Sad day

[beerman]

My Narraganset hen got her neck stuck in the netting and died today

I have never lost a bird to the netting before but have saved 2. Any ideas how to prevent this? I need to keep it covered because of hawks and neighbors.
Brian

 

[jasonm11]

Sorry to hear about the loss. Can you post a few pictures of the netting you ar using and youre set up? What about putting colored tape/streamers every so often in the netting to give the birds a visual cue?

 

[Olive Hill]

Use netting that is too small for the birds to get their head through to begin with.

 

[jasonm11]

Quote:
I think that is probably not an option since he already has nettin in place. How can you help him wiht what he has?

 

[Denninmi]

Put another layer of something with a fine mesh inside of the existing netting. Perhaps the OP could find something reasonably sturdy and relatively cheap -- maybe tule from the fabric/craft store, or perhaps the inexpensive Ross brand bird netting?

 

[Olive Hill]

Quote:
I think that is probably not an option since he already has nettin in place. How can you help him wiht what he has?

Well, he can do nothing and wait for the next bird to commit suicide. His birds, his choice. But just because something has already gone up doesn't mean it can't come down, be replaced or modified with an alternate product. At some point the prohibitive cost of the damage his current set up is doing will outweigh the cost of replacing the inefficient facilities he's currently using.

In the meantime, if you're so worried about the quality and/or applicability of help BYCers are receiving perhaps you should consider posting any helpful suggestions yourself rather than just snarky replies to those suggestions you deem unfit for whatever reason.

 

[jasonm11]

Quote:
I think that is probably not an option since he already has nettin in place. How can you help him wiht what he has?

Well, he can do nothing and wait for the next bird to commit suicide. His birds, his choice. But just because something has already gone up doesn't mean it can't come down, be replaced or modified with an alternate product. At some point the prohibitive cost of the damage his current set up is doing will outweigh the cost of replacing the inefficient facilities he's currently using.

In the meantime, if you're so worried about the quality and/or applicability of help BYCers are receiving perhaps you should consider posting any helpful suggestions yourself rather than just snarky replies to those suggestions you deem unfit for whatever reason.

nOT TRYING TO BE SNARKY, AND i DID POST WHAT i THOUGHT TO BE HELPFUL.

 

[chickenannie]

I use electrified netting for my pastured turkeys, and they stay away from the netting all the time. But if the electricity is off, it only takes them a day or two to start poking heads through the netting to eat grass on the other side (... the grass is always greener...)

My netting is white, highly visible, and has large openings -- maybe 4 x 4 inches, if that gives you any added info... What color is your netting? perhaps more visibility would help?

Also the turkeys only seem to get in trouble (unlike chickens who are always in trouble) when they are panicked or afraid of something. Perhaps something scared your hen? Like a dog?

I think the fact that the turkeys have more exposed skin on their neck (as opposed to feathers) means they respect the electricity even more so than chickens.

My 2 cents.

 

[Firemenlovechicks]

Quote:
I think that is probably not an option since he already has nettin in place. How can you help him wiht what he has?

Well, he can do nothing and wait for the next bird to commit suicide. His birds, his choice. But just because something has already gone up doesn't mean it can't come down, be replaced or modified with an alternate product. At some point the prohibitive cost of the damage his current set up is doing will outweigh the cost of replacing the inefficient facilities he's currently using.

In the meantime, if you're so worried about the quality and/or applicability of help BYCers are receiving perhaps you should consider posting any helpful suggestions yourself rather than just snarky replies to those suggestions you deem unfit for whatever reason.

I didn't see ANY reason for you to be so rude with Jason. He gave what he felt was a reasonable reply. Geez...... SOMEBODY needs an enema!

 

[Firemenlovechicks]

I DO like the suggestion of placing some visual markers of some kind along the netting, such as small pieces of surveyor's tape or something else they can't help but see. Of course, you could also replace the netting if it's in the budget.