Sdwd

[Cetawin]

Very nice Cyn...I like that. My math is fine woman.

Kathy, I think Hedwig is Miss Hedwig and her legs look pale yellow with a green cast or SHEEN on top.

I am going to get updated pics of her tomorrow I hope....also of Spike and his women.


I did get updated pics of the silkies and mille fleur d'uccles today...you can see them in their photo album


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048071&id=1417978161&l=cc5c334baa

 

[NellaBean]

Quote:
It appears to be a juvenile. It is very small......its smaller than my darn chickens! What was interesting today is that it was sitting on the ground near the back fence, a few feet from where the last kill was. Which is very close to my rooster pen. The hawk was just sitting there.....i think it was watching the roosters and trying to figure out how to get them next. And what is very interesting is that, of the 8 roosters in that pen, only 2 were hiding. All 6 of the others were up at the fence as close to the hawk as possible. They were NOT HAPPY.

I kept hoping it would move on, but it doesn't seem to be doing so.......my boyfriend will be here for a week around Thanksgiving. If worst comes to worst, he can sit out back for a few hours and pick it off....

Maybe I should go get some of those big scarecrow things they are selling for the holidays and put them up around the yard. Move them around a bit everyday......put up some windsocks.......some spinny wheel things.......i need some fake dogs to set up around the yard LOL.

I spent the rest of the day outside with the dogs loose in the yard to keep an eye on things. If nothing else, it was a good excuse to get some necessary chicken stuff done. Finally pulled the nestboxes out of my coop....they were taking up too much space, and the chickens only used one of the 6 boxes for eggs and the others for nightime roosting and pooping grrrr.....so I took them out and replaced them with two covered cat litter boxes and two new roosting ladders.

BEFORE

AFTER

I mounted them in the front part of the garage where the chickens like to go and lay eggs........

I've mentioned my "garage" which probably makes no sense.....here is an idea of what I am talking about.

The front part is about 12x12......behind it is where i keep the mower, a few bales of hay, all of my extra wire and wood scraps plus miscellanous junk.

the open door to the left is to the other half of the garage which is where i keep my brooders and things.......




Speaking of animals kicking others out of dustbaths.....my annoying young dog Molly booted the RIR girl who was over there and then rolled and rolled around in the dustbath area. Crazy dog.

 

[kathyinmo]

Nella,
That is scary .... the hawk there! I would be shakin' in my boots!

I like your idea of using the covered kitty litter boxes for nests. Nice and easy to clean, and you can move them around. Great idea!

Like yours, my dog also shares the dustbath spots around here. I don't know who scratches up the best bath, but they all share it .

 

[Cetawin]

Okay I gotta say it... ahem to kill, harm, injury, harrass a raptor is a federal crime punishable by steep fines and/or jail time as they are protected under the migratory bird act and the raptor act.

Now that being said call the dept of wildlife...see what you can do. Meanwhile...those are some good boys you have...now tell me ... was my boy at the fence staring down that hawk

or was he hiding

Hawks will go to ground level but they have to hop to move around on the ground and they are not very fast doing it....then they go for lift and take off or pounce on their prey. On the ground, most of your birds should be able to outrun him but if gets in the air they are goners.

 

[NellaBean]

Yeah, I know......I don't want to kill it, I just want to make it vanish into a cloud of feathers. Poof.


I'm not sure if your boy was there or not.....I was a little distracted by the stupid hawk being RIGHT THERE. I actually thought it had another bird down and that is why it was on the ground, but nothing was there and I don't believe anyone was missing tonight. The dynamics in that rooster pen are fascinating......one of the boys escaped the other day. I didn't notice (sigh) until i saw him come out of the big coop one morning. I have 3 young cochin roosters who are split to both lavender and mille fleur. Crossed with a girl split they could create porcelain cochins. I only need to keep 1....but have 3.....and they all look pretty darn identical. It was one of those that made the great escape so I figure if he can manage to get along with 'the big flock' then he will be the one who stays.

Anywho, the top rooster in there is the mille fleur cochin. But today he was standing there...like a statue. Not moving a muscle. And the gold laced guy came over and started pecking at his face. I think he had food on it. Anywho, the gold laced pecked at his face a few times......and then wandered off. The mille fleur cochin never moved at all. So weird. I think he was watching a bird in the trees out back. That rooster is awesome.

After the chicken sale next weekend I am going to do some serious rearranging.......hopefully i will get rid of most of the rooster pen boys......and can swap out the remaining boys into the big yard and move some of the big yard boys into the rooster pen.

Oh LH, i think we are planning on going to Georgetown October 9th. So if you want the buff columbian looking guy, plan on that day.

 

[NellaBean]

Oh btw, all of the hawk attacks i have seen have been the swoop and attack kind. I have a feeling it swooped and missed or the bird got away......which is why it was sitting on the ground. Pondering its next move.

 

[Serrin]

KATHY!!!

Woman! You just made my entire weekend with those pictures of EE mama and her two girls. [I'm going to keep positive thinking at the forefront on those two!

] They are just so darn cute and mama is an absolute knock out girl in my book. What beautiful hackles she has. And I so love those poofy cheeks!

Isn't that part of what we all love about EE's? Thanks for posting such a wonderful album's worth of pictures of them. Now I'm just drooling myself silly at the thought that soon those darling little girls are going to be MINE!!!

Nella, it might be that you have a young Sharp Shinned or Cooper hawk on your hands. You have my utmost sympathies if that is the case. They're two of the most ferocious and persistent hawk breeds that I can think of. And one of the more disturbing aspects of them is that they sneak around from tree to tree. You almost never see a Sharp Shinned or Cooper until they're right on top of your birds!

How does one guard against sneak attacks?!?!?!? Even roosters, brave and valiant they may be, have a hard time spotting an imminent attack. A bird that is up in the tree, or on the roof of the garage, and is sussing out the situation is a completely different matter. He doesn't care who sees him, as he's not in attack mode. But when he's hunting, he's as close to invisible as makes no never-mind!

I so hope you get an opportunity to practice the art of the three S's soon Nella. You really gotta get that little toe rag outta there and away from your flock! Poor babies! Poor YOU! I'm with Kathy. I'd be shaking in my boots too if I had one hanging out so regularly as this one appears to hanging out at your place.

 

[Cetawin]

Quote:
That is good with me but are you sure you want to come on that Saturday? There will be no hotel rooms, the traffic will be a killer and it will be a nightmare. This saturday was opening ceremonies for the world equestrian games at the Kentucky Horse Park and they go through the 15th...the weekend you are looking at coming is the end of the semi-finals and beginning of finals...they were sold out for that months ago some 200k tickets.

Just getting through Lexington will be hell and Georgetown will not be much better.

You let me know what you decide. Oh post that picture of my boy again so I can show hubby.

I have no hawk problems because I feed crows on my woodline every day...a hawk comes through and it is attacked and chased off immediately.

 

[NellaBean]

Well donkey balls, I didn't realize about the whole hotel thing....I've got the man checking it out.

Okay, so he said he can use his points and it is the same # of points as always, versus the regular $230 a night, yikes. We usually go out and eat and do whatever but we had already decided to just stay in the hotel and grow a root and order pizza LOL.

So, yes, we will still do that same day. I will have to get a new picture of your boy. I haven't had my hands on him recently, so he needs a good once over anyways.

There are very few crows around here. TONS of trees out back and my neighbors have seen that hawk hanging around. Stupid hawk. I wish one of my roosters would just take it down. When i had that psychotic Jersey Giant rooster, I never had these problems.

Next step, buy scarecrow harvest decorations, some fake "animals" and random things and place them around the yard.

 

[Cetawin]

Cool just wanted you to know what you will be facing.

You know those deer deterents that are motion activated and shoot a strong stream of water? Maybe something like that would help...if he came flying through and set off a water stream it might scare him.