Chickies :)

[noodles123]

Oooh, do not hypnotist your chickens! I learned the hard way that leads to the hens not laying eggs for a week! My great-aunt assured that I never did that again and had difficult sitting the rest of that day!

Wait what? You hypnotized your aunt’s chickens? We need to know more.


In my dream world, I have a couple of chicken buddies who keep me stocked with fresh eggs, but in real life I live in an apartment so I still go to the store.


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I know, right! lol *waits patiently for story-time*

 

[SailBoat]

Oooh, do not hypnotist your chickens! I learned the hard way that leads to the hens not laying eggs for a week! My great-aunt assured that I never did that again and had difficult sitting the rest of that day!

Wait what? You hypnotized your aunt’s chickens? We need to know more.

In my dream world, I have a couple of chicken buddies who keep me stocked with fresh eggs, but in real life I live in an apartment so I still go to the store.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Chickens are far too easy to hypnotize, and no, I'm not going to tell the how as I wish not to be the knowledge source for Chickens all over this world being in a trans.

Warning: Hypnotizing laying hens will cause them to STOP laying eggs for at least a week! This really pisses-off the overseer of said hens!!!

The great dangers of City Kids spending a series of Fall weekends helping out on the Farm is that the Farm Kids can easily lead the City Kids into dangerous mischief that may sound like fun right up to the point of having to face a very unhappy great aunt... Anyway, long story short, with help (directions) I hypnotize six of her best layers. When she went into the hen house to collect eggs, she was greeted with silent Chickens staring off into the distance. Her kid quickly ratted me out and the rest is best left to folklore...

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I love chickens! There is a place up the road where you can "rent" them! For a fee ( I think its like $450) they will deliver a coop with 100lb of feed and six chickens..they'll deliver early May and then pick-up in November..I already have one name...Mrs. Cluck Cluck




Jim

 

[saxguy64]

Okay, so now they've been laying for six whole days, it's looking possible that Waffle, the smallest of the four, isn't quite there yet. Definitely trying to be like the others, but no fully formed eggs. I did find one that was almost perfect, except there was no shell on the outside. Bumping up the calcium in the diet to try and help her out a little.

Meanwhile... Today's offering was , ummmm, different. No cute small to medium size eggies any more. OMG, our little baby girls gifted us with a large-ish one, a jumbo (at least) and a double. That had to hurt!

For a frame of reference, here they are in a carton with the last several days of them... And nope, no Photoshop involved. They're just huge!

 

[saxguy64]

Update of the morning. Little Waffle has finally laid her first fully formed egg! The shell seems a bit on the thin side, and it's lacking in the pretty brown color of the others, but it's here, and she did it! Yep, I'm a proud chicken dad right now. Sunday big breakfast for the family, coming up! Can't wait to crack yesterday's "double egg" to see how many yolks are in there. Still trying to imagine how a four month old baby got that thing out!

 

[saxguy64]

Been a while since the last update. Our girls have all been producing beautiful eggs every day. Some huge ones with double yolks, some lighter in color, but all delicious! We took them out to free range every day for a little while, and walked with them down to the garden to hunt for whatever they found, and picked each one up for pet and snuggle time. Sweet little girls! [emoji3590]

Last night, things went bad. Heavy rain storm all day and night, so we couldn't have heard any commotion. Something managed to get in the coop through the nest box. It killed Nugget and Patty, and Biscuit was gone. Poor little Waffle was hiding in the coop this morning, completely caked in mud, all alone. We found a pile of feathers around the back of the house, and then found the remains of Biscuit at the far end of the yard. Not sure if she was killed and dragged off, or if she managed to make a run for it before she got caught. Too horrific to contemplate right now.

Our girls were not just plain old chickens, they were hand raised pets. I tried so hard to build a home that was safe and secure for them. I failed them.

RIP my ladies. Biscuit, Nugget, and Patty.

 

[LaManuka]

Oh no Jon, I'm so sorry to hear this awful news! My heart aches for you and Jackie, and for poor little Waffle! But you did not fail your little ladies, you loved them so much and gave them everything they needed. Please don't let all the "what ifs" fill you with grief and guilt, you did everything you knew how to do and you gave them a great life, even if they have been so tragically cut short. Most people under-appreciate chickens but not you, you’re now part of a secret club, those who know how captivating these little ones can be.

Sending much love and many feathered hugs to you both, I'm so very sorry for your losses.

 

[Laurasea]

Omg. Horrors!!!! Im sooo sorry!!!
Poor babies I can't stand to hear such sad news...
Fox's and coyotes are sneaky and even found in towns and cities.

 

[Scott]

Oh Jon, I am heartbroken for you and Jackie. Deepest condolences for the horrific loss of Nugget, Patty, and Biscuit. I cannot contemplate your feelings of dread and shock.

 

[saxguy64]

Thanks folks for your support. It doesn't seem real, but it is. We're figuring it was likely racoons, as they are kind of known for killing and not eating. Senseless. I think I would accept it better if it was a hungry animal that at least got a good meal, but this was just sport, which breaks my heart. They died for nothing.

Upon further inspection, whatever it was was extremely determined to get at the chickens. Tried to dig under the run almost the whole way around it, tried to dig under the coop, tried to rip the mesh off the top of the run, and finally figured out how to push open the nest box cover. If not for the heavy storm, the noise (and motion detector light) would have alerted us, or at least the dogs, and we might have had a chance to save them. Rifle is at the ready.

Little Waffle spent the day in a large dog crate to be safe and comfortable. Still filthy and caked with dirt and mud, she settled down enough that she still gifted me with an egg when I got home from work! I took her out to roam for a while before dark, and she was happy foraging in the garden.

I secured the nest box with hooks, latches, and whatever else I could find, and a friend "loaned" us one of her hens for a while, so Waffle won't be all alone. They seem okay together. I'm thinking of calling her Renita. (The RENTal chicken, lol) Rough day of change for both of them, so they're currently still roosting in the coop. Yeah, I had to go out and check to make sure they were in there and okay. All good, and as I'm writing, they just came out for some fresh feed and water. Yay! Egg check later this morning.

#TeamWaffle!

 

[Scott]

Just awful. Is there an effective way to raccoon-proof an enclosure, they apparently have amazing dexterity with feet.

 

[Laurasea]

Might do an electric fence wire for over nights

 

[saxguy64]

Might do an electric fence wire for over nights

Looking into that. Figuring out wire placement is tricky so it's effective for different sized animals. We have everything from little minks to bears.

 

[Laurasea]

When some exotics were threatened from foxs, we did about six inch high electric wire around the enclosure, helped a bunch. We thought fox, but maybe was racoon. I had no idea till you shared that raccoons would do this...

 

[LaManuka]

Yay for #TeamWaffle!! I know she will recover from this with the help of her devoted dadda! And I sure hope she and Renita get along too. Maybe you need another dog. You've probably heard of the Maremma, the Italian sheepdog with amazing protective instincts? They are used to stand guard for all sorts of animals and birds, not just sheep. There's one in Victoria that's been trained to guard a penguin colony against marauding foxes. They just live outdoors on the island all summer when the penguins are nesting, and the foxes won't go near them!

My cousins have had two maremmas for years and they are just big white fluffy goofballs when not on guard duty. Shed lots and lots of hair thought but I guess you'd be used to that!

 

[bug_n_flock]

What sort of wire did you have on the coop and run? Racoons are crafty... they eat the head, neck, gizzard area and leave the rest. When birds are in an enclosure in our experience the coons will pull the head thru and you will find the body like that still caught up in the fence. You sure it was a coon? I'd set cameras if I were you. Sorry for your loss, it is so hard to lose pet chickens.



I'm glad you got Ms. Waffle a friend, do you have a longer term plan so she isn't alone? Do you have thoughts on reinforcing your coop? I am happy to help with that or I can point you in the direction(by pm if allowed) of a good backyard chicken forum that could help you come up with ideas.



Again, I am so sorry for your loss. It really, really sucks to lose pet chickens to a predator who is killing just for fun(or for any reason really! We have a neighbor who doesn't feed their dogs and just sets them loose to fend for themselves. Those darn dogs come here to feed themselves! They took a beloved pet turkey off of a nest of eggs only just recently!!!! Like six months ago, but when you lose a pet it HURTS for a while. We did find the nest and saved the chicks by putting the eggs in an incubator, but their mother is still gone and she was very much so an outdoor pet)

 

[saxguy64]

The run is wood frame with 1/2" space wire mesh, and I added a skirt of it 6" up from the ground and 2 feet out. The coop is a raised platform with heavy plywood sides and steel roofing. They tried to get in from the top of the run, and by digging, neither of which worked. They got in through the nest box lid, which is 2x4 feet plywood, and framed. Takes 2 hands to lift, so it didn't really occur to me that small predators could open it. Patty and Nugget were killed in the run and left. Biscuit was taken out, or jumped out when the lid was opened. We found a pile of feathers near the back of the house, and later found her without her head and some internals at the back edge of the yard, maybe 3-4 hundred feet away. After the incident, the lid now has 3 latches on it. They won't get in that way again. Also looking at electric fence, but it's kind of a pain to deal with around the gate. Hate to have to do it but I have the firearms solution as well, and laws are in my favor regarding predatory nuisance animals.

Waffle and Renita are fine together and even roosted leaning against each other last night. They're both pretty stressed, Waffle more so, obviously, so no eggs today. I'm fine with that, as long as they're safe.

Moving forward, we're waiting for word from another friend. Her neighbor got 6 hens about the same age as Waffle, and decided he doesn't want them any more. She's going to see if he'll let us have them. If that works out, we'll keep 3 and give the others to Renita's mom when we give her back. Fingers crossed. 4 is perfect for our needs, and more would just involve having to give away extra eggs.

Thanks so much for offering to help! Hopefully we're good now, but I'll definitely be in touch if I need more ideas.

 

[saxguy64]

Thanks to the kindness of several friends, allow me to introduce... Renita the rental chicken, Yin Gully, who resembles a sea gull, and Yang Green, who's black feathers shine green in the sunlight. Yin and Yang are still young and not laying yet, but are hand raised and sweet. Waiting to hear back if Renita can become a permanent member of the chickie flock. Waffle, who was the smallest, and bottom of the pecking order, is suddenly queen of the roost, and makes sure all the newcomers are aware of her new found status!

 

[SailBoat]

Sorry, just catching-up on the Thread!
Very sorry for your losses good friend. It cuts deep when one places such effort into keeping them safe.

A wildlife camera is a great tool to have around one's home -- just cause.

I would like to add 'cats' (small and large) to the list, but also, coyote! Both hunt when they not hungry and chickens would be a likely target for both. Also, as you likely know, wild cats and coyotes are open season in most all States. Watch the set-back rules regarding shoot near homes and areas in which People walk.

Michigan has an infestation of coyotes in all sectors of the State. I have several Farms near our cottage that call us to coyote hunt their property. The coyotes kill the Farm cats, rats and likewise chew the head-off their chickens.

I was very surprised at what creatures pass though our backyard after I installed a wildlife camera! Only ones I have not seen are Wolf and Mountain Lyon. That said, I have seen a Mountain Lyon, twice, at the cottage, which is near Lake Michigan shoreline. Our DNR have refused to respond to reports for years until a couple along Lake Michigan caught 15 minutes of one chewing-up what appeared to be an adult rabbit...

 

[LaManuka]

Thanks to the kindness of several friends, allow me to introduce... Renita the rental chicken, Yin Gully, who resembles a sea gull, and Yang Green, who's black feathers shine green in the sunlight. Yin and Yang are still young and not laying yet, but are hand raised and sweet. Waiting to hear back if Renita can become a permanent member of the chickie flock. Waffle, who was the smallest, and bottom of the pecking order, is suddenly queen of the roost, and makes sure all the newcomers are aware of her new found status!

Awwwww, your new chickies are gorgeous Jon, thanks so much for the pic! And Waffle is now Queen of Chicken Shangri-La, how marvellous! We will need an updated pic of her too

I hope you get to keep Renita, although if you do you may have to change her name to Permanita, as more befits her "forever" status