The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[HappyClucker7]

Various Orps, Buttercups, and Geese. I lost 100 babies last night and a broody goose while I was at work so it's not been a fun time for me.

Oh no! What happened?

 

[ColtHandorf]

oh what!!

WTH? What happened?

A big storm system was going to come through last night. I got home from work to weatherize the tractor the 102 three+ week old babies were in to keep the water and wind off of them. All is well.

Decided to mow for an hour or two where I'd not mowed previously. Decided to let the geese out to graze while I was outside with the mower. Let the geese out and peek into the barn to check on the broodies. I only see two. One Blue and one Buff. There should be two Buffs. Turn around and count the birds on the grass. Two Buff ganders, one Buff hen, one Blue hen. Go into the barn to check on them. Definitely just two. Walk back outside and triple count the geese. Definitely short a hen. Start looking for her.

That thrice-damned bobcat came over the fence, chased them into the barn, when everyone ran out but the broodies, she went for one, Killed her, drug her out of the pen, over the fence, nearly taking it down with their combined weight, drug her about 300 feet off the property under a tree where she partially ate her and buried her to come back later. I followed her trail/tracks for over a mile and lost her when I hit a six-strand barbed wire fence absolutely covered up in wild briar roses, cat briars, and blackberry vines. Thoroughly disgusted I went back home to see if I could find a spot to scope out the kill and shoot her when she came back. It started to rain super hard, and I wasn't going to sit out there all night in a storm that bad.

Decided to take a shower and get ready for bed. Everyone is locked up for the night, nothing she can do. Get out of the shower and the power went off. The babies are screaming so loudly I can hear them in the house. It's hailing, the wind is horrible. I look out the kitchen window and in a flash of lightning see the henhouse with the Buttercups and other yard birds get picked up by the wind and thrown through the fence. It landed on its back and the wire hooked into the corrugated aluminum and kept it from going anywhere else. I then see that the roof I'd reinforced and the back I'd put on the tractor is gone. Cinderblocks and the other concrete I'd used to weigh it down is all over the place. There is shit literally flying everywhere. It wasn't supposed to stop until three. So there's nothing I can do because I'm not dying to get out there and have a tree break or drop a limb on me.

So I get up first thing and run out there. All the birds in the barn are fine. All the birds in the six-pack are fine but wet. The birds in the upturned house look terrible but all alive. The heat lamps are on the tractor and I can't see any chicks. I get closer and it rained so hard that while the power was off the water rose up all the way from the pasture into the chicken pen and yard. 100 babies were dead. Drowned and chilled to death. The two ducklings were fine. I found four or five babies that weren't totally dead and put them under heat inside to warm them up. It was 10:30 before I got into work today. I'm sure they'll be dead when I get home. I am so disgusted. If I'd had them on wire, they'd be fine. If I'd gone out in the storm and brought them inside they'd be fine. I woke up when the power came back on and it was still pouring. I looked outside and saw the heat lamps were on so I thought they'd be fine. One hundred three-4 weeks old chicks are dead. I have people driving from West Texas to get birds from me at the Poultry Sale this weekend. I have no idea what I'm going to bring. Or what I'm going to do with a trash sack full of dead babies sitting in my garage when I get home.

I'm just really frustrated and disheartened. At least the babies inside were alright. Hopefully, the eggs are alright from the power being out in the incubators.

Oh, and the heifer came back and finished the goose off last night or this morning. Just left the feet, head, and wings.

 

[HappyClucker7]

A big storm system was going to come through last night. I got home from work to weatherize the tractor the 102 three+ week old babies were in to keep the water and wind off of them. All is well.

Decided to mow for an hour or two where I'd not mowed previously. Decided to let the geese out to graze while I was outside with the mower. Let the geese out and peek into the barn to check on the broodies. I only see two. One Blue and one Buff. There should be two Buffs. Turn around and count the birds on the grass. Two Buff ganders, one Buff hen, one Blue hen. Go into the barn to check on them. Definitely just two. Walk back outside and triple count the geese. Definitely short a hen. Start looking for her.

That thrice-damned bobcat came over the fence, chased them into the barn, when everyone ran out but the broodies, she went for one, Killed her, drug her out of the pen, over the fence, nearly taking it down with their combined weight, drug her about 300 feet off the property under a tree where she partially ate her and buried her to come back later. I followed her trail/tracks for over a mile and lost her when I hit a six-strand barbed wire fence absolutely covered up in wild briar roses, cat briars, and blackberry vines. Thoroughly disgusted I went back home to see if I could find a spot to scope out the kill and shoot her when she came back. It started to rain super hard, and I wasn't going to sit out there all night in a storm that bad.

Decided to take a shower and get ready for bed. Everyone is locked up for the night, nothing she can do. Get out of the shower and the power went off. The babies are screaming so loudly I can hear them in the house. It's hailing, the wind is horrible. I look out the kitchen window and in a flash of lightning see the henhouse with the Buttercups and other yard birds get picked up by the wind and thrown through the fence. It landed on its back and the wire hooked into the corrugated aluminum and kept it from going anywhere else. I then see that the roof I'd reinforced and the back I'd put on the tractor is gone. Cinderblocks and the other concrete I'd used to weigh it down is all over the place. There is shit literally flying everywhere. It wasn't supposed to stop until three. So there's nothing I can do because I'm not dying to get out there and have a tree break or drop a limb on me.

So I get up first thing and run out there. All the birds in the barn are fine. All the birds in the six-pack are fine but wet. The birds in the upturned house look terrible but all alive. The heat lamps are on the tractor and I can't see any chicks. I get closer and it rained so hard that while the power was off the water rose up all the way from the pasture into the chicken pen and yard. 100 babies were dead. Drowned and chilled to death. The two ducklings were fine. I found four or five babies that weren't totally dead and put them under heat inside to warm them up. It was 10:30 before I got into work today. I'm sure they'll be dead when I get home. I am so disgusted. If I'd had them on wire, they'd be fine. If I'd gone out in the storm and brought them inside they'd be fine. I woke up when the power came back on and it was still pouring. I looked outside and saw the heat lamps were on so I thought they'd be fine. One hundred three-4 weeks old chicks are dead. I have people driving from West Texas to get birds from me at the Poultry Sale this weekend. I have no idea what I'm going to bring. Or what I'm going to do with a trash sack full of dead babies sitting in my garage when I get home.

I'm just really frustrated and disheartened. At least the babies inside were alright. Hopefully, the eggs are alright from the power being out in the incubators.

Oh, and the heifer came back and finished the goose off last night or this morning. Just left the feet, head, and wings.

That's awful! I'm so sorry.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Holy sh!t dude that's crazy horrible. So sorry man.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Holy sh!t dude that's crazy horrible. So sorry man.

Yeah, it's just really disappointing. Plus I'm out the $1000 I'd have made at the sale this weekend.

 

[Chookwagn]

A big storm system was going to come through last night. I got home from work to weatherize the tractor the 102 three+ week old babies were in to keep the water and wind off of them. All is well.

Decided to mow for an hour or two where I'd not mowed previously. Decided to let the geese out to graze while I was outside with the mower. Let the geese out and peek into the barn to check on the broodies. I only see two. One Blue and one Buff. There should be two Buffs. Turn around and count the birds on the grass. Two Buff ganders, one Buff hen, one Blue hen. Go into the barn to check on them. Definitely just two. Walk back outside and triple count the geese. Definitely short a hen. Start looking for her.

That thrice-damned bobcat came over the fence, chased them into the barn, when everyone ran out but the broodies, she went for one, Killed her, drug her out of the pen, over the fence, nearly taking it down with their combined weight, drug her about 300 feet off the property under a tree where she partially ate her and buried her to come back later. I followed her trail/tracks for over a mile and lost her when I hit a six-strand barbed wire fence absolutely covered up in wild briar roses, cat briars, and blackberry vines. Thoroughly disgusted I went back home to see if I could find a spot to scope out the kill and shoot her when she came back. It started to rain super hard, and I wasn't going to sit out there all night in a storm that bad.

Decided to take a shower and get ready for bed. Everyone is locked up for the night, nothing she can do. Get out of the shower and the power went off. The babies are screaming so loudly I can hear them in the house. It's hailing, the wind is horrible. I look out the kitchen window and in a flash of lightning see the henhouse with the Buttercups and other yard birds get picked up by the wind and thrown through the fence. It landed on its back and the wire hooked into the corrugated aluminum and kept it from going anywhere else. I then see that the roof I'd reinforced and the back I'd put on the tractor is gone. Cinderblocks and the other concrete I'd used to weigh it down is all over the place. There is shit literally flying everywhere. It wasn't supposed to stop until three. So there's nothing I can do because I'm not dying to get out there and have a tree break or drop a limb on me.

So I get up first thing and run out there. All the birds in the barn are fine. All the birds in the six-pack are fine but wet. The birds in the upturned house look terrible but all alive. The heat lamps are on the tractor and I can't see any chicks. I get closer and it rained so hard that while the power was off the water rose up all the way from the pasture into the chicken pen and yard. 100 babies were dead. Drowned and chilled to death. The two ducklings were fine. I found four or five babies that weren't totally dead and put them under heat inside to warm them up. It was 10:30 before I got into work today. I'm sure they'll be dead when I get home. I am so disgusted. If I'd had them on wire, they'd be fine. If I'd gone out in the storm and brought them inside they'd be fine. I woke up when the power came back on and it was still pouring. I looked outside and saw the heat lamps were on so I thought they'd be fine. One hundred three-4 weeks old chicks are dead. I have people driving from West Texas to get birds from me at the Poultry Sale this weekend. I have no idea what I'm going to bring. Or what I'm going to do with a trash sack full of dead babies sitting in my garage when I get home.

I'm just really frustrated and disheartened. At least the babies inside were alright. Hopefully, the eggs are alright from the power being out in the incubators.

Oh, and the heifer came back and finished the goose off last night or this morning. Just left the feet, head, and wings.

Dang! Sorry man

 

[WallyG74]

That’s a serious gut punch kick in the balls. Sorry man.

 

[Iluveggers]

@ColtHandorf My sympathies on such a horrendous evening. That really sucks.

 

[The Moonshiner]

@ColtHandorf can you trap that bobcat? That's what I'd try.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Dang! Sorry man

Thanks.

That’s a serious gut punch kick in the balls. Sorry man.

Yeah. I actually felt sick for hours after I found the babies. Like death doesn't really "bother" me, but picking up all those wet bodies with their feathers plastered to them just made me feel dirty? Like it was all a waste. All-day I felt like I needed another shower.

I should mention that one chick did survive. 100% a Red Orpington cockerel.

@ColtHandorf My sympathies on such a horrendous evening. That really sucks.

Thanks.

@ColtHandorf can you trap that bobcat? That's what I'd try.

I don't have a trap large enough. She doesn't spend any time on my property for the most part.

The green line is a well-traveled game trail across four other properties and a road. She does not stick to the tree/fence lines. She's very brazen. I was able to track her pug marks, as well as feces, scent markings, and fur so I know she travels it. I have no idea what sort of laws I'd be violating if I put out traps on someone else's land. I have no way of contacting any of those property owners either, as there are no homes on them. They are just overgrown bobcat sanctuaries for the most part. I have several people interested in coming to deal with her, but I may have one last trick up my sleeve before I call it quits.