Washingtonians

[TheReidHomestead]

Quote:
Hope they figure it out! I've been seeing a chiropractor since December and at one point late winter/early spring, I had some inflammation in my cervical/neck area, that caused AWFUL nerve pain in my shoulder down to my elbow!! Thankfully it lasted only a week, but I can very much sympathize with you!!! Feel better soon!

 

[TheReidHomestead]

This morning (6:30 am) as I was walking up to the chicken yard, it dawned on me that the birds were being extra loud. Then it hit me, that's the 'alarm' song, so I quickened my step. When I get up there I can see that there is at lest one dead bird. A quick glance around, and I see another victim, only this hen is not quite dead. I pick her up gently and take her into the shop. A quick once over shows that there seems to be a single puncture wound behind her left eye. There is blood in her feathers. I make no attempt to clean this up, as the bleeding has stopped. I put her in one of my hospital cages, thinking that I will have a second body to bury when I get home from the office.

I am pressed for time in the morning so I did not spend a lot of time looking at the dead bird. No blood. None at all. But I do see what seems to be a single puncture would around the neck area. All day while at work I am thinking of the injured hen, unable to stand or even hold her head up. I am pretty sure that she'd be dead by the time I got home. I normally get done with work around 2, but today it was 3:15 before I was able to escape. To my surprise the gal was still holding on. I was able to coax her into drinking some water. If she shows improvement by tomorrow morning I think she'll live.

I've done some googling and the only thing I can come up with is ... Chupacabra.

Anyone else have any ideas on what the predator could have been? I don't think we have Chupacabras this far north


VF

Bummer!!! Could it have been a snake bite? Weasel is likely too. Hope she recovers!

 

[VelvettFog]

So, this evening. I retired early and was almost asleep when DW hollers up the stairs that there is a ruckus going on up at the coops. I slip on my crocks and walk up to the chicken yard. It is close to dark and the birds are mostly quiet;nothing out of the ordinary. I use a small flashlight to peer through a window to count beaks. Suddenly there is a noise to my right. I look up in time to see a large owl fly away. It had been sitting on the wire surrounding the coops. It was just feet away but the night was dark enough that I did not notice it until it moved.

Not my day for predators.

 

[hallerlake]

That's quatrotriticale. Please people...what if someone's tribble died because of your mispost?

I figured it was close enough. My bad.

 

[T Hi]

VF it looks like it's time to sit up all night with a trusty .22!

Seriously tho I'm sorry you are having varment troubles.

 

[T Hi]

CR!!!!!



You know what you did! Back off my birds buddy!!!

 

[T Hi]

Hey SadieSue!!! Any good productions coming up? Miss ya!

 

[TerrorBird]

So, this evening. I retired early and was almost asleep when DW hollers up the stairs that there is a ruckus going on up at the coops. I slip on my crocks and walk up to the chicken yard. It is close to dark and the birds are mostly quiet;nothing out of the ordinary. I use a small flashlight to peer through a window to count beaks. Suddenly there is a noise to my right. I look up in time to see a large owl fly away. It had been sitting on the wire surrounding the coops. It was just feet away but the night was dark enough that I did not notice it until it moved.

Not my day for predators.

I've run out to find hawks sitting on my completely-wired-over chicken yard on occasion. The poor girls scream their heads off and run into their house. At least I know not to let them out later in the day, though!

 

[FirewifeJess]

When I went out to close the door of the run this evening, the chickens were all on the roost and I saw some straw skittering around in the run! Something ran under the coop; something very tiny and fast. I think we have moles or mice. There are so so many mounds all around the darn coop and run as well. Tomorrow I will have to find a way to finish off the hardware cloth around the bottom of the coop and run to ensure they can't get in. This sucks! I really don't want them in the coop messing with my birds

 

[TerrorBird]

Quote:
I live about 15 minutes from Monroe, just a few minutes from 522. It seems like most of the peeps on this board live way south or east! Are chickens more contagious out there, I wonder?