started here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/867158/
we came from here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/873456/
now chat on, you chicken heads!!!
tf
[that is Chocolate, hatched by Taz the muscovy duck.... His roo is BestBuckeye and hen Sweets the Black Jersey Giant]
how many more are due to hatch or is it all done and dusted
I am so mad at that man of mine. Tonight he was helping me get some feed into the coop. After he poured the feed into the bin I stayed to fill the dishes and he went out. I heard this commotion behind me and turned around to see him holding Hansel (the goose) by his wings off the ground! I was so shocked. Hansel weighs a lot (about 15 pounds) so that had to be very painful for him. I asked Paul what was going on and he said that Hansel was trying to bite him. He's never tried to bite me! In fact he eats food from my fingers and is very careful to not hurt me. Paul insisted it was a male thing. Baloney! I doubt that Hansel knows I'm female and Paul is male anymore than I can tell which of my ducks is what! The only male thing going on was Paul's behavior!!! It's going to take a long time to get Hansel's trust back. I could tell he was very upset when we left the yard.
Men!!!!!
MollyD
My DH has similar problems with the dogs--I just don't get it. Now a couple of them won't go out for runs with him. And he likes animals, wouldn't step on a snail.
i have seen geese picked up like that. i don't like it, but it is supposed to be the right way, for a wild goose maybe!!!
does it make you feel any better that the only dog that wasn't shot this morning was after purple petunia [whom i haven't found yet], and was behind my hubby, so i pointed the dog out to him and took off after the othe rone, which turned out to be two... he goes back in the house to put his shoes on!!!
i am headed to bed in my blue jeans with a pocket full of shells, and the gun is at our door that goes outside from our bedroom. the deck isn't built yet, so i can't go down from there, but i can sure see and shoot!
i bet hansel will still trust you. when hubbys dont ' spend enough time around the animals, they don't know them VanGoat bit my hubby, right on his favoirte tatooe LOL
josh, it was the only chicken egg, she hatched out 10 ducklings, nine made it, four have been sold. she had those babies well hidden when those dogs came this morning.... good duck!
yes very good duck
i went to our saturday auction today to have a look around and i was realy tempted to buy these realy little chicken they were so small i think i might get som i dont know wat breed they are but i will find out they are probably the smallest chicken i have ever seen
You're probably right TF. Paul spends very little time around any of the animals. He wants to say that Hansel was going after him. Why he just didn't leave the yard is beyond me!
This morning I spotted some rabbits destroying my plants. I had asked him to shoot them before and he wouldn't cause ' they won't do anything' Ha! I got one myself this morning and he was upset about it. Too bad!
MollyD
i dont have much that the rabits would eat and even if i did have a gun it would be impossible to get rid of them all there are just to many off them they reproduce to quick so i just wire around the bottom of the shrubs they eat until it is to big for the rabits to eat
Molly, get a bucket! josh, wish you could get a gun... i am lying in wait for a dog to come back for seconds... however, if he ate as many as what i have missing, he may not be hungry for another day or two...
oh, i menat o say congrats and great job Molly. that is really what i mena when i say get a bucket LOL... it is like it is becoming a symbol of self reliance...
oh it is very harder to get a gun in australia
my cousin went to a sop when he was in america (i think it was target or sumthin) and he said they had guns i mean wow we are all up tight about gun laws over here actualy there is a lot of discussion about laxing them a bit but over here u need licenses then u actualy have to find a gun shop (in my whole life i have only ever seen 1 gun shop) but it would mak life a lot easier if i had a gun to stops dogs and foxes and stuff lik that and they dont have names so i think i could shot them if they had my chickens
i dont know for sure if my cousin was tellin the truth or not but he seemed pretty serious
This message was edited Jul 19, 2008 10:40 PM
Molly....my DH is the same way about things......just things in general. I will be standing there freaking out about something, like one of our new dogs that won't leave the animals alone and DH has let him off the chain anyway, and he says....it'll be alright. SCREAM!!
I also think the reason Hansel came after Paul is like tf said. Hansel doesn't really know him well. From what I have heard, geese can be like watch dogs and come after people they don't really know...maybe Hansel was protecting you from the 'stranger' ? I bet when it comes time to feed treats, he'll come back around to you. I sure hope so.
tf.....how many did you end up losing? Gosh, I hope it's not many! I hope when the nasty dogs come back you nail them good! Your DH went back to get his shoes on? Really? Oh goodness.....I bet you were mad......were you shocked 1st by any chance?
Lucky, I love going to auctions. I can't wait to hear what kind of chicken is so small. We have 1 little bantam roo (the only one and we have never had them before) that someone gave to my kids at the auction last month. We thought he was only about 3 mo old because of his size and we put him with chicks and turkey poults about that size. Then the other day I caught him breeding our little turkey poult....DH couldn't believe it and still wonders if I saw what I know I saw, but we moved him to his own cage after that. Our poor Silly Suzy.....he hurt her and she laid very still on the ground for about 2 minutes not making any noise at all. She is ok now, at least on the outside, but I have to wonder if being bred so young her 'organs' are damaged and she'll be able to breed when she is older. Oh, I sure hope so!
Christy
no dogs yet... yes, lucky, although i haven't gone to the gun section at target, there probably is one in the sporting goods. hunting is a huge sport here. i bought my gun at gander mountain, and i could not believe the selection, so glad DH knew what we were looking for... &no, Christy, i didn' thave time to be shocked. once DH said it was a rott, then i saw the blue, i had already seen the GS, so i knew i had to hurry becasue once the first shot rang they would all take off.
last night i was so down, trying to count chickens... i could only find five each of my precious 2 yo hens. found all six black ones though, and two are going brrody on me. i have eggs in the fridge that haven't been washed.....
i just cannot imagine where those dogs came from. but a little later i will call the animal control officer. even though we live in the ocunty so she can't some out here, the dogs likely came from and went back to town, so she can be on the lookout. the two i shot both yelped and increased their exit speed... so i don't know how direct of a hit they took... but the last dog i shot yelped and ran before he fell over and died... perhaps i should check in the lot they ran across. i can't tread there, "neighbor" owns it, but i have specs and there is an alley there...
ya'll have a great day! i got lots of chickens to tend to, feed to buy. and i need to update my flyer at the feed store as soon as she opens for buiness at 9 AM...
Thanks Christy. More bad news, gosh I will be glad when i have some good news. Is it possible for a snake to just kill a chick and not eat it. I found about 10 dead in the pens today, and found the snake hubby just reached in there and grabbed it out, probably had about 6 chicks in it gut. Can I put the snake back in there so the chicks can munch on his dead body?????Of course it is a headless snake now.
Maybe they panicked and were killed in the stampede. I've never head of a snake killing anthing edible and not trying to eat it. They are pretty programed. Stalk, strike, constrict (if they are constrictors) and eat.
This message was edited Jul 19, 2008 6:34 PM
i have no clue what kind hubby said it was a chicken snake, pretty really but scared the bejesus out of me. thanks.
luckycharm_1 your cousin was being truthful. In my area Walmart carries guns of all kinds. Also there are many gun shops where you can buy them. Any gun that is a concealed weapon requires a license in my state of NY. Some states don't have those rules. In my state you have to get a hunting permit to use a gun to hunt in season but you can shoot anything that is threatening you or your property. Most states require a lot of proof of threat of bodily harm if you shoot a person but not if you kill a stray dog etc.
Christy I don't think Hansel intended to do Paul any harm. Paul was wearing shorts and he has hairy legs. I think Hansel was just trying to get them since they're blond and in the sunlight they glisten. Paul jumped the gun and over reacted thinking that Hansel was trying to bite him. Of course after he manhandled him Hansel did try to bite him. He was very angry with Paul and rightfully so!
Today he's kept his distance from me and even told me off when I had to catch escaped chickens and toss them back into the yard.
MollyD
That's funny Molly, that Hansel may have been trying to get the shiny hairs.....too bad Paul jumped the gun a bit. We all act differently when we feel we are being threated. My DH would have just stood there to see, but I would probably wouldn't have realized what Hansel was trying to do and been scared by it. I sure hope he warms back up to you soon!
Christy
tee hee.. my teacup poodle loves nothing more than to pluck all the hairs from DH's arm! I think my baby gets jealous and thinks if DH is bald... i wont want to pet DH anymore! lol!
A weasel will kill a chicken and leave the body. They can usually get through a hole that a good sized snake can.
That makes sense!
That is a precious chick, and tiny, it is a Bantam, right? Many of ours look like that one. We visited a friend today that's had her Bantams for 8 years, they free range and she puts them up at night. She is giving us a hen and chicks, two teen hens and a beautiful, white Bantam roo. We are going to swap with her and see what our roo does there, since is such a sweet guy and, oh, so handsome. She's going to bring them on Monday, we cannot wait. I'm going to extend my chicken yard, to give them more space and privacy, it will be similar to free range and they will get more 'greens'...
Have fun!!
Thanks Christy. I'm going to buy some watermelon tomorrow. That's one of Hansel's favorite treats.
MollyD
well no gun for me so i have to hope that no dog pays me a visit
I have had a concealed weapons permit since I was 19 yrs old...I have been shooting since I was 4 yrs old..and that is 60 years ago...
When I was based out in the wild west of CA, I carried a .38 on my hip loaded with snake shot...looks like tiny shotgun shells...to kill rattlers and Mojave Greens...I am a dog rescuer, therefore not fond of shooting them, however...I did keep a .410 ga shotgun (usually used for shooting squirrels or other small varmints) loaded with rock salt shells...I am a crack shot, and when they get hit with that salt, they rarely come back for more, and if they do, then they meet my .357...Stock killers, whether wild or domestic are not tolerated...I have rifles to kill coyotes and such when needed for distance...I don't like the .22 rifles because the bullet can travel up to a mile in range, and that is far too risky in this day and age...
I know your frustration TF..and all I can say is.. YOU GO GIRL!!! I wish you could trap the dogs and confine them till the law gets there...If the owners want to redeem them, they are forced to pay a hefty fine and restitution in this state...Doesn't replace your birds, but at least you would get some money back to get more...If they came back again, I would surely feel justified in killing them...I do hope you can get this mess resolved for your sake and the safety of your birds...Hugggs
Dusty
how is everything going tamara
luckycharm_1 can you put rat traps around what you need to protect?
MollyD
We were forced once to trail the dogs that killed our flock with bird shot. The sheriff came out, to investigate their complaint. They ended up paying market value to us for each of the birds, a fine to the county for allowing their dogs to run free (even in country, against WA law) AND the vet to get the shrapnel out of their tails & rear ends! If we had pressed charges, there could have been more of a fine to the owners. I think the fine they did pay was enough. Didn't allow dogs to 'come to the country to run free again' when visiting a neighbor.
Hopefully, Tammy hasn't had a re-visit & the owners called the authorities. If nothing else, maybe they will keep their dogs home & have to pay a vet bill to boot!
mollyd we should be fine they get locked in there coop every night so i am farly confident they are safe
That is what I do to, Josh. Lock them up and hope for the best. It helps that I am in the city--but we were visited by a raccoon one year--emptied out the fish pond, including the bull frogs. Sometimes we have an egret who tries to fish--but the dogs make a fuss and I don't think it would bother the chickens--unless we ended up with a chicken/egret hybrid:0)
Catscan, that would be something to see... a chicken that fishes...LOL
GG
LOL
ROFL Fishing chicken?!?! OMG!
Just a note: I thought locking them up at night would save them from predators, since most visit at dusk or night. The dogs came at about 10-11am. We were allowing the chickens to free range; however, most were caught in the chicken yard. At the time, I thought they were trying to run for safety, but we left the gate open.......Live & Learn on both sides (us & the dogs owners)
well i can usualy tell when a dog is about my problem is i just cant get to the lower paddock before the dogs do
Mine are in their yard during the day and locked in at night but if dogs wanted to get them they could reach them before I could get the gun out.
MollyD
How young would you start free range with chicks with no older birds?
Hey all!!!!!!!!! I survived the family. We had a great time and I learned a very important lesson saturday, dont stand next to my brother that is 3 yrs younger than me while playing volleyball. Good thing I dont have a black eye from his elbow when we both went for the ball. Another lesson we all learned come sunday morning, none of us are as young as we use to be. You could hear someone moaning all thru the house at any given time. i am the oldest of all us "kids" and then one of my cousins that is the youngest is about 8 years younger than me. Then "our" kids are from age 26 to 15. We did learn that us "kids" need to stick to board or card games. I am puppy free now 5 gone this weekend. Still have the kittens as they are only 2 weeks old. Didnt lose any more chickens, hubby took care of them for me so I could stay up at moms and visit.
In the pic I am in the white dress and my mean brother is in the red and white flower shorts.
boy, you had to omuch fun, have you soaked in epsom salts yet? LOL...
no more info on dogs yet. DH doesn't think it hurt them badly enough, but i know i got them both in the rear ends. i have some inklings whose they may be,a nd i will be calling soem places today...
busy planting trees too... and DH getting ready to mow.... for weeks now i have wlaked around these piles of old fencing to milk the goat. yesterday we move the milk stand closer to the new shed to get away from the mosquitos source, and today he cleans up the fencing mess LOL....
yeah, pretty frustrating, i didn't create any of this mess, and i am still cleaning it up... in reference to neighbor, not piles of fencing! i don't give up easy, and if the sheriff's dept want to play the neihgbors game, that is their perogative.... i won't be the one paying for it this year...
tf
