Why Is It Always Your Favorite?

[BigBlueHen53]

Well, my sweet little Kukubird has disappeared, probably a victim of a hawk. This was my Cuckoo Marans, she always laid an very large darkish eggs with darker speckles. She was the only bird that often escaped by slipping under the gate, leaving the others inside the large yard, which used to be a former garden. She never went far, in fact she seemed to cluck around the perimeter, purring teasingly at her 19 sisters and the two roos, as if to say "i'm out and you're not, don't you wish you were free like me, haha?" One day I saw one of the roosters trying to inflict his unwanted attentions on her. She wasn't interested and he didn't want to take no for an answer, so she slipped out under the gate. The roo didn't follow but she then had no protector. I guess it didn't matter... until it did, just yesterday when DH noticed a pile of feathers out there... and I realized I hadn't seen her in a day or two. I think a hawk got her. DH says there is no Trail of Feathers, as when a coyote attacks, which makes me suspect an aerial attack.

Ah Kuku, we barely knew ye! We'll miss your lovely ginormous T Rex eggs! May you rest in peace. You were a fine and faithful ambassador for your breed! Cheers!

 

[townchicks]

So sorry. At least she enjoyed her freedom, while it lasted.

 

[slordaz]

sorry fr your loss, she apparently enjoyed freedom well until it backfired

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thanks, @slordaz and @townchicks. She was definitely a free spirit.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Aww, I'm so sorry

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thanks @chrissynemetz

 

[cmom]

I feel your pain. Several months ago I lost my favorite bird to a fox during the middle of the day. I still can't forgive myself for not putting her in her pen while I was occupied. I had a couple of escape artists too and no matter what coop and pen I put them in, they could find a way out and they eventually disappeared. Probably a fox or coyote. I did find some feathers behind a coop. This week I lost 22 birds. I had some errands to do and before I left the birds were fine. When I came home a few hours later the birds were fussing big time so I knew something was wrong. I went out to the coops and in one of the pens was a big hawk and several bodies laying around inside the pen. The pens are covered with netting. I found a gap and repaired it and checked the rest. These were the first losses I have had in several years. I guess when it rains it does pour at times. Because I found so many dead birds I thought maybe the hawk had help but it was in an inside pen with other pens on both sides and upon inspection found no breaches. I have electric wire around my pens. My fencing is welded wire with chicken wire hog ringed to it, netting covering the pens and concrete under the gates all due to losses in the past. Take care and good luck...

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Awww, @cmom, I'm so sorry to hear! I know you take great pains to keep your flocks safe, and to lose 22 at once ... well... that's a big loss, and hard to bear! Will your game cams show you anything, or do they only come on at night?

 

[cmom]

My cameras were off but the hawk was in that pen. When I go out in the mornings to check the birds and change out the memory cards in the cameras, I turn them off. When I collect eggs in the evenings, I turn the cameras on. It hasn't been a good week. My computer crashed and I'm trying to get my files off of it. I'm going to have to take it to a shop to recover the files. Now I'm using my phone for the internet. I miss my computer. We had to dig up the pipe from the septic tank to the leach field for our apartment because we had a backup, roots. Luckily the house system is ok. We had to replace the AC/heat pump unit in the apartment because it died. We replaced it ourselves and saved quite a bit after a lot of research. What next...

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Whew, Girl, rough week! Hopefully that's it for s while!