Surviving Minnesota!

[I Love Layers]

Sounds like a raccoon. One ate the bottom of a rabbit hutch and ate 6 purebred holland lops out of Grand Champion parents...
I would just set traps, or replace the chewed area

 

[Violetsfeathers]

Oh, I forgot to mention this adventure in chickening.... Judy helps me water the birds almost every night. We change all the water out and give them fresh water, and refill the feeders. It is a time we look for injuries and any sign of weakness in the birds. We also just visit during this time. I was mentioning to her I have heard a really loud screaming Guinea keet but could not figure out where it is coming from for the last couple days. I have pretty poor hearing so locating where sounds come from is hard to do. All of a sudden I heard the screeching and said "there that sound".. Judy was hysterical and she yelled ' It's a baby Eagle or Hawk'.. I said "what?" She says "up there in the rafters, it just swooped over my head and flew in" My first thought is she is crazy. Then I looked up and saw a small long tail bird, I could not see it well, my thoughts went to Kestrel, as they are horrible chick killers. I told her to shut the doors. As I wanted to make sure I could catch the kestrel in a net and safely remove it from the brooder shed without it flying into the doors and windows and hurting itself. After all it is illegal to hurt a kestrel, and I sure want not to be the one to hurt one. We got the doors shut and I got my long handled net device ready to catch it. Then I looked closer and realized it was not a kestrel, it was a parrot. A grey and white Kestrel colored bird. It was screeching like a hawk or eagles does. It became obvious this "parrot" did not like me. It would swoop towards Judy and circle her. I could not get the stupid bird to fly into the net. I almost had it about a dozen times. Finally the stupid bird landed on a ledge near Judy. Judy walked up and grabbed it. Why did I waste my time trying to net it. It was someone's pet is our guess. I am betting it belonged to a woman as it is not fond of me. Of course, this could have something to do with my 16 ft long pole with the fishing net on the end of it. We moved birds around to free up a cage we were using for a hospital bed. Putting the patient in the transfer cage for now. I know some of you are not believing me, saying to yourself "there is not way a parrot flew into his barn"... So here is it's picture. BTW Ethel did not like this bird at all!

That is a Cockateil I have a friend who has one. It must've escaped from its owner or someone let it loose.

 

[duluthralphie]

Ugh! So sorry to hear this Ralphie. Looking at my big coop today and I see the front entry door is chewed up. Strange. Happened pretty fast too. What should I do everyone to secure it? Nothing got in, the birds are the right count - do I need to worry?

You always need to worry, I saw a good raccoon lying on the edge of the road a mile north of your place, and a good possum about a half mile north of you, ( I think it was a possum, I did not stop to check because I had hamburger thawing for supper)...

 

[duluthralphie]

That is a Cockateil I have a friend who has one. It must've escaped from its owner or someone let it loose.

It looks a little scrawny, but I think we could get a morsel from it's breasts. Drumstick are way to small to bother with.

 

[lvie]

I have been catching up - not lurking and alot has happened over the past few days out there in BYC land. My goodness! This has been such a busy summer for us and for the next door neighbors that we have hardly had time to talk. He is younger than my youngest son and so I think of him as one of my kids. She and I have alot of fun together. Their third and last child has turned 11 today. He came over for breakfast (his parents both work) and I have been working on getting the binding on his quilt (fishing quilt) for his birthday. It won't be finished but he does not need to lay under it right now.

Anyway, they are obviously younger so they are involved in the school system which means that they know more of the neighbors than we do. Thankfully the NDN love the sound of Tom because, I guess, the rest of the neighborhood does not. The NDN argue that they do not love the sound of all the dogs barking. Tom sounds alot better than that. People a block away have talked to them while they are out and about the roo noise. The young couple across the street like it also because their 1 1/2 year old listens for the bird to call. Kind of cool.

The by-laws have changed in Big Lake Township in 2014. I looked at them in 2014, early in the year and they said you could have a bird for every square foot of property in the township. Nothing about acreage. NOW, since September 2014 you have to have 5 acres and there are NO birds allowed in the township or city without that 5 acres. I really do not want to be noticed although everyone pretty much knows we have birds already anyway. Its a busy highway and sometimes Tom's girls and Tom are foraging about five feet off that highway.

 

[duluthralphie]

I have been catching up - not lurking and alot has happened over the past few days out there in BYC land. My goodness! This has been such a busy summer for us and for the next door neighbors that we have hardly had time to talk. He is younger than my youngest son and so I think of him as one of my kids. She and I have alot of fun together. Their third and last child has turned 11 today. He came over for breakfast (his parents both work) and I have been working on getting the binding on his quilt (fishing quilt) for his birthday. It won't be finished but he does not need to lay under it right now.

Anyway, they are obviously younger so they are involved in the school system which means that they know more of the neighbors than we do. Thankfully the NDN love the sound of Tom because, I guess, the rest of the neighborhood does not. The NDN argue that they do not love the sound of all the dogs barking. Tom sounds alot better than that. People a block away have talked to them while they are out and about the roo noise. The young couple across the street like it also because their 1 1/2 year old listens for the bird to call. Kind of cool.

The by-laws have changed in Big Lake Township in 2014. I looked at them in 2014, early in the year and they said you could have a bird for every square foot of property in the township. Nothing about acreage. NOW, since September 2014 you have to have 5 acres and there are NO birds allowed in the township or city without that 5 acres. I really do not want to be noticed although everyone pretty much knows we have birds already anyway. Its a busy highway and sometimes Tom's girls and Tom are foraging about five feet off that highway.

You should be grandfathered in...

 

[lvie]

Would the racoon or possum chew through the coop? I am not too worried about Tom and his ladies in his coop because it has an okay foundation and they go through the coop door to roost. Anything coming in has to come in that door. The rest of the run is enclosed with hardware cloth and it is all on cement block with hardware wire extensions for diggers.

The big Run/coop is on a buried cement block foundation with wire at a 12" depth and 8" depth.

What say you chickeners? I realize anything can happen but I am hoping I have taken enough precautions.

 

[lvie]

Quote:
One could only hope. I think I am looking for trouble - but not really. About the birds I am going to claim to be grandfathered in. The NDN says that I have had birds since they moved in and that was five years ago now. And about the run and and coops - hmmmmm - but I see your lose Ralphie and that is alot to loose in one night.

 

[duluthralphie]

It is not that big of loss. It ticks me off and I will try to stop it from happening again. but 6 birds out of hundreds is not that huge of a percentage. Do not think I am complacent about it or will go down without a fight. But I free range and know the risk. It will not be the last birds I lose to a critter.

 

[memphis]

Ralph...i just hate that. I dont understand why it would take Sidekicks golf balls.
The cockateal, however you spell it, is kind of cute...