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Had an interesting avian visitor the other morning. I'd just pulled out of the driveway and something huge swooped overhead and lit on a branch in a big pine tree down the block. Bald eagle. Hoping they're not interested in live chickens. Most of the time the ladies are in the nice safe run, but they do get regular yard salad times.
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Sep 10, 2023 00:10
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Crossposting this from the critterquest thread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYCJYWXS5Qw
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Sep 10, 2023 18:03
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MrUnderbridge posted:Had an interesting avian visitor the other morning. I'd just pulled out of the driveway and something huge swooped overhead and lit on a branch in a big pine tree down the block. Bald eagles will definitely eat live chickens and even small dogs and cats. They won't usually attack when people are around so if you're supervising the free ranging they're relatively safe. Otherwise the chickens have a pretty good system of alert, especially if you have a rooster, and if something big flies overhead they send out the special air attack alarm and run to cover. I've seen people use other things to try and keep birds of prey away, shiny things like CDs hung up in trees and scarecrows, but I don't know personally how effective they are.
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Sep 10, 2023 19:29
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Joburg posted:Today the chickens found a snake out in the woods. Love how they follow it out, talking about it the entire way... Sorry I haven't been on much...got some really bad news recently, turns out I was born with bifurcated heart valves (trifurcated is the norm, bifurcated valves don't work for poo poo and mine are failing rapidly) and need open heart surgery ASAP for a valve job. But of COURSE I've got medical/dental procedures that have to be done first that my insurance won't cover, and had to start a GoFundMe. Stupid insurance companies. Gotta keep kicking so I can keep doing Chickam, after all--I mean, first things first! Bleah. Can't I just go out and play with my chickens instead?!  Meanwhile, here's Eggroll, who is this giant mutant THING at 4 months old (Deliciousaurus next to her)...  And so tall that other full-grown hens can reach under her legs to eat.  Also Peanut, who has for some reason grown what we are calling a rooster Handle.   She is NOT amused.
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Sep 26, 2023 01:31
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demon chicken awakened by watermelon
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Sep 26, 2023 13:59
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hope and vaseline posted:demon chicken awakened by watermelon Careful, you wanna be sued by Terry Goodkind's estate?
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Sep 26, 2023 14:31
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So we lost a chicken out of our flock of 10ish, something got around a 10 foot tall fence. The kill was weirdly clean head gone and insides eaten from the top, only 1 though we aren't sure what could of done it. Maybe a hawk since the chicken had a slight limp and we couldn't find any damage on the fence. Anyone ever ran into this?
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Oct 1, 2023 00:31
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socialsecurity posted:So we lost a chicken out of our flock of 10ish, something got around a 10 foot tall fence. The kill was weirdly clean head gone and insides eaten from the top, only 1 though we aren't sure what could of done it. Maybe a hawk since the chicken had a slight limp and we couldn't find any damage on the fence. Anyone ever ran into this? Sorry to hear. Bird of prey sounds plausible. We've had hawks going after our chickens and one got unlucky. There was more of the bird eaten than a raccoon would, less than a fox. Weirdly I recall that the neck was picked clean but not broken/detached. We stopped letting them out of the run unsupervised after that experience.
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Oct 1, 2023 04:44
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socialsecurity posted:So we lost a chicken out of our flock of 10ish, something got around a 10 foot tall fence. The kill was weirdly clean head gone and insides eaten from the top, only 1 though we aren't sure what could of done it. Maybe a hawk since the chicken had a slight limp and we couldn't find any damage on the fence. Anyone ever ran into this? Some sort of weasel? Velvet Sparrow posted:Sorry I haven't been on much...got some really bad news recently, turns out I was born with bifurcated heart valves (trifurcated is the norm, bifurcated valves don't work for poo poo and mine are failing rapidly) and need open heart surgery ASAP for a valve job. But of COURSE I've got medical/dental procedures that have to be done first that my insurance won't cover, and had to start a GoFundMe. Stupid insurance companies. Sorry that our healthcare system is lovely. I keep voting but nothing is getting better. How can we find your gofundme?
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Oct 1, 2023 16:20
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In my flock news, we have our first broody hen! She’s only 6 months old so I’ve been calling her Teen Mom in my head but she needs a more dignified name (maybe). She set herself up in the goat barn so her nest is a little more exposed to predators than I’d like but our herd queen has been extra bitchy lately (in heat probably) so I think she will be safe until hatch day. She is sitting on 4 eggs and they should hatch on Oct 19th if they are fertile. I checked this morning and didn’t see any development but it’s early days yet.
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Oct 1, 2023 16:41
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Headless sounds like a raccoon. That happened to our original three girls, all in one night. Sorry to hear about the loss.
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Oct 1, 2023 17:42
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Joburg posted:Some sort of weasel? ...am I allowed to post a link to it here? I did post it on our Chickam2008 & my Velvet Sparrow Twitter (i refuse to call it that dumbass letter)... Also: the kid and I weighed lil' 5 month old Eggroll...who clocked in at 2 pounds. Sorry about the loss of your hen socialsecurity, that sucks. The situation you describe sounds like classic raccoon, where they grab a bird by the head/wing and pull them to the fence. They then remove the head and reach through to eat the bird's back or insides, whatever they can reach.  Damned gruesome, sorry you had to experience that.
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Oct 2, 2023 03:05
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Velvet Sparrow posted:...am I allowed to post a link to it here? I did post it on our Chickam2008 & my Velvet Sparrow Twitter (i refuse to call it that dumbass letter)... General rule of thumb is to check in with mods before sharing anything, but I personally wouldn't mind if you shared here or just PMed info to me.
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Oct 2, 2023 05:30
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my cat is norris posted:General rule of thumb is to check in with mods before sharing anything, but I personally wouldn't mind if you shared here or just PMed info to me. I'll check with them. I PMed you--anything that helps spread the word is fantastic, thanks!
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Oct 2, 2023 09:08
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Our Nova, at just over 4 years old, is now growing a spur. Just the one.
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Oct 2, 2023 10:42
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Hi there poop-ranchers. We recently acquired some backyard chickens hatched and I want to share! We started with two (Lucille Bluth and Ann Perkins) and added a third (Nadja) that was hatched from my dad's flock. He had an extra pre-fab coop kit that we are still using. Lucille and Ann on their first day:  I have a Ring camera someone gave us and had that in the coop for the first few days to keep an eye on things. Eventually I replaced that with outdoor wireless Nest cameras (which started me down a home assistant/automation journey):  Outside of the coop I created a run area with PVC and plastic netting. Here is Nadja added to the group. She was picked on for a few days but everyone gets along now:  Recently we've started to let them roam around the yard. At first just before dusk and with close supervision:  Lately we've just let them out during the day if someone is home and they are getting more adventurous, digging dust bath holes, climbing on the patio furniture, and making GBS threads everywhere:  Today I noticed Ann digging around in our raised herb bed:  During one of my regular checks I found a little surprise:   And we have eggsign! Next I want to establish a better run structure and look into a rainwater collection system for their water. I have a leak-detector sensor to measure their water level in one of their tanks but it needs more work.
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Oct 4, 2023 19:51
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Rainwater system is a good idea, but doubt that'll work with your tiny waterer. I use a homer bucket and these, might work better for your flock and allow you to plumb in a filter and downspout. Be careful how far you go in the home automation game, my chickens now get let out of their pen and run via linear actuators that follow the sun and I've got cameras watching them sleep.
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Oct 4, 2023 20:14
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TheDK posted:Today I noticed Ann digging around in our raised herb bed: Who's raised herb bed? They're all adorable, btw.
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Oct 4, 2023 21:59
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 A+ flock right there
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Oct 5, 2023 11:27
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 Mama Hen is still working hard. Three eggs are developing! Our top roo has been stalking me and kicked me twice so his genes will live on in this clutch… I will be getting an NPIP tested White Rock rooster this weekend to replace him. The Plymouth Rock roosters I’ve had previously were all people-safe.
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Oct 5, 2023 11:40
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Velvet Sparrow posted:...am I allowed to post a link to it here? I did post it on our Chickam2008 & my Velvet Sparrow Twitter (i refuse to call it that dumbass letter)... Hi, sorry, I've had a few crazy days. General forum policy is no gofundme links in general, sorry.
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Oct 5, 2023 19:12
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Joburg posted:Our top roo has been stalking me and kicked me twice so his genes will live on in this clutch…
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Oct 5, 2023 21:17
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Arsenic Lupin posted:And his memory will live on in the stockpot? Exactly
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Oct 6, 2023 08:07
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x-post from a different bird threadInceltown posted:NZ farm has been playing classical music to their chickens for years so they got the NZ symphony orchestra to come play live on the farm for the chooks.
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Oct 9, 2023 17:02
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Aw, that's nice for them! This short animation also seems very thread appropriate. https://vimeo.com/24471461
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Oct 9, 2023 17:10
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This pullet has decided to lay her eggs on top of the nest box. I found 2 broken eggs behind it so I had to put up a board to keep any new ones from falling behind. What a weirdo.
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Oct 10, 2023 23:11
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So we have a hen that is seemingly on a supportive strike with the writers guild. She hasn't laid an egg in weeks. We know it's her because she's the only olive egger. As for why, maybe it's because we had to get rid of her sister for being an aggressive bitch. She'd taken a lot of feathers off the lowest ranking chicken, and just wouldn't stop. So she was given to my wife's coworker,who has hens, a couple of roosters, some ducks and a few geese on a good sized piece of land they forage regularly. Misses her sister, maybe? She also molted recently, but so have others and they are back to producing. Verbal threats of stewing have no effect.
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Oct 10, 2023 23:25
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I feel compelled to share my own weird hen. Here's Cinnamon Garbage.  She really, really enjoys sitting on my lap getting scritches. https://i.imgur.com/paD4O1u.mp4
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Oct 11, 2023 00:08
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So adorable!
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Oct 11, 2023 12:35
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My county planners had a meeting yesterday to fix (actually create) a residential lot chicken ordinance. They just cribbed some regulations from somewhere else that limits residential lots (1/4 acre) to 4 hens but the coop must be 150’ from any neighboring dwelling. That last bit really makes it so most residential residents can’t have chickens. (They measured it on a map to be sure, and one planner came out and said they shouldn’t let people have chickens at all.) I’m wondering how this lines up with some of the rules that you all might be living with. It doesn’t apply to my flock since I’m on an Agricultural lot but I really am annoyed that the planners didn’t actually do any research or ask their residents what they want. I’ve sent the info out to come groups so hopefully affected people will speak up.
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Oct 11, 2023 13:52
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We live in what was once a defunct HOA that was taken over by some petty tyrants coming up on a year ago and now it's very much active and leaning into draconian fascism. Writing that sentence reminded me to follow up with our lawyer; we've been battling them over poo poo I thought would be simple and uncontroversial (i.e. there is a landscaping rule that's blatantly violating a law saying these orgs can't forbid "Florida-Friendly Landscaping" practices, the board agreed at the meeting I first presented it, then did nothing, then lied about taking action, then lashed out calling us "just agitators" and "anti-science" and even accused us of being racist, saying we must only be criticizing the president because he's Cuban.....it's been a fun year). That's why we have quail. They're in a grey area with how the rule is written here. As long as we follow the local ordinances on how many we're allowed to have and treat them like pets (which we'd do regardless) we're good. While I think the rule was intended to prevent this, they weren't very careful in the language used to construct it, so the ambiguity would then favor us as the party that didn't write it.
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Oct 11, 2023 16:03
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Our city has a permit system. You file with a person in the zoning department, he checks the size of your lot to determine how many chickens you can have, they then send letters to all your immediate neighbors to ask if they object. If nobody objects, you get your chickens. The two main rules are no rooster (understandable in a fairly close neighborhood) and coops must be 15 feet from the property line of any adjacent house. Once you have the permit, they never check. Our coop is closer than 15 feet, but we have ours closer. We also have a 6 foot privacy fence. We got hit with Morehens disease after we lost our first set, and we got six instead of the permitted three. We're now down to five (see a few posts above). We've never had any complaints, and the neighbors get free eggs from time to time.
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Oct 11, 2023 16:15
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With winter coming up, how do y’all keep your chickens’ water from freezing? We’ve got one of the big inverted bucket looking fountains, so the submersible heaters don’t seem to be compatible.
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Oct 13, 2023 03:36
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RoboRodent posted:Hi, sorry, I've had a few crazy days. Okay, thanks. Suspected this was the case and totally understand the policy. I've had a crazy time, too--older sister broke her back weeks ago and the medical system isn't fixing her. She can't eat/drink from pain so is fading rapidly and the doctors are just kinda...letting her die, because 'opiods, eek!'. Doing what I can from 400 miles away because her husband has cancer but it's stupid and stressfull, ARGGH. TheDK congrats on your little cuties! 'Poop Ranchers' is a perfect description for what we do. ALSO--Chickam will be running this weekend, Saturday and Sunday as we give the flock a pumpkin--you'll have a great view! Stop by and listen to this year's chicks' eggsong (yes, they've noisily come into lay and it's horrible)! It will be here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5iMWhoO42w Velvet Sparrow fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Oct 13, 2023 |
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Oct 13, 2023 22:30
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Okay, thanks. Suspected this was the case and totally understand the policy. I've had a crazy time, too--older sister broke her back weeks ago and the medical system isn't fixing her. She can't eat/drink from pain so is fading rapidly and the doctors are just kinda...letting her die, because 'opiods, eek!'. Doing what I can from 400 miles away because her husband has cancer but it's stupid and stressfull, ARGGH. Sorry about your sister. That is terrible.  Fellow Poop Ranchers, https://jackshenhouse.blogspot.com/ has some cute chicks and other links in case y’all haven’t checked it out lately.
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Oct 13, 2023 23:21
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^^^ Thanks, Joburg! Meanwhile...Chickam is LIVE! From inside a pumpkin. Come watch the flock this weekend, all day today and tomorrow during daylight hours (we are at PST in the US): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsh4ydqnIPY
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Oct 14, 2023 22:01
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Velvet Sparrow posted:^^^ Thanks, Joburg! I really needed this today. We unfortunately lost one of our best hens, Lucky, overnight; just one week shy of her birthday. She was the one we saved from being egg-bound a few months back. We wouldn't have bred her, since she laid these big spherical eggs that clearly caused issues, but she was a sweet girl who was Peanut Hamper's most frequent companion for training sessions. She was also Zapdos' favorite girl, you should have seen his reaction when we brought her back outside a few days after her egg-bound scare. 
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Oct 14, 2023 22:14
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Roost in Peace, tiny featherbundle ❤️
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Oct 14, 2023 22:54
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Aww...poor little Lucky. It's always your favorites. I am properly equipped for Chickam. 
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Oct 15, 2023 01:15
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They are making the most *adorable* little noises.
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Oct 15, 2023 01:36
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