I Would love deer, elk, caribou in my fridge yum!

This weekend 5 of my dp 9 week old meaties started crowing at 5 am, now 4 am. Caponizing equipment is probably shipping this week, I'm pleading with my dp meatie roos to not get loud until I can at least try to caponize them next week or two I hope.

If not, my bf says lets take them to the chicken swap on Saturday and sell them. WHAT!? I raised these for meat, why would I sell them to someone else? I will however use this as an excuse to go buy 3-4 muscovy ducks this weekend

to add to my meat pen. Once my 25 dp meaties are gone, 3-4 ducks will be quite happy there and then yummy ducks to eat in the spring along with bunnies!

I have 2 meat rabbit does now, 1 is 11 weeks old pure breed nzw and the other 6.5 month old nzw x silver fox doe that I'm breeding with a 16 lb nzw buck in 3 weeks.

We're definitely going to be buying a new big deep freezer soon to put in the barn as a whole hog is coming in a few weeks and also these 25 meaties gotta go somewhere. I'm encouraging my bf to go hunting for wild turkeys, boar, elk, deer etc to provide us variety.

If I liked lamb I'd get one for the freezer. But for some reason I dislike lamb.

12 white bresse ship today I hope, I have 12 ayam cemani with 3-4 haffies in the bunch. Black meat project lol.

I had my son put bird blocking netting over the raised garden bed run a couple weekends ago after a hawk got in, smart chickens hid under the coop in the more protected part of their run. I lost 2 of 27 to my greyhound Sagan.

My bf jokes with me several times a day, "How's the farming going kimmy hen?"

The joke is on him, his name is Duck and his nickname for me has been kimmy hen for almost 9 years. Self fulfilling prophecy if you ask me. He said he's gotta start calling me "moneybags" then if that's the case.

It usually takes several weeks at that age for them to start crowing loudly.

I do not think the ayam cemani will make real good meaties though. Cool black meat but not big like Bresse.

 

[LindaB220]

Those deer can be pretty tasty if you cook them right.

Foxes can be hard to trap, still it is doable. You have to out fox him, LOL. Use his instincts against him and you will win. Granted this is a bit brutal, but what in nature isn’t. I tie a small live chicken in a have a heart type trap as bait. You will loose the bird, but foxes cant resist a live bird. Use the trap type that only has one open end, cover most of the closed end with anything to attract the predator to the open end. Set the trap right up against your chicken pun/coupe. You can sacrifice one chick, or a noisy roo and knock out a problem predator. The cold hard reality is he will probably take a lot more if you don’t eliminate him. Hunting them with a gun is so hard, the right place at the right time is tough, that is why they call it hunting. If the predator is a mother she will be bringing her young and teaching them that your birds are a source for food. Use a piece of nylon string to hold the chickens leg, larger diameter string wont cut the bird.

Hummmmm I gave away 10 scrawny roosters yesterday.

 

[Double Kindness]

Ronott- I'm planning on crossing the ac with the bresse for a bigger black meat bird carcass, caponizing and finishing them with oats soaked with raw goats milk for better eating I hope.

 

[ronott1]

Ronott- I'm planning on crossing the ac with the bresse for a bigger black meat bird carcass, caponizing and finishing them with oats soaked with raw goats milk for better eating I hope.

I can't wait to see what you get!