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For our Cooper’s hawks we built a scarecrow which I moved to a different spot every day. I don’t know if it actually did anything or if it was just coincidence that the hawks stopped coming around. After several weeks of being swooped by them (and thankfully never harmed in a big way) our flock learned to stick to the border of the yard and hang out under cover!
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Feb 25, 2021 19:54
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We have a big annoying net hanging over our area. I tried having some bright string but I guess it wasn't narrow enough and a red tail ignored it and killed one of our hens. This spring we're going to be revamping the whole area with fishing wire strung up closer together. The net is super annoying because debris larger than a small leaf doesn't fall through. Edit: I joke our chicken area has a nautical theme. Alterian fucked around with this message at 20:35 on Feb 25, 2021 |
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Feb 25, 2021 20:32
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Halloween Jack posted:A Cooper's hawk has built a nest in the tree overlooking the coop.  i'd be so excited to have so much wildlife activity in my yard, but totally understand that it's not really what you're looking for right now
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Feb 26, 2021 01:59
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oberon the fairy king has been super friendly and inquisitive these past few days. he's been photogenic and kind of just radiating serenity, which makes me suspect he's not long for this world. he's only about three years old - my beloved king felafel was at least six and a bit when he was slain by a rat - but all of his hens have passed away now, and three is considered old for a caged egg quail   he's not as handsome as he was when he got him, but i think he's much happier. the scars from his battle with quimmiii have left him with wonky eyes so he's got this perpetual suspicious squint, but his eyelids are unimpeded and his vision still seems to be fine. he dribbles, so dirt accumulates around his mouth and every few days i clean him with some diluted tea tree oil in water. his beak wasn't damaged in the fight, so i think it's just natural (i also think he was debeaked at some point, not as severely as battery chickens but enough to take the point off and put everything slightly out of alignment) i got the new cage wired up and he and friday have established a nest in there, so i'm going to let her do one last brood this year. he has separate sleeping quarters to the other two roosters too. there haven't been any squabbles between them, and when the whole flock goes out to range he just strolls wisely between all the groups and is treated with respect by everybody. it's pretty cute tbh   here he is with tigerlily, who is recovered enough now to walk all the way around the yard. (please note that's silverbeet on the ground, not potato greens, which are poisonous to quail and humans)
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Feb 26, 2021 02:23
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Can you folks with hawk problems add a rooster to the flock? Even a little bantam rooster would keep an eye out for danger and sound the alarm. My other alarm is Barley. He HATES large flying birds. Barks his head off until they leave. Chickens are okay for some reason. (Our other dog is useless against aerial predators.)  Today I talked myself into ordering chicks to add to the 6 eggs that may not hatch. 
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Feb 26, 2021 03:07
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Avs I am so attached to your flock. Some people have suggested that you start a social media thing somewhere about these guys and I'd love to follow if you do that. They're such cool birds and you as an owner? carer? birdmaster?? you are amazing. Hope Lord Oberon is just in a mild mood and not anything more serious. They are all so lovely and you do an amazing job caring for them.
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Feb 26, 2021 03:10
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eating only apples posted:Avs I am so attached to your flock. Some people have suggested that you start a social media thing somewhere about these guys and I'd love to follow if you do that. They're such cool birds and you as an owner? carer? birdmaster?? you are amazing.
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Feb 26, 2021 03:43
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perepelki posted:thank you so much. it means a lot to me that people all over the world know their ridiculous little faces and who they are as individuals - they're so simple and so basic. i really don't want to build a social media "following" or anything like that, because like i said, they're a very special creature and i don't want to see them become a mass-market pet and be abused en masse like cockatiels and budgies have been. they go through enough torment already. but it's a delight to be able to share them with this forum. sometimes i tell them "you're famous!" and they look at me suspiciously I do think an honest portrayal of both the cute highs and...tragic lows would help temper any of your very valid worries. Also, social media empires can be small. Like a Precious Borb.  Speaking of, my very round cockatiel lost 15% of her bodyweight through a diet and still looks like this. I blame her brief visit with obesity on her seeing your flock from my shoulder. 
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Feb 26, 2021 09:15
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She does look like she's doing her best to imitate a quail blorb
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Feb 26, 2021 09:55
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quail of the sky 
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Feb 26, 2021 11:17
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Would something like this work for a run? I know I "could" build one myself, but I'd really rather buy a premade solution, especially to have a nice door in the run. Anyone have other link/recommendations, again, other than "build one yourself"? This is for a suburban backyard that's already enclosed in a 7' metal stockade fence, and mostly just to keep the chickens in and keep out cats, hawks and our own dogs (who are only outside long enough to potty), so it doesn't need to be like, fox or bear-proof or anything. I know I'd need to secure it to the ground. Figured I'd get some more of the big screw stakes with straps I've used to secure trampolines, and then dig a trench around the perimeter to bury some more wire to keep the dogs from digging into it. Imagined fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Feb 26, 2021 |
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Feb 26, 2021 16:44
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RIP Boo. You were my tiny puffball chicken. You were very stinky and I loved you. You are blind no more in chicken heaven.   
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Feb 26, 2021 19:07
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LuckyCat posted:For our Cooper’s hawks we built a scarecrow which I moved to a different spot every day. I don’t know if it actually did anything or if it was just coincidence that the hawks stopped coming around. Not a bad idea. I could probably get my next door neighbor in on this, as they've got 5 RIRs in their back yard. Matter of fact, that hawk that nailed my bird last week was probably the same one that killed on of their hens two weeks ago. It just broke the bird's neck, then took off because it couldn't carry the bird away, and their dogs were in the yard.
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Feb 26, 2021 19:15
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Oh no, not Boo. 
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Feb 26, 2021 19:18
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Oh Boo. Fly high little puffball.
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Feb 26, 2021 20:34
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Oh no Boo spookygonk posted:Fly high little puffball.
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Feb 26, 2021 23:52
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LuckyCat posted:RIP Boo. You were my tiny puffball chicken. You were very stinky and I loved you. You are blind no more in chicken heaven.   may she be reborn as an albatross
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Feb 27, 2021 00:57
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Halloween Jack posted:A Cooper's hawk has built a nest in the tree overlooking the coop. Build your coop pen to house what you want to keep out. If you have eagles in your area, build your pen to house eagles. If you have foxes, build your pen to house foxes. It's pretty simple.
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Feb 27, 2021 01:37
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Imagined posted:Would something like this work for a run? I know I "could" build one myself, but I'd really rather buy a premade solution, especially to have a nice door in the run. Anyone have other link/recommendations, again, other than "build one yourself"? We use something like that for ours—we actually strapped multiple of them together and then attached it to the lean-to that their coop-proper is inside of. For $330 on eBay you can find 10x20ft enclosures, they aren't big enough to stand upright in most of it but chickens don't need to stand upright  On mobile so apologies for the ugly link:https://www.ebay.com/itm/Large-Walk...4.m46890.l49292
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Feb 27, 2021 01:40
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Bippie Mishap posted:Build your coop pen to house what you want to keep out. If you have eagles in your area, build your pen to house eagles. If you have foxes, build your pen to house foxes. It's pretty simple.
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Feb 27, 2021 01:53
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It's today.
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Feb 27, 2021 10:09
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spookygonk posted:It's today. Yay! And what a lovely sunny day it is to welcome the new ladies into your sanctuary, too. 
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Feb 27, 2021 12:09
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ynohtna posted:Yay! And what a lovely sunny day it is to welcome the new ladies into your sanctuary, too. Thanks. We're organised but pretty stressed for the day. Didn't help that our car's sprung a leak and dumped coolant all over the engine, so I've had to hire one for the day. Keeping Bella and Molly in the big run until we get back, so they're not going to be happy with us (Molly will probably sulk for a week, especially with new hens arriving). The warm sunny weather is helping, but it was frosty first thing this morning. One with with the lockdown here in effect, we can't go up and choose our chickens. The people organising this are doing a "cluck and collect" where we drive to a designated spot at a designated time, put the box outside the car. They will then put x hens in the box and return it to the car. Before now, we have chosen the one's that obviously needed extra care, so this feels different. It's also the first rehoming without Queen Pip the Glorious to be COMPLETELY FURIOUS WITH US FOR EVERYTHING. Will update later. 
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Feb 27, 2021 12:35
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Best of luck with everything! That's how it worked with the last rehoming in my area as well. It was a bit of an odd experience but still ended up with a couple lovely hens who have completely transformed over the past few months. At least it's sunny! There was a horrible storm the weekend I got my last lot and I had to keep them inside until it passed as they were terrified and frozen with the lack of feathers.
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Feb 27, 2021 13:24
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Don’t arm your chickens. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-56224144
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Feb 27, 2021 17:29
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Bippie Mishap posted:Build your coop pen to house what you want to keep out. If you have eagles in your area, build your pen to house eagles. If you have foxes, build your pen to house foxes. It's pretty simple.
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Feb 27, 2021 18:13
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If something can't get out, logic holds that it can't get in, either.
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Feb 27, 2021 18:15
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my cat is norris posted:If something can't get out, logic holds that it can't get in, either. 
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Feb 27, 2021 18:58
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We're discussing shelters/coops, not traps! Cute babies, though.
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Feb 27, 2021 20:07
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spookygonk posted:It's today.  the luckiest hens in the world and they don't even know yet
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Feb 27, 2021 23:30
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spookygonk posted:It's today. We brought them safely home.  Click for bigger
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Feb 27, 2021 23:34
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there they are 
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Feb 27, 2021 23:46
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That looks ideal for us! We lost our girls to a raccoon last year, and are going to get another set once chicks are available. We had three, but are going for six this time. (Morehens disease strikes again!) The city permit is for three, but we have a privacy fence all around, and it not like they ever check. We had a wooden kit coop that turned out to be garbage. We painted it to make it more weather resistant, and I built an add on that doubled the run space. Still, I had to do regular repairs and upgrade the wire nails to bolts and nuts to hold it together, replace the hinges and so on. This year we're looking at this little number: https://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Chicken-Coops/Ultimate-Chicken-Coop-w-feeder-and-waterer-up-to-6-chickens-Green-p3075.aspx along with an automatic door closer. I had planned on putting together a run structure with 1 x 2 inch wood and hardware cloth. That's what I used for the run extension and it held up well. But this enclosure changes the game. Due to the murderous trash pandas I would run hardware cloth around the lower part and attach a buried skirt of the same all the way around. I know spending $1200 on chicken housing seems a lot, but stimulus checks are on the way eventually, and we miss our ladies.
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Feb 28, 2021 01:01
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MrUnderbridge posted:I know spending $1200 on chicken housing seems a lot...
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Feb 28, 2021 02:10
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My post history in this thread will show the coop we built last year. It cost about $1000 just before covid. Not including all the electronic stuff I added afterwards, which was more done just for fun / to learn. The coop worked great without it.
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Feb 28, 2021 02:22
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Does anyone use a automatic chicken feeder, like a treadle one that they stand on to get food out of? We don't want to leave food out overnight in open feeders so thinking about something like this.
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Feb 28, 2021 11:11
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Today is our 6th anniversary. I got us the present we've wanted for so long: a dead raccoon.
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Feb 28, 2021 16:19
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MrUnderbridge posted:That looks ideal for us! We lost our girls to a raccoon last year, and are going to get another set once chicks are available. We had three, but are going for six this time. (Morehens disease strikes again!) The city permit is for three, but we have a privacy fence all around, and it not like they ever check. Just consider that plastic can deteriorate and become brittle over time from being in the sun. Aramoro posted:Does anyone use a automatic chicken feeder, like a treadle one that they stand on to get food out of? We don't want to leave food out overnight in open feeders so thinking about something like this. I just bring my feeder inside for the night.
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Feb 28, 2021 17:45
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Update on Phobos the Terrible: yesterday she jumped on my 18 month-old's back for daring to fall down next to her. Luckily no damage due to two shirts and I was a step and a half away. Later she wanted to charge him through a screen door on the coop when he was exploring. She is officially on notice.
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Feb 28, 2021 19:31
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Got our first two eggs today. A little pink one and a little white one. So that’s some good news. Martha on the other hand isn’t doing well. After the vet sewed up her injured back she has been having crop issues. She’s on a slurry diet to see if her crop will empty out with increased amount of water. It’s hasn’t emptied in 3 days. She is still having bowel movements so something is getting through. We will see how she does.
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Feb 28, 2021 20:20
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