The Chicken, Duck, Turkey Thread

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Oh, the drake that wound up staying (the alpha; the others wandered off) used to hate me... every time I would walk outside, he would come running (flying), get right in front of me, and stay just out of reach, quacking his fool head off. If I went the other direction, he would turn around and run as hard as he could to catch me and try to chase me off, lol.

I would actually play with him like that... walk toward him a while, turn around and let him chase me, then jump at him and walk toward him a while. Rinse, lather, repeat.

The hen would just sit off to the side and watch. I think he was trying to protect her from this big, hulking, two-legged predator.

(Side note: the turklings are doing just fine this morning. The hen is staying on them pretty good and keeping them out towards the barn; maybe if the temperature warms up, she'll let them roam a little and I can get some pics.)

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

Here are some more pics
this time the pea fowl family on the jeep


the gable end of the coop , with double door for easy cleaning access
, , the black chicken called angela
and the ducks which my mum got from the old lady over the road

and the poly tunnel converted as the pea fowl nursery

we just added a tarp over the back end to protect from rainfall , and put in some branches and hay for perching and comfort
the pea fowl spent 30 days in there

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: TheRedneck

I would have LOVED to watch that!!

A bunch of ducks going postal on a rooster!

I can't even picture a mad duck, to me ducks are just perpetually happy animals. I love ducks, they're hilarious!

My dad was pretty damned redneck. we lived in small town in west texas, coahoma. The house has since burned down, but it used to be the only 2 story in town, and dated back to 1880 when it was the third home built in the settlement that would eventually become coahoma. A shotgun home that had piecemealed up into a 3 bedroom with a second story and 2 indoor bathrooms.

Our next door neighbor was a 90 something year old woman named Mrs Smith. I mowed her yard for her for free, because I liked her. She was a good woman. Sometimes i'd sit and watch her sunday bible shows with her so she wouldn't have to "go to church" alone.

Stage is almost set here....

....we bought 2 ducklings for my little sister: Daffy and Daisy (yeah, my redneck dad mixed/matched franchises). They were fun pets, but after about a year or so, they both started chasing my sister. Daffy did it the worst, and he'd bite her on the back of her leg (she was maybe 3 at the time), leaving a blood blister.

My dad, having had his typical saturday of drinking beer all day, grabbed his six shooter (a .22 revolver) and went out to shoot Daffy and put an end to the terror his daughter was feeling. The first shot missed into the dirt...or so we thought. The second shot killed the duck, and mom went about plucking/preparing it (the rule is if you kill it you eat it...meaning we once had to eat an emu that was unwanted and came on some land we had bought for a deer lease).

About 30 minutes later the deputy shows up. Apparently the bullet that missed into the dirt, this little .22, ricochet up and through the steel fence, and into the kitchen window next door where she was doing dishes. Missed her and lodged in the door facing behind her.

Dad got a talking to for being a dumbass, she would never have pressed charges. We fixed her roof, mowed her yard, fixed her cars, etc. We were better to her than her family. So the deputy just gave the "quit being a dumb redneck" speech.

a reply to: sapien82

I really, really like that design for the poly tunnel. I might have to see if I can throw something similar together.

We just moved into my mother's house (she passed in December after us caring for her for several years), which is 80 yards from our old trailer. The poultry sort of moved with us, which places their old haunts a little walk away. I've been thinking about moving the hen house and putting up a better roost at the end of the house, and that design looks cheap and sturdy for a covering. Maybe a PVC frame with chicken wire, ring the bottom with hardware cloth like I did the coop.

TheRedneck

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

...the deputy just gave the "quit being a dumb redneck" speech.

Isn't that like trying to tell a cat to be a dog and bark instead of meow?



TheRedneck

Ducks are some of the funniest creatures. They have a slapstick sense of humor. If you trip in front of them they will laugh at you. If another duck stumbles they all laugh. I like them but cannot tolerate them because they foul all my waterers. Chickens free range and eat sidewinders and scorpions and spiders. All the leghorns get eaten at night. Owls and coyotes, mostly owls get anything white at night.a reply to: TheRedneck

I have already been planning on chickens and now I have a damn good excuse to get peacocks too! Wiener dogs and peacocks...I see a theme here.

a reply to: sapien82

Our old chicken coop looked exactly like your 'poly tunnel'. We made it out of #4 rebar bent into a hoop like that and then covered it with chicken wire and opaque 5 mil poly over the top of that (so light could still get in). That thing was bulletproof!

Yours looks nicer than mine did. I used to call ours the 'poor man's Airstream trailer'.

We've got a different arrangement now.

originally posted by: TheRedneck
a reply to: imitator

Oh,great... now I got to get me some trail cams... gee, thanks, like I didn't have enough to do...

Seriously, looks like you have a great place there. We have the place cleared clean up to the treeline, so it's not as much cover for predators that roam into the yard. And even though I know they're around, so far no major issues with coyotes or bobcats.

I just had a thought... kind of a sick thought, but a thought... living this far out in the country, I am not a bit shy about taking a leak around the tree line. To the predators' noses, I might be marking territory and telling them to stay out.

TheRedneck

LOL... I have thought about marking territory like that, and it does work! But then I wouldn't need trail cams : ( The preds would just take another path... Actually, I have done that during deer season, works on deer hunters. : P

Speaking of keeping a place clean and clear...Goats! way better than a zero turn lawn mower.

I'm liking the pics and stories, great stuff.

a reply to: imitator

I wish I could keep some goats here! I went around an old fence where we used to keep them a while back and repaired it. Got a few nannies and a good billy and turned them loose. Within a few months, they were dead.

The same thing happened years ago, and was why we stopped keeping goats around. They're great for keeping the underbrush cleared out and the snakes away... and the kids are so damn cute it's probably illegal.

Anyway, what happens is: the goats do fine for a while, then they start slowly getting lethargic. They never lose their appetite or lose weight, but after they get weak, we'll walk out there one morning and a goat will be dead. No signs of damage as in from a predator, no blood discharge, no sign whatsoever of what killed them, but it's happened over and over. There's nothing new (that we know of) growing there that wasn't there back when they would live and do fine. There are 2 goat sheds there, small wooden buildings for them to shelter in, and we've checked them for any sign of spiders, scorpions, snakes, etc. Nothing. I sort of suspected them because at one time we had hogs in one, and the goats started dying off shortly after that. But that's been 40 some-odd years ago.

We were able to keep one pet goat out at the barn, but we had to keep her tied to a long leash (until some fool shot her)... the fences are in rough shape since they were abandoned after Dad got sick back in '77. She did fine at the barn. I have searched the Internet, but still don't have a clue what's killing them... and I don't have time or money right now to fix the fencing out at the barn.

Both areas are old virgin hardwood with a scattering of small-to-midsize cedars, and the associated underbrush. Perfect for goats, since the mountain is made of limestone rock and they have plenty of rocks to jump around on. The topsoil ranges from a few feet to nothing.

Anyone with ideas, please post them!

ETA: Smith and Wesson makes a darn good deer hunter repellent. just sayin'.

TheRedneck

I tried...

The turkey hen has her little ones out feeding, and I tried three times to get a decent shot of them. She has them in our old garden spot, which is now a thick mangle of grass and bushes... almost impossible to see them unless they're running away!

This is the best shot I could get... and I couldn't pick any out. They're hiding in the fence row at the right of the shot.


TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

Sorry to hear about your goats... sounds like some-kind of parasite, maybe growing out in your weeds or grass.

My brother is the goto guy about goats, if I get a chance I could ask him. He's done all that 4-H and FFA stuff with goats etc. He'd probably tell me it could be hundred different things.

Right on about the Smith and Wesson for deer hunter repellent.
Yeah, we had some idiot put a deer feeder near our fence line, it was in wizzing distance...
It's not there no more haha...

Nice pic, almost looks like a wild turkey...
I wish I could free range turkey too, but I think my dogs would chase them... It's always something. : (

a reply to: imitator

Hey, if he can shed some light on what's happening with the goats, I would appreciate it. I miss having goats.

I got these turkeys thinking they were domesticated (they were a gift from a friend), but I'm wondering if they weren't just tamed wild turkeys. I've always heard domestic turkeys were so dumb you had to keep them out of the rain so they wouldn't look up to see why water was falling and drown themselves... but these are pretty smart. I wish I could get a better shot of the chicks... as soon as I do, I'll post it. I promise.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

Maybe a parasite as suggested or something in the grass , is there any other signs of damage to the leaves on trees in the area where they feed ? any signs of toxins on the leaves ?
or in the grass , could be a chemical or heavy element in the soil or something ?

My mum wants to get goats , but pygmy goats




as for your fencing have you tried wattle fencing ?
I supposed it is time consuming , but if you watch this video
im sure you could knock something up to stop the goats getting out

a reply to: sapien82

I've been all over that place... spent a couple weeks patching fence. I've seen nothing that looks out of the ordinary. As for the soil, where would any chemicals come from? This is mountain land... nothing has been put there and no chemicals used there. Also, no grass... just brush.

There's likely a half mile or so of fence around the barn area; it's one of the larger fenced in areas we have. It's all cattle wire on red cedar fence posts at the edge and on trees inside the treeline. Over 40 years, several trees have fallen across the fence, and one drive-through homemade gate in the mountain has rotted away. Even though I am looking at a lot of work to get it livestock-worthy, it is still a lot less work than re-fencing everything. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

Has there ever been any mining there? Just about everywhere has had mining at some point, and I'd be surprised if your area didn't have some at some point. Many types of mining involve the use of some highly toxic chemicals to extract the metals and minerals from the ore. You've mentioned 'mountain' several times and whenever I see that I immediately think gold and silver mining operations, both of which involve absolutely deadly chemicals. These chemicals leech into the soil and can show up and contaminate things far from the mining site(s).

Also, have you ever had the ground water tested? AL as I recall has a pretty high water table. Your birds are probably getting mostly surface water if they drink outside a feeder, but livestock like goats and other larger livestock will drink from areas where groundwater reaches the surface due to the larger quantities.

ETA...Also, from what you've described, I'd be looking for some sort of exposure to something which takes a while to have it's detrimental effects. Could be something as simple as an old junk car somewhere leaking antifreeze into a pond or something. Another thing, is there any granite around? As in the rock, granite? Goats love climbing on things, especially rocks. All granite is somewhat radioactive (many don't know this, granite counter tops and all). Most of it is very low level radiation, but some of it can actually be pretty "hot" radiation wise. I've known people who had to have granite removed from their houses due to the radiation. You might consider having someone do a background radiation survey. Lastly, any old military installations nearby, bombing ranges or weapons storage areas nearby? There's another source of some pretty nasty stuff, and cleanup is often avoided by declaring areas "Wildlife Preserve" and the like. (Note: Think - Rocky Mountain Arsenal)

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Yeh I was thinking mining and any mining operation creates unwanted waste !

even nickel , or tin mines !

they can often leave heavy metal elements as waste from ore crushing etc
If I were you I'd contact the local EPA and ask them to come test your soils for heavy metal poisoning
is there a lot of foliage on the bushes are they dense ? or are they sparse ?
as the amount of vegetation itself is a good indicator of soil health

a reply to: sapien82

Good grief!...the very LAST people on planet Earth someone should contact is the EPA!!! They won't do anything but make life absolutely miserable for absolutely everyone, and I mean every-one! I can think of a thousand people I'd contact before them!

(shudder!)

There's lots of ways you can have things tested without involving the federal government.

Have you ever seen how the EPA works? Someone asks them to test something and the next thing you know they're condemning everything for miles, conducting decades long investigations all while barring people from their own property with no recourse, lawsuits 16 ways from Sunday... No way...not them!

ETA...The EPA is probably one of the best examples you could think of for a federal government agency run completely amok!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Wow, a lot of suggestions! Thanks! Let me hit them one at a time...

No mining. No one has ever dug a shovel into the ground or blasted a rock. This place is pristine nature. There's a gravel pit (strip mine) about a mile and a half away, on another ridge, but I doubt that would have any effect.

BTW, I do call it "my mountain," but it is actually a smaller ridge. It is benched, with three limestone benches going to the top. If you're in CO, you'd call it a bump.

Water: yes, we have had it tested. Our well last test was almost perfectly free of organic contaminants. It does have a decent sulfhur content and if memory serves, a hint of iron. The well is around 100' deep.

I don't know of any artesian welling areas here. My neighbor (1/4 mile) dug a well that was about 10' from artesian, but I don't think that would affect these pens. They have (well, had until a tree came down recently, will have again) a watering trough with a faucet from the well directly above it that they drink out of.

No junk in or directly around the pens. There is an old dumping area farther up (2nd bench, I think) that hasn't been used in ages... I guess it wouldn't hurt to check it out... water runs downhill and something could have started leaking. I don't know for sure, but it is possible there are old batteries up there. It predates people worrying about that kind of stuff.

We do have granite! It is typically mixed in with the limestone...we used to call it "hard limestone" back in the day. I built a bridge once across a small creek at the edge of the mountain (not around the goat pens) where I needed to bust out the limestone on each side to pour a concrete footing on it. I used a 15-pound sledgehammer,and it broke up pretty easy.... except for one 'finger.' I swung the sledge at that little finger sticking up and it rattled every bone in my body when it hit!
I wound up pouring that 16" section out of concrete rather than laying a concrete block there, lol. That sliver of granite wanted to stay more than I wanted it to go.

Thing is, the granite is scattered throughout the area,and only that one area seems to be affected. It also didn't used to have a problem, but the granite has been there longer than anything else. Still, wouldn't hurt to run a Geiger counter over it... been meaning to build one anyway.

No military anything. Pristine. And gonna stay that way, if I have anything to say about it.

Thanks again! I'll hike up sometime and check out that dump.

TheRedneck

a reply to: sapien82

The brush is very dense. The soil... I used to say don't drop a spark plug up there unless you want to grow a car.

When the wife and I moved back home about 20 years ago, she found a bad garlic clove and tossed it up in the mountain, figuring it would just rot. It had other ideas. I now literally have a garlic farm from that one clove tossed out!

It's a little ways off from the pens, just to avoid confusion.

I've looked for sparse areas around the pens, but so far I haven't seen any drop in the thickness of the vegetation. That was the big advantage of having goats... we could walk through the pens! They border the back of the yard, so it really helped the looks of the place not having that dense undergrowth everywhere, and it made it easier to keep trees from coming up in the yard.

TheRedneck