tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964477228579644195.post8790249964557428667..comments2023-12-24T07:53:03.538-08:00Comments on News from Oak Creek Ranch: Another Chicken MassacreOak Creek Ranchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02875705582058188289noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964477228579644195.post-31716817114652562632017-06-05T18:45:47.283-07:002017-06-05T18:45:47.283-07:00So sorry to hear about the skunk massacre. I lost ...So sorry to hear about the skunk massacre. I lost a fully grown hen - Verna, one of my favorites girls - on Friday, to a brazen pre-dark, pre-roosting, out in the open raccoon attack. The coon was a lactating mama who was so hungry it was hard to persuade her to leave the carcass. Ended up trapping her later that evening.<br /><br />What has worked so far keeping predators out of my coop is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D82U4DE/ref=s9_acsd_top_hd_bw_b2QzDwZ_c_x_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-3&pf_rd_r=STAZHYZPMKW2Y0FRD58C&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=f57e66e5-0b6a-55c9-bcb0-308478c17a7a&pf_rd_i=2231042011" rel="nofollow">1/2 inch square hardware cloth</a> - sunk into the ground 6 - 8 inches down. It is a total pain to work with, hard to cut and tears your hands up, but the critters will not try to dig near it...Calm, Forward, Straighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08360276614916635500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964477228579644195.post-47537664998304061902017-06-05T17:17:07.935-07:002017-06-05T17:17:07.935-07:00Wow, I'm sorry to hear about the chicks and th...Wow, I'm sorry to hear about the chicks and the skunk(!), but those two hens really are smart!!<br /><br />Is there a shortage in food that these guys keep coming onto your property and attacking the hen house?! <br /><br />You are brave! I could never go anywhere near a skunk!<br />An American in Tokyonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964477228579644195.post-20886220831429433132017-06-05T16:56:37.586-07:002017-06-05T16:56:37.586-07:00This is so hard! We feel so bad because we were s...This is so hard! We feel so bad because we were supposed to protect them. I have seen raccoons be that smart and determined but never a skunk. I feel for you guys. Michaelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09413312789979424764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964477228579644195.post-86946217302321184372017-06-05T15:24:41.401-07:002017-06-05T15:24:41.401-07:00I can picture you in you running in like a a bansh...I can picture you in you running in like a a banshee. I would have done the same. I'm sorry that you lost the chicks. TeresaAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05311118900077951863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964477228579644195.post-52096122893873464132017-06-05T15:22:14.622-07:002017-06-05T15:22:14.622-07:00That could have been gruesome. Good that they too...That could have been gruesome. Good that they took the goats away.Oak Creek Ranchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02875705582058188289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964477228579644195.post-52786335835664592462017-06-05T15:20:38.902-07:002017-06-05T15:20:38.902-07:00We thought we had solved the problem -- Brett put ...We thought we had solved the problem -- Brett put chicken wire on top of the existing wire fencing covering every inch of the sides and tops. He even sunk the wire into the ground so we were sure (and wrong) that the pen was predator safe. And, we know it was a bobcat last time because I saw it in the pen. I'm not sure that a skunk would take on a full size chicken but the chicks... obviously, yes. Those hens were smart. Skunks have lousy eyesight and they were way up high. I bumped their roost on accident when I was looking for surviving chicks and they didn't make a sound. Oak Creek Ranchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02875705582058188289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964477228579644195.post-71663012192659785522017-06-05T14:03:53.127-07:002017-06-05T14:03:53.127-07:00Dear Lord, my heart sunk reading this. I was goin...Dear Lord, my heart sunk reading this. I was going to ask about that in the last post because I wasn't 100 percent sure you'd solved the past problem. Those 2 hens...what the heck?? Do they have some special charm?? Could it have been a skunk ALL this time?? I had no idea skunks were so viscous. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05884895423938250735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964477228579644195.post-50595164909464416072017-06-05T11:26:17.486-07:002017-06-05T11:26:17.486-07:00What a rotten surprise! The barn I ride at had bro...What a rotten surprise! The barn I ride at had brought in goats yesterday, to clear weeds in the paddocks. Mamas with kids afoot were unloaded into a pen and given time to adjust to new surroundings. Mid-morning, a Coyote was brazenly watching through the fence. The goats were loaded up and taken safely home. It could have turned into a horror show. English Riderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01712384532126551307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964477228579644195.post-71263962881841983462017-06-05T10:24:12.379-07:002017-06-05T10:24:12.379-07:00OMG that's horrible I just played your video f...OMG that's horrible I just played your video for my husband and now....lythahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01719586193059362084noreply@blogger.com