The Old Folks Home

[Latestarter]

You do have more than your fair share of bird eaters there don't you? I don't think a mink would be strong enough to carry a bird that size up a tree, and I was always under the impression that mink weren't real climbers anyway... they tunnel. A fisher could do it though, maybe a martin, they could also... Hell, maybe you have Lynx there as well? Hmmm do lynx climb?

 

[drumstick diva]

I'm sorry SCG

 

[vehve]

Sorry, SCG =/

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I have a trapping permit and there's rules about how high up you can trap so you avoid lynx. I'm going with Fisher

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Erm... now I'm confused. I left work early today so I could go get some shavings and do a top to bottom coop clean out. I pull in, grab a container of sunflower seeds to throw to the girls, and head over to the coop area.

There's 2 grey guineas.

All guineas are accounted for. The grey guinea that was under the chicken coop at 2100 last night was definitely NOT in the run this morning. I even lifted up the coop stairs to look underneath when I went looking for her because she was missing. The blood stain and tree stain were new and about 7 feet from where I left the guinea. So it all fit.

Now I'm wondering... What the heck happened here?

 

[vehve]

Missing any chickens with similar feathers? Or maybe one of your predators was caught by another predator. Or then your guineas are tougher than they look...

 

[Alaskan]

Yeah... Maybe one of the guineas is wounded and hiding it?


When that eagle tried and failed to kill baby drake, there was blood all over the place, all over the eagle too.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

No one is "missing" that I can tell. I may have more birds than a quick and easy "nope no one is missing" assessment can handle but no one has issues going to bed except on occasion the guineas.

I took the ladder out and climbed as far up the tree as I could to assess. The tree is dried in some of the spots that were wet this morning and there's still 2 wet spots on the tree. I ran my hand over it and it's not quite crystal clear fluid, so it's definitely not blood. The tree has scratch marks all over it (old and new) and it's a maple tree so... sap??? What the hell. I am so confused right now.

But so happy my little girl is okay.

 

[Alaskan]

Someone is playing an april fools joke on you...trying to make you crazy.

 

[vehve]

Speaking of April fools jokes, some people don't seem to be familiar with the tradition, looking at some of the comments on the BYC joke.