Author Topic: I am Foul...  (Read 4549 times)

Offline JohnyMac

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I am Foul...
« on: June 15, 2018, 01:38:56 PM »
There is a gentleman in our Monday night bible class that has been whining for months that he can't find any fresh, free range eggs that are not a small fortune. To make a long story short, back in April I bought some wood and solicited his help and my 14-year old neighbor to build a coop.

Then 4 weeks ago I ordered twelve chicks. Six Rhode Island Red's and six Barred Plymouth Rocks.

You will notice I built the coop on 6x6's so I could drag the coop around the yard. Today is the first day that they will be allowed out of the coop.

So there you go old foul JohnyMac!

PS: Be careful of what you whine about around me.  ;)
« Last Edit: June 18, 2018, 10:09:50 AM by JohnyMac »
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Offline Kbop

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #1 on: June 15, 2018, 07:53:58 PM »
better to light a single candle than curse at the dark.

Nice coop JM!

Offline Nemo

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #2 on: June 15, 2018, 07:59:32 PM »
Uh .  .  .,   Fowl?

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Offline Jackalope

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2018, 08:48:18 PM »
   Those are some nice looking girls, Johny.  Chickens are fun to observe, and it's interesting to watch them as they grow and mature.  The coop looks very nice.  I'm guessing that's a short term fence, as you'll want something more substantial to deter predators, and to keep them corralled.  We use a solar fence charger and allow ours to roam during the day.  At night they're inside their compound, which is a fenced area within another electric fence.  Over the years we've lost one rooster and one goose to coyotes, even with the electric fences, and an active dog, though the dog spends the night inside our house.

Offline JohnyMac

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #4 on: June 18, 2018, 10:11:42 AM »
Thank you Nemo. The choice of spelling was a poor attempt at a play on words.

Lost one last night. Went out to lock 'em up and one was half way pulled through the chicken fencing. I have no idea what happened.
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Offline Jackalope

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #5 on: June 18, 2018, 03:48:11 PM »
   I could have been a raccoon, skunk or opossum.  I would suspect a raccoon, if it was pulled through the fence, they're notorious for that.

Offline JohnyMac

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2018, 02:55:55 PM »
Bastards!  :gunner:
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Offline Jackalope

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #7 on: June 19, 2018, 03:52:53 PM »
    Put out some live traps, they're available at Tractor Supply.  Or put up some electric fences.  At another location, many years ago, I lost over 30 chickens to some raccoons.  We ended up slaughtering all the remaining meat chickens and freezing them so the raccoons didn't get them.  I really don't like raccoons.

Offline Nemo

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #8 on: June 19, 2018, 06:54:46 PM »
Maybe not racoons.  Maybe an escape attempt from being dinner.

Nemo
If you need a second magazine, its time to call in air support.

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Offline Jackalope

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #9 on: June 19, 2018, 08:54:50 PM »
Johny, you might want to put your night vision equipment to practical use, along with a silenced firearm.

Offline JohnyMac

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #10 on: June 20, 2018, 06:54:08 AM »
Yupper Jackalope. Will have to wait though till I get my NFA Stamp in December or so.
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Offline Jackalope

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #11 on: June 20, 2018, 04:25:11 PM »
I do have a crossbow that I can lend you. A good BB gun would do the job too, no need for suppressors.

Something else that may work is a device called a Night Guard, which is solar powered flashing red light.  Supposedly, predators think the flashing light is the glint off the eye of another predator.  I have two of them installed, but they are just part of the rings of protection.  Here's a link: https://www.amazon.com/Nite-Guard-NG-001-Predator-Control/dp/B0014FGT8C/ref=sr_1_1
« Last Edit: June 20, 2018, 08:01:38 PM by Jackalope »

Offline Jackalope

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #12 on: July 11, 2018, 06:39:36 PM »
   How's the lone survivor doing? Any luck trapping?

Offline JohnyMac

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #13 on: July 12, 2018, 07:05:27 PM »
The loan survivor is doing well. 12 more coming in tomorrow. I will segragate them till they grow feathers.

No luck in catching the culprit.  >:(
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Offline JohnyMac

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #14 on: July 13, 2018, 09:40:19 AM »
To bring the forum up to date, I lost all of my chickens but one to a night intruder last Saturday morning. The intruder gnawed its way through chicken wire on one of the windows. One chicken was taken by the murderer, and the other nine were just killed. The survivor has been doing good but I have spent a lot of time with her.

Put out a Havaheart trap that I baited with one of the killed chickens. Cremated the rest in the burn barrel. Put 1/4" mesh on all of the windows.

Sunday morning I found the chicken taken from the trap, door of the trap down, and the trap had rolled down a hill. Sunday night I put out some frozen chicken and Monday I had caught one of the neighbors barn cat.

Reordered 6 Rhode Island Reds, and 6 Barred Plymouth Rock chicks.

Anyhow, this little dance has been going on all week including one night donning my NVG gear and laying in wait till 0100 hrs.

Wednesday night/Thursday morning the chicken I had put in the cage earlier in the week was gone and the trap was not sprung.

Last night I put down some chicken feed in the trap and reset it.

This morning I got a phone call from the Post Office letting me know that my new chickens were in. As I approached my truck to go into town I looked over at the the Havaheart trap and low and behold was a big, fat, raccoon.

Once I got back from town and put the new chicks in their new home, I dispatched the raccoon. I guess today, Friday 13th was a very unlucky day for him.
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Offline zeerf

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #15 on: July 13, 2018, 03:00:23 PM »
sorry to hear JohnyMac. Glad you got new chickens and hopefully solved any future issues.

Offline Jackalope

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Re: I am Foul...
« Reply #16 on: July 13, 2018, 04:51:14 PM »
      I'm glad you got the perpetrator.  I always figured it was a coon, since that's their normal operating practice.  You have to always be vigilant.  I'd move the coop a little further from the trees too.  Wild animals don't like to cross open areas, without any cover.  A friend of mine worked at a federal corrections institution, and I told him I had a FCI too.  He looked at me bewildered, then I explained to him it was a federal chicken institution.  I think I've explained it before, but my chickens are located in an open area, which is surrounded by a solar electric fence.  It's a pain to keep vegetation cleared from the lowest wire, but that wire probably does most work of the entire system.  The chickens are further enclosed by a heavy duty farm fence.  I also have Night Guard solar powered predator lights installed too.  And there's a Great Pyrenees guard dog that's around nearby.
 
       These precautions have developed over the years, and we've still lost one rooster and one goose to coyotes.  However, the rooster was free ranging outside the fence, and he refused to stay within the enclosure, so he became a coyote snack.  The goose was killed before the second, inner fence was installed.  The big thing is to be vigilant, and realize that the entire animal kingdom loves chicken snacks.  Down south, aerial predators are a big problem, and escape shelter need to be constructed to give the chickens a place to hide when hawks are looking for their next meal.

        You might want to keep your pretty four legged friend out with the chickens occasionally.  Her scent might be enough to warn off other predators.  Oh, if the chicks were a little older, you could have fed the raccoon to the chickens, after it was dispatched.  They would enjoy the extra protein.  My girls had a special snack of some snake this week, all they left was the outer skin.
« Last Edit: July 13, 2018, 04:55:48 PM by Jackalope »