Surviving Minnesota!

[Bogtown Chick]

Bears are destructive. Best go check your good cherry tree too Ralphie. I've lost several apple trees to those beautiful black beasts. I was checking on my Norway pines I planted and noted a huge pile of poop that did not resemble Sadie Mae. Just by residual cracked corn, sunflower shell content. He or she was close. How do you know it was a bruin and not a sow?
I've heard Mace works wonderfully for bear protection and everybody gets to live but quite honestly packing a little gun powder may make me a bit more comfortable if I had a bear encounter. Sadie Mae barks incessantly at night. Part of the territorialness. The fur bearers don't like getting real close

Saw something that made me smile last night. A crow harassing the crap out of a bald eagle on a drive back from a green house. They really are a chicken keepers friend.

Sylvia's head was looking good last night. I put more blue kite on it last night and before bed saw Junior had ripped it open again. I'm just disgusted with him. But from a smart thing I need to do is if one had to go it should be the spent hen. Not the rooster who does not attack humans and protects 8 other hens. Ijdk... I'm sick to think of Sylvia's demise.

Well I need to get my daughter off to her job. Take care all.

Looks like we got a nice shower last night.

 

[duluthralphie]

Is a sow not a bruin?

I would have expected more damage from a sow with cubs..

My cherry tree and pear trees have taken a proactive stance against damage from bears. Neither has a fruit on them. I only have one of my new trees with apples.

My old trees are loaded but they will be wormy as the wind never stops blowing enough for me the spray them.

 

[bobbi-j]

Thanks all,,
And EJB I am thinking of changing my name to Saint Ralphie I live such a good life...


I think I was visited by a bruin last night. They have never been here before. My bird feeders are on the ground and smashed. Bears belong to you northerners and not those of us in the Banana Belt.

This is why I think Bear. The hook my feeders hang on looked like this, the one on the ground. (right side of picture)

View attachment 1037587
Below is what it should look like. I doubt the wind or a bird was big enough to straighten it.
View attachment 1037591

the rest of the mess..View attachment 1037588

And what was left, my dogs sleep right next to the window with the feeders. I am guessing they were not barking at nothing when I yelled at them to "shut up"...

View attachment 1037589

I suppose I should finish my coffee and see what else it got into. I have a cure for bear problems, but it needs to be light enough for me to get a clean shot off.

You can keep the bears up there, Ralphie.

Why do I think you and I are on opposite sides of the rain issue?

That was for ILL since they're in a drought. Although, DH finished planting yesterday, so 1/2" would get the beans started nicely. Especially since it's been in the 90's all week, and it's blowing about 30 mph today.

 

[I Love Layers]

We did pretty good at the sale on Thursday. We're pretty pleased with what we got

No rain last night we were right in the gap. They're saying we're supposed to get a bad storm on Monday but we'll see. I'm thinking about maybe going on a 4 hour ride today, have a nice lunch somewhere by the creek bottoms would be nice. It's not supposed to get to warm today so I'll see how I'm feeling around 10.

My parents left at 5 this morning so I better go feed cows and bulls ame go check the tank on the hill

 

[Cebarmlds]

Hope you get the rain you need ILL, we could use it too.

 

[MagpieDucks]

Saw a mama wood duck and 4 ducklings swimming in our pond last night!

 

[holm25]

Saw a mama wood duck and 4 ducklings swimming in our pond last night!

Nice! We have 4 different groups of goslings and a group of signets here. Lots of swans around this year.

 

[ejb3810]

Ralphie, as you suspect and others confirm it certainly looks to be the work of a bear. Fruit trees should be same until they are loaded with fruit, but then it is a potential disaster. a sow with cubs is very unpreicteble and potentially dangerous.
Being a denizen of the north woods I have some experiences which would give many cause for alarm or panic. Panic is bad when confronted with danger.

 

[duluthralphie]

Ralphie, as you suspect and others confirm it certainly looks to be the work of a bear. Fruit trees should be same until they are loaded with fruit, but then it is a potential disaster. a sow with cubs is very unpreicteble and potentially dangerous.
Being a denizen of the north woods I have some experiences which would give many cause for alarm or panic. Panic is bad when confronted with danger.

I can bet you can, having spent 25 years in the north woods, I have handled a few problems bears. There is right way and a wrong way...The right way ends up with a dead bear and no PETA person every finding out about it...

The wrong way always seems to have a PETA person involved somewhere.

 

[Cluckies]

I just got a call from Shauna Voss, the state vet for poultry.... I am clean. No diseases.

She has never seen a bird that appeared to have MS/MG like this before and not be positive for it.

It has not spread beyond the original bird. I am back to thinking it is an allergy. My NPIP Status is still good, I am happy.

It is interesting to know something imitates MS/MG.

My babies from this morning get to live!

Woot Woot! Congrats! that is great news!
Man I hate those little shavings. I have a bag here that I won't put in the coop, too small the girls eat it. don't know what to do with it. I like extra large flakes. tractor supply used to have them, last couple times I bought flakes form them, they were small.

Thanks all,,
And EJB I am thinking of changing my name to Saint Ralphie I live such a good life...


I think I was visited by a bruin last night. They have never been here before. My bird feeders are on the ground and smashed. Bears belong to you northerners and not those of us in the Banana Belt.



This is why I think Bear. The hook my feeders hang on looked like this, the one on the ground. (right side of picture)

View attachment 1037587
Below is what it should look like. I doubt the wind or a bird was big enough to straighten it.
View attachment 1037591




the rest of the mess..View attachment 1037588

And what was left, my dogs sleep right next to the window with the feeders. I am guessing they were not barking at nothing when I yelled at them to "shut up"...

View attachment 1037589

I suppose I should finish my coffee and see what else it got into. I have a cure for bear problems, but it needs to be light enough for me to get a clean shot off.

There have been bear sightings on either side of me, 1 south of twin lakes, one on 47, south of Nowthen, not sure if it is the same bear or not. I don't need any bear issues.

ILL, I hope you get your rain soon, man we could use some down here on the banana belt as well. I've got pails on some trees I planted this spring.
I finally picked up a Pear tree (Early Gold) to go with my flowering pear pollinator! woot woot! I hope they work well together as I haven't seen my pear on any pollinator list got to hope for the best.

Cluck-cluck is hopefully on the mend. I think her sour crop is clearing, and I received her antibiotics and started treating her yesterday for the lash egg situation. she is back outside with the girls as she is ornery now and makes a racket if I try to keep her inside, except at night. hopefully that is a sign she is getting better. only she really isn't eating much of anything

Try to stay cool!