Coon Traps

We all have problems with coons eating our chickens.  My additional problem is that I have a dog.  I love my dog and don't want her to get caught in a traditional trap.  I tried using live traps, but once a coon got in, my dog ate the trap to get to the coon. 

So I got to looking for a dog safe coon trap.  Here is one I came up with. 

It's called a lil griz trap.  The idea is that you bait it with marshmallows, or some other sweet treat that a coon will like.  They reach inside, the trap closes on their arm, and they are stuck until you retrieve them.  It only closes as they pull their arm out.  A dog can step on it all day and not set it off.  Pretty neat little contraption.  Here's the link:  http://www.wildlifecontrolsupplies.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=NWS001&Product_Code=WCSGrizz&Category_Code=WCSSS

I have no idea if that's a good price or not.  But it's a starting point.  Good Luck!

Racoon leftovers

We have been discussing what can be done with the remnants of a coon kill.  One of the gals on Whizbang Chicken Pluckers caught a coon in the act and shot it.  Since the kill was fresh, she wanted to know what she could do with it.  The overwhealming majority of responses all agreed.  Dispose of the carcasses.  Use them for coyote bait, burn them, or compost them. 

Racoons carry many transmittable diseases like rabies and distemper.  It is just not worth the risk to process and cook a coon kill.  Usually you find the evidence long after the fact and its far too late then.  Never process a sick chicken, roadkilled chicken, or remnants from predation.  Chickens are cheap, hospital stays are not.

Time release feeders for weekend getaways

When I was younger I had fish.  Whenever I came home from college for the weekend I would put one of those time release feeder floaties in the tank for them so they didn't starve to death.  With the long weekend I had the same fear for my chicks and ducks.  So I grabbed something that we normally put out for deer and turkey.  You can find a Flock Block at any of your local farm stores (TSC, Orscheliens, MFA, etc) or at Bass Pro or Cabela's.  I believe they are cheaper at the farm stores, unless you catch them on sale.

These are compressed blocks of cracked corn, sunflower, millett, and all the yummy stuff that chickens, turkeys, and ducks just love to munch on.   Before we left I put fresh water in the duck pond and turned the auto waterer on.  I filled both feeders with food and put the flock block out in the middle of the pen.  We went to Bennet Springs over the holiday and had a blast.   Fished, ate, shared adult beverages with friends, went yard saleing, and enjoyed the lunker that my hubby caught.  I wondered how they would do while we were partying at Oak Hill and enjoying ourselves. 

When we came home Monday night I went out to check them.  Both feeders were still over half full!  The block was about 3/4 gone, and all my poultry was lazing around in the shade of the run, looking very contented with themseleves.  So, I declare the flock block "time release" feed a complete success. 

And I have to tell a silly duck story.  Of course the duck pond was filthy when we got back.  So I washed it out and was filling it up.  They are getting used to me because they came down close to watch what I was doing.  I changed the hose from stream to spray and they got right up to the edge of the pool.  I angled the hose a bit so that the spray would hit them and they were in heaven.  I have never seen a duck dance before, but they did!  They danced around in the spray and waggled their little butts.  I laughed until I cryed they were so funny.  We'll have to try that again.  I think the boys will enjoy watching them immensely. 

I hope everyone had as good a weekend as we did. Good food, good friends, good times. 

Whoo Hooo! Found a Motor

I had been very down over the last week because I was looking at Motors.  A single phase 3/4 HP electric motor is running anywhere from 159.00 to 289.00.  That's way outside my budget for this plucker.  I didn't know what I was going to do.  Fortunately, I am married to a genius! 

Last year our A/C broke down and we had to replace the fan and motor.  The fan was in shards, but the motor appears to still work.  At least my husband got it to working last night.  So now I have a motor and the plucker project can continue. 

We made great progress on it over the last week.  I say "We", but Roger and the boys have done most of the hard work.  Pulling those fingers through the body and the featherplate are a booger!  I still have to order some more fingers, but we should be closing in.  It's a good thing too.  One of our friends is ready for it to make it's debut.

The wonders of crushed limestone

My chicks got sick this week.  I lost one of my Black Bhramas and the others were all having very loose watery white filled stools.  Everyone on the groups agreed that it was probably Coccidosis and that if I didn't do something quick I would lose about half of them.  They told me to clean the coop out, put down a layer of powdered lime, and fresh hay.  So that is exactly what I did.  I also stopped by Tractor Supply and got a new water jug and took away their auto waterer.  Even putting it up on the tire in the pen didn't keep the silly ducks out of it, and I'm pretty sure that is what got them sick in the first place. 

So they are all doing better now, but I have to express my joy and amazement at finding crushed limestone.  Ever since I raised those Cornish Cross, I have had a problem with ammonia build up in that coop.  I leave the windows open and clean it out regularly, but it will still knock you over on a hot day.  It was bad last night, because they had all had diarrhea.  I started putting that limestone down and by the time I was done, they ammonia smell was GONE!  I even took the remainder of the bag and spread it in the yard.  It works wonders for odor.  I am so happy.  I didn't use the pure lime, I was afraid it would burn their feet.  I used crushed limestone that I got at Orscheliens.  It's really cheap, 4$ for a 50lb bag.  Even with spreading it in the yard and the coop I didn't use the whole bag.  This is going to be a regular staple for me now. 

Candling Eggs

Ok, I stole these pictures from http://www.nifty-stuff.com/candling-eggs.php, but so many of us are talking about Candling Eggs, I thought this would be a neat subject for today's post. 

Candling is the process of telling if your eggs are fertilized and you should continue to devote incubator space to them.  All you need to conduct candling is a dark room and a high powered flashlight.  Take one hand and make an "O" out of it.  Place the egg on the top of your hand.  Put the flashlight under the egg, using the cupped hand to block out any external light.  What you should see is something like the following:

This is an unfertilized store bought egg.  Everything is uniform an you can't see any signs of development.

This is a 1 day old fertilized egg.  You can see what looks like a yolk formed at one end.  This egg will grow into a chicken with the proper temperature and humidity.

This is a two day old fertilized egg.  You can already see the development of blood vessels when you candle it  and you can see how much it has grown in just 24 hours.

The three day old egg looks remarkably different from the unfertilized egg.  The embryo takes up almost the entire interior of the egg now.  This chick is well on it's way to hatching.  The normal gestational period of an egg is 21 days.  This is a great activity to do with your kids.  They'll enjoy it and you end up with cute fuzzy chickens.

What is Free Range?

My chickens are getting ever closer to laying.  When I went to get my oldest from a friends house I saw a couple of signs that said "Free Range Eggs".  So, I got to wondering, what exactly are Free Range Eggs.  I don't keep my chickens in cages, but I do have a fenced run for them.  Unfortunately they keep it bare of weeds.  Or maybe that fortunate, I don't know.  Anyway, Does that qualify?  

Turns out it does.  According to the USDA, the only requirement to qualify for Free Range is that the chickens have access to the outside.  There are stories that some people have qualified with as little as having an open window in their coop where they keep the chickens caged.  I always thought of Free Range as having access to open pasture.  Unfortunately I can't do that.  My baby girl (a pit boxer mix names Jasmine, Jazzy for short.) would snap them up as Jazzy Snacks.  There are other neighborhood dogs that would go to town on them too.

So the question comes down to this.  Technically I qualify as a Free Range egg person, but do I really feel right in calling them that since they are in a fenced in yard?  I haven't come to a decision.  I would love to have your input.  What do you think I should do?