Even more so frustrating when you can't do any protecting of your livestock and lively hood as some predators are protected by law.
In the last three days I have lost three chickens to the protected Coopers Hawk. (See the picture below...warning, not pretty)They not only kill my chickens, they also scare the flock and this causes stress in the eggs. This causes the egg to change size, thickness of egg shell becomes thin, and they lay rather odd looking shapes. I call them 'wonky' eggs. I try calling in the crows, by getting big bones and putting them all over the yard. The chickens enjoy the bones too. The crows seem to keep away the hawks, and for some time, that works. However, the egg production go down as the crows eat the eggs, but on the upside is they don't kill the chickens. My dogs do a good job of chasing after the hawks when they are perched up on a electrical pole. Some hawks just look at the dogs ignoring them, and others fly off. Our chickens have the entire 7 acres of land to roam. They do have a coop to retire to at night but prefer to scratch around for bugs all over the place during the day. Last winter season I lost 23 chickens to the hawks. Typically the white chickens don't survive long out here as they are easily seen when they hide in the bush, but in the last two days, two of the chickens were baby black giants. I decided to try the black giants as to me they look like crows and lay a nice egg. They take longer to start laying eggs, and are not as fast egg producers as some of the other breeds. I have one giant black rooster that is one sweet guy. I can pick him up and carry him around. He stays by me while I am outside doing stuff. Kind of like a puppy that doesn't chase a ball. He just likes to follow me. I call him Buck-a-roo. I typically don't name my birds. I learned a long time ago to not get attached to them. I have had my favorites.
So today I start the day off early with yard work making my presents known to the hawks. They still seem to have the last laugh and a full belly. The price of seed has tripled in the last two years, I am not even breaking even. So reality is setting in, now I am trying to figure out a different agricultural crop that will be more cost effective and easier to raise in the mid to higher south west rocky desert. I want the green apple trees, figs, and pomegranate bush in the dwarf size. Then I won't need to climb a tall latter as I get older. My husband thinks grapes! I say they are a lot more work, (for me in the long run) reminding him we live on grounds that are mostly rock! The garden crops seem to be a failure year after year here. We have a lot of golfers that eat the roots under ground. I also discovered that leghorn chickens like to fly and they went up and over my garden fencing to enjoy all of my food. I do have a couple of grow barrels that help keep out the underground critters only to lose the fruits to birds and rodents I just can't seem to win. My neighbor thinks exotic cactus would be a good crop. Sounds a lot easier to me, except that I would like to have something to eat for my efforts too.
So if anyone has ideas, I'd like to hear it. Or what has helped you?
Thanks! Suzanne
Warning, picture below is not pretty!
No comments:
Post a Comment