Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[micstrachan]

Wow. Our red tails are fairly small here. But, we have golden eagles, bald eagles and owls, so plenty of predators in the sky. As for ground predators, I worry most about the raccoons, but my neighbor showed me pictures from his game camera that shows we have a family of cougars and a mama bear and cub! I have luckily not seen those here, but they keep me in the house at night.
Oh my. She is a beauty!!!

Yikes!

 

[micstrachan]

The bald eagle is a scavenger. It's very unlikely to try for a chicken. They will fish but you are more likely to see a bald eagle eating road kill for example than you are seeing it hunt.
It's a bit like the buzzards we have here. They look and act the part but we have lots here and they need to be desperate to try for live prey.
The falcons and proper hawks here are a different matter.

True. However, I have seen a bald eagle with a mammal in its talons here before. It was something sort of plump, but I couldn’t tell what it was since it was pretty high up in the sky. Maybe a rabbit?

 

[HappyClucker7]

Not sure if you have seen this - they really are stunning birds.

Incredible! Her maneuverability is crazy.

 

[goldenfingers]

Are those lift up doors secured in some way?

The lift up doors use eye & hooks. It's early and dark right now but I'll try to post a photo later today.

Here's how we lock the lift up doors.

This may seem like insufficient security, and I'm sure it is woefully inadequate for many of you. I don't know why, and I will probably jinx us for saying this, but other than one cat longingly looking at our chickens, we've never encountered any ground predators in our yard. Not even any evidence of one. We occasionally can smell a skunk, but have yet to see one. We do see lots of aerial threats circling around but I'm not aware of any attack ever having been made.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Here's how we lock the lift up doors.
View attachment 2378193

This may seem like insufficient security, and I'm sure it is woefully inadequate for many of you. I don't know why, and I will probably jinx us for saying this, but other than one cat longingly looking at our chickens, we've never encountered any ground predators in our yard. Not even any evidence of one. We occasionally can smell a skunk, but have yet to see one. We do see lots of aerial threats circling around but I'm not aware of any attack ever having been made.

You've never had a problem with raccoons? That latch seems incredibly easy for them to open.

 

[micstrachan]

Poor lucky. I tried to capture her molt in this video, but it’s hard to see that she has way more pinfeathers than regular feathers. This is one of the worst molts my flock has had. She also looks kind of fat across the back. A lot of you know I’ve been trying hard to slim down my flock, and I am grateful to have gotten through most of the hot season without any deaths. I’ve been very worried about fatty liver in the heat.

Normally Lucky is one of my biggest lap sitters.

 

[Shadrach]

Three Moon shots. I need to get some help.

 

[MaryJanet]

Poor lucky. I tried to capture her molt in this video, but it’s hard to see that she has way more pinfeathers than regular feathers. This is one of the worst molts my flock has had. She also looks kind of fat across the back. A lot of you know I’ve been trying hard to slim down my flock, and I am grateful to have gotten through most of the hot season without any deaths. I’ve been very worried about fatty liver in the heat.

Awww poor thing.

 

[goldenfingers]

You've never had a problem with raccoons? That latch seems incredibly easy for them to open.

Honestly, nothing. We've had moose, but that was before the chickens arrived, and they would not have been looking for chicken dinner.

 

[ValerieJ]

We have a pair of ravens that have been nesting here forever. I call them the guard ravens, and have watcheded them chase off hawks on more than one occasion.

We have a lot of ravens too. Another territorial bird!!!