The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[seminolewind]

The crows seem to be absent this year too. Usually they are cawing up a storm in the woods across the road but I haven't heard anything from them. I didn't even get my yearly visit from the crow that snatched a chick years ago and would come back yearly to see if there's more. Funny thing is I haven't even seen many hawks lately either. Just the one big one, but I have only just started to watch the sky more. It is definitely a different year here.

Sometimes they take breaks to sit on their eggs.

 

[speckledhen]

Better pigeons disappear than chickens. I found the best prevention against hawks was crows. The crows stole my eggs, and yes they even went into the nests and took them. But they are territorial and chased the hawks away.

We have so many crows and blue jays that hawks are constantly harassed. One morning recently I saw a giant hawk swoop low across the pasture with two crows on his tail. It's a wonder they can hunt around here with the crow population. Maybe that's one reason my birds have been relatively safe from hawks over the years. Seems we have more crows than usual this spring. They love to dig through the shavings from the coops that we put out along the pasture fence so they have constant entertainment and food to glean in the pasture.

Oh, the IRS, grrrrr. Good for you, Karen!

 

[seminolewind]

Cynthia, it's a good thing you have so many crows. And to see them chasing a hawk!

 

[seminolewind]

Alligators. A few years ago parents were walking their child on the side of a lake at Disney and an alligator got the kid. It was then I realized , does anyone ever feed these alligators? Wouldn't it make a difference if the alligators were well fed?

 

[speckledhen]

We also have a lot of raccoons lately, more than I've ever seen before in all the years of putting up game cameras. One tore up garbage all over our deck last night. Caught these on the driveway cam, plus three piles of poop by the pasture fence behind the chicken barn that I snapped with my digital camera, but it's pretty big poop for the raccoons I saw on game camera. Maybe coyote? But, in a row like this? Weird.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Well my other buff Orpington rooster is laying in the pasture without a head. I gotta do a head count today, no pun intended. I guess it's good the roosters are doing their jobs, but I don't like losing them. My husband can't sit out there until the weekend. I hope I don't lose anymore. It apparently is happening in the early morning.

 

[speckledhen]

NO! Oh, geez, Lisa, I'm so sorry! I don't like losing them, either, but I haven't had the predator loss experience yet. I'm sure I will eventually.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm starting to get frustrated. The good news is my one batch of chicks shipped today, along with my 4 gosling. Hopefully new babies in a few days.

 

[getaclue]

seminole, feeding the alligators doesn't do much to prevent them from going after people. In fact the most problematic ones tend to be fed by people, and they associate people with food. That's why it's ILLEGAL. They don't just kill to eat, or to eat it at that time. Yes, anything too large for them to eat, or if they're full, they will save for later. I've read what USF, the supposed leading authority on gators, has said, and a few others. Most of what they say is true, however, they leave a LOT out. Large alligators are territorial, and do defend their territory, regardless of whether it's mating season or not. Anything inside their primary territory, they're going to try to kill. During mating season, they're all over, looking to breed, and they are much more aggressive then, so crossing their path then is a LOT more dangerous. They claim they are opportunistic feeders. What this means is when you're standing at the edge of a lake, stream, ditch, etc., they see you as an opportunity for a meal.

Let's not forget they were on the endangered for extinction list. They've recently been taken off the endangered list, and put on the guarded list. They will admit that last year there were 15,000 calls for nuisance gators. They will admit too, that last year they had to remove 700 of them from golf courses, swimming pools, highways, back yards, front yards, playgrounds, etc. That's just for Florida. That's a lot of calls, and a lot of activity. Due to the sheer number of nuisance gator calls, they're starting to think that the numbers of alligators might be significantly higher than they thought. Well DUH!

Something the alligator counters, and all their research forgot, was that they were doing most of their counting in drought years. What their research failed to tell them is that, when there is a drought, alligators have a defense mechanism. Due to drought, not only water, but food too will be more scarce. They bury themselves deep in mud, and sort of hibernate. They stay moist, and cool under the mud, and because they are cool, and not moving, they don't expend energy. Due to them not expending any energy, they don't need to eat for a year. They can emerge, feed, then return under the mud. They can do this for a few years, until conditions are more ideal for them. Had the alligator counters done some digging on several of the banks of the Hillsborough river, they would have found all those missing alligators.

How do I know this? Well, many years ago, the army corp of engineers decided to re-route the Hillsborough river. It was during a drought, so it was perfect timing, since there was less water flow to deal with. When they began blowing up the banks, to re-route the river, alligators blew everywhere. The explosions that didn't actually blow them out of the banks, made such a commotion that they came pouring out in droves. Suddenly all of Tampa was having serious alligator problems. No dog, or cat was safe. It took them quite some time to deal with the problem. See, I do know a little bit about counting alligators.

Last year, we had high rainfall. The banks on the river are lower. What that means is: "We're Back".

 

[getaclue]

oldhens, I'm sorry about your recent losses. I'd look like Elmer Fudd, out there hunting for wascally predators. Good news about the chicks.