• Scam Alert. Members are reminded to NOT send money to buy anything. Don't buy things remote and have it shipped - go get it yourself, pay in person, and take your equipment with you. Scammers have burned people on this forum. Urgency, secrecy, excuses, selling for friend, newish members, FUD, are RED FLAGS. A video conference call is not adequate assurance. Face to face interactions are required. Please report suspicions to the forum admins. Stay Safe - anyone can get scammed.

End of our backyard chicken experiment.

DavidR8

DavidR8

Scrap maker
Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
For the past seven years we've had two Speckled Sussex hens, Amy and Opal. Lovely creatures, very social and interactive. Pretty regular layers too.
Last week we lost Amy to a Cooper's hawk and about an hour ago we lost Opal to another Cooper's hawk. Different hawks but definitely Coopers.
Pretty sad week for us.
IMG_1072.jpeg
 
Doggggboy said:
Sorry to hear that. Mother nature's a bitch.
A friend had about 30 laying hens and last year a mink got in and slaughtered them all overnight. Never ate one.
She got one more hen and calls her Lindsay Lonehen.
Click to expand...
We didn't think Opal would last long without her trusty lookout.
Mother nature at her finest for sure.
 
Sucks to hear, sorry for your losses. As much as they are livestock, they do have personalities and are pretty enjoyable to have around.

We're down to one original from our flock from last spring. The free ranging is over, as it just turned into all you can eat wing night for a fox. It happened in 2 separate attacks, and I just happened to have been watching the last one when it got 3 of them.

Fortunately the Wife turned into a crazy chicken lady right away, and has now diversified (by egg colour) the bunch, and I think we're up to 14 now, plus a rooster. Who's a giant Dick BTW.

Don't be afraid to get some more at some point. Like you say, they're pretty social, and fun to have around. Just don't get a Rooster. They're Dicks.
 
Doggggboy said:
Sorry to hear that. Mother nature's a bitch.
A friend had about 30 laying hens and last year a mink got in and slaughtered them all overnight. Never ate one.
She got one more hen and calls her Lindsay Lonehen.
Click to expand...
Bloody mink, we've been pretty lucky for the last few years. Mink only eat (drink) the blood, so they'll wipe a flock out quickly, coon eat the meat so 1 or 2 hens fill them up.
 
DavidR8 said:
For the past seven years we've had two Speckled Sussex hens, Amy and Opal. Lovely creatures, very social and interactive. Pretty regular layers too.
Last week we lost Amy to a Cooper's hawk and about an hour ago we lost Opal to another Cooper's hawk. Different hawks but definitely Coopers.
Pretty sad week for us.
View attachment 57824
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear. We had 6 hens for the last number of years. Lost one to a coon. Would have rather it was a cool hawk than a trash panda. And most of the others to age/illness.

We're down to 2. Stopped laying a couple of years ago. I'm enjoying my retirement, so figure they deserve the same.

They are really social, aren't they? When we got them my wife mentioned to the seller about my daughter taming them. He said, "You can't tame chickens." Sent him a picture a few days later of my daughter laying on our deck swing with a chicken stretched out on her stomach and sleeping.
 
Tomc938 said:
Sorry to hear. We had 6 hens for the last number of years. Lost one to a coon. Would have rather it was a cool hawk than a trash panda. And most of the others to age/illness.

We're down to 2. Stopped laying a couple of years ago. I'm enjoying my retirement, so figure they deserve the same.

They are really social, aren't they? When we got them my wife mentioned to the seller about my daughter taming them. He said, "You can't tame chickens." Sent him a picture a few days later of my daughter laying on our deck swing with a chicken stretched out on her stomach and sleeping.
Click to expand...
Ours never liked being picked up but they loved when we were in the yard. If I was outside reading they would often climb up on the lounger and snooze beside me.
 
Yeah, crappy about the hawk cleaning you out.

I had Salmon Faverolle chickens for a bunch of years, they were about the most laid back lot you can imagine, and came in a flurry of wings and legs, when we called for them, to give treats of scratch feed.

Had a couple bad years, lost all my Fav's, then got hit by a Mink that destroyed 25 turkey poults, then lost my next replacement batch of hens to a shed fire (they knocked down a heat lamp that had a broken filament....Figures. It lit up when it landed on the floor...) Kinda gave up on keeping birds for a while. Might get some again, in the future.

Folks that have not had close experience with Livestock, usually really underestimate how much, for lack of a better word, personality and individuality they can have.
 
trevj said:
Yeah, crappy about the hawk cleaning you out.

I had Salmon Faverolle chickens for a bunch of years, they were about the most laid back lot you can imagine, and came in a flurry of wings and legs, when we called for them, to give treats of scratch feed.

Had a couple bad years, lost all my Fav's, then got hit by a Mink that destroyed 25 turkey poults, then lost my next replacement batch of hens to a shed fire (they knocked down a heat lamp that had a broken filament....Figures. It lit up when it landed on the floor...) Kinda gave up on keeping birds for a while. Might get some again, in the future.

Folks that have not had close experience with Livestock, usually really underestimate how much, for lack of a better word, personality and individuality they can have.
Click to expand...
Everytime people discuss personality of animals I just can help but flash back to this scene.

and yeah, I agree animals, and chickens (and pigs) in particular can have loads of personality

 
Tomc938 said:
They are really social, aren't they? When we got them my wife mentioned to the seller about my daughter taming them. He said, "You can't tame chickens." Sent him a picture a few days later of my daughter laying on our deck swing with a chicken stretched out on her stomach and sleeping.
Click to expand...

My daughter has Easter Egg Chickens. They lay coloured eggs.

They literally jump up into the kids arms cuz they like to petted and carried. Some more than others.

She has lost a few to hawks and coons too. The worst is weasels though. One weasel will kill every chicken in the hen house in one night.
 
Sorry to hear about your chickens.

We had a hawk nest in our backyard for several summers when we were in Mississauga, very entertaining especially the year they were competing with the family of crows a few trees over. The crows were smarter but when it comes to flight it was like F15 vs. Cessna. At one point we had a bird feeder, but then we stopped filling it because we realized it became the all you can eat buffet for the hawks, they would just swoop down from the roof line whenever they were hungry. The baby hawks started their training on squirrels probably a week after leaving the nest, they're incredibly capable.
 
Last edited:
Oh man i do love roast chicken. As a kid we had chickens and turkeys running wild on the farm, turkeys are the worst for getting into stuff though, any loose wiring hanging out on tractors got ripped off. Always an adventure when fixing equipment as well, crap everywhere.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top