The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Leahs Mom]

They are definitely all girls

I'm going to hold you to that

 

[Leahs Mom]

I'm pretty bad at figuring out the type of hawk I have but I think it might be a red tail.

 

[lazy gardener]

Okay, Aoxa...and all you "chicken gender predictors"...

I think you may be right. I think I may have 3 female kiddos. However, the jury is still out for me on the larger black. They all seem to look quite feminine in their overall look... wadayathink?

The blacks are BA/SFH cross.

7 Weeks:

Larger Black:








Smaller Black










Little Miss Mini Gray (SFH)
(I think "Miss")

 

[ki4got]

Quote: thanks for posting that video. I've seen it before but it's still amazing every time. people think of birds of prey, in general, as large gliding birds, not extremely agile ones, which most are.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Agreed. That video was amazing.



But as I said before, all chickens everywhere are doomed.

 

[FoxThicketFarm]

I had the same thing going on with the hawk(s) over the last few weeks. Hawk was around and very close and they were loudly sounding the alarm and keeping from getting nabbed.

However...I think that the more it observed, the better opportunity it had to see their movements and behavior and be able to strike where it counted. I was thinking they were doing well but I probably just gave it more time to figure them out.

I just want to change things up a bit to make things a little less predictable.

Cooper's Hawks do, and they are good at it. I pasture my flock in a dense sumac thicket, and I lost three birds last year to a Coopers, plus had a number of close calls. (I ran him off hens while he made dives several times.) He got one of his kills inside their house.

What worked for me was:
-Roosters. The birds killed were being kept separately from two very brave and hawk aware dudes. This year, I ran my broodies and babes with the big kids from the beginning, no losses. Hawks fly over us nearly every day now to hunt in the fields nearby, but the boys always notice and the flock spends their days under foliage. None lingers to scope out my birds. (fingers crossed)
-A bobble headed fake owl. I mounted it on a 20' sumac pole and tied it to a different fence post every day with bailing twine. Moving it frequently is key. The instructions say to move it every three days, but I think more than that is necessary if the hawk is already paying attention. I alsi think it's important for the owl to be up high, and for the bobble headedness to be activated either by a slightly crooked mount, or a pole that is thin enough to sway a bit in the breeze. It looks extra convincing when the head is moving a bit. I was very hesitant to get one because I thought the chickens would be in a constant state of panic with a fake raptor nearby, but they seem not to care. I also thought that the hawk would be smart enough to figure out that if the chickens weren't scared, it probly wasn't scary, but he wasn't. The $30 bobble headed one is key, the $5 inflatable one does not work.
-Crows. They were the ones to escorted the hawk off the property permanently. I expect them to call in gastly favor at some point. It will be worth it.
-Not having chicks in the fall. The hawk started paying attention to the babies and then got brave enough to try for adult birds. No late babies this year- much less hawk attention. It's a bummer for me bc I have an excellent momma who usually goes broody in August, and I love having puffs all the year round.

What didn't work for me:
-Bird netting
Dude got in under it. So enraging.


That said, Red Tails are pretty different in their habits and more easily deterred, ime. Coopers are kindv thicket specialists, Red Tails focus on open fields. RT are not good technical flyers, they tend to soar up high in the open to search for prey then dive down quickly. I had my birds in a more open spot that was heavily trafficked by Red Tails and never once lost a bird there. I made a spiderweb grid of masonry twine overhead. Gaps were big. I think 3". Lots of Red Tails pass by where the birds are now, none has ever stopped. If you have a Red Tail, you might put up a web and get a bobblehead and be fine.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Thank you for that post!

-Can you give a link to show the bobble-head you have?
-Both you and Aoxa said more roosters and that is the plan for next spring. Just my one boy for now.
-So, no chicks in Fall, but how early in the spring? I'm guessing that the hawks are migrating back north sometime in the spring but not sure the busy time.

And, yes..so far I've only broody hatched and it is at the discretion of mamma. She want broody in November last year; August this year. Maybe her cycle will keep her moving back 3 months and she'll be ready in May


I've always been hesitant to put up fake raptors because of some of the reasons you stated and I wondered if it would desensitize them to the real thing. There is just that little caution in me on that.

Did you keep the bobble up even with multiple roosters?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Oh - and on the bird netting, where did you have it? Was it on top of a run or just out over an open area in the yard?

 

[FoxThicketFarm]

welcome to the thread, foxthicketfarm.

I am not familiar with the lily miller sulphur dust, but have used plain sulfphur from amazon, think it was 5 bucks for a pound. I tried the sulphur in a warm water dip to deal with feather mites - and have added a trace of sulphur to the chicken food for a week. It worked, and I don't think the chickens had any ill effects.

Cool! What was the plain sulfur packaged for? Was intended for human topical use or did it have instructions for treating plants for mites and fungus? The stuff I'm able to get at Lowe's is $6/lb and says it's 90% pure sulfur. I actually am somewhat concerned about that 10% since it's packaged for use as a plant pesticide, you know?

Do you remember what concentration of dip you did?

Never thought of adding it to their food. Makes sence, tho. Veeeery interesting...

Thanks!

 

[Leahs Mom]

I'm also hesitant on using the sulfur unless it is an emergency situation that requires drastic measures. I am kind-of leaning more toward letting them dust in things that they would naturally choose... I like having several alternatives so that if they wouldn't choose to use it, they have something else.

Just my philosophy and .02