Monday, April 23, 2012

Intruder


There was a ruckus in the chook pen the other day. The Captain was making all manner of new and alarming noises and the sense of urgency made me dash straight up to see what all the commotion was about. Remy, who has grown quite fond of the chooks, was already up at the pen, clearly distressed by what he must have witnessed. But I was too late. The intruder was still in the pen and there were brown feather strewn all over the floor. A cunning Goshawk had somehow managed to find its way into the fully enclosed pen and couldn't get out. 

I did a quick head count and the five Silver Spangled Hamburgs were all being sheltered in the corner by the Captain and two white frightened Silkies were found huddled in a nesting box. We had lost our two brown Silkies. So sad. I grabbed my iPhone out of my pocket and took a quick photo for identification purposes before going in to get the attacker out without losing my eye. I did a quick repair job on any holes in the pen before going inside and making a cup of tea to recover form the ordeal. 

We have never lost Chooks before. Predators aren't a huge problem here and we have always been able to have the Chooks free-ranging. We lost the odd Chook in New South Wales due to foxes, but their existence in Tasmania is still subject to much debate. I feel a tad guilty that I hadn't let our Chooks free-range yet as maybe they would have been able to seek cover in the bushes. Maybe it would have been worse. Who knows? We hadn't actually named the four Silkies as we were waiting to find out their gender. I have now quickly named the two white Silkies "Lucky" and "Hope" in line with naming the birds after place names from our recent travels.

There has been no sign of the Goshawk since so I'm confident it's moved on so I can still start free-ranging them in another week or so. If anyone has any experience with Goshawks, I'd love to hear!

On a happier note, we went to the Poultry Show on the weekend to pick up a couple more Chooks to add to the menagerie. It was great seeing so many different types of breeds available. I was tempted to get some Frizzles but instead we left with a pair of the most divine Indian Runner Ducks which also bought us an afternoon of fencing to house them separately from the Chooks. These are the sweetest things I have ever seen. They are tall and slender and act like penguins. When we took them out of their box they kept tripping over things and falling on their bellies like cartoon characters. 

Welcome "Cecil" and "Rose".





23 comments :

  1. I've never heard of a Goshawk. How shocking. I'm guessing it ate the chickens? (Is that a bit naive of me?)

    I did watch a documentary on foxes in Tasmania once. Someone thought they found fox poo in the bush and Native Rangers were going crazy with worry ... turned out it must've been someone's idea of a prank.

    Anyway, I do love your ducks. They look like they have their wings placed behind their backs. So, so cute. Give them a kiss.

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    1. Yes, let's be frank- the Goshawk ate the 2 chicks. Ate everything except tbe feathers :-)

      The ducks are hilarious. They're joined at the hip at the moment and a bit timid but I'll give them a smooch after they've settled in.

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  2. Oh no, that's so sad & nasty way to go!! I'll be very careful with our first run of chickens, so far the biggest threat is our enormous German Shepherd who chases birds for entertainment, so not sure how he'll go with our free ranging chickens (when they are old enough) as we have marked out a place for the raised fancy chicken coop for night time nesting & our side passage for their daily exercise which measures about 200 square feet (what a wasted space of land really!! So glad it's finally being put to use with the chickens, i so do NOT like this house, can't wait to move.
    Ok, just thinking of all the could-go-wrong scenarios but hope the puppy scent will keep foxes away, we live in the suburbs but have kangaroos in our street - such is Canberra, bush capital & all.
    Thanks for the lovely comment on my blog - is there a difference between speckled & spangled Hamburgs, my they are SO pretty, i mean, white feathers with black polka dots, i couldn't be happier. They are 6 days old & just the sweetest companions, i think baby chicks could be addictive, oh, maybe why we both have so many children!! Love Posie

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    1. My friends German Shepherd eats chickens so keep an eye on your puppy- can you keep him out of the side run? Not sure about speckled v spangled but think it is the same. Just wait till you are on your bit of land- the addiction will take on a whole new level :-)

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  3. Oh Lordy i forgot the ducks, they are glorious, they look like an old married couple, already!! My sister gave me some duck eggs (enormous) when i visited her in Bowral last week, they are enormous, i'm baking with them tomorrow, yay, love Posie

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  4. Ohhhhh your new ducks are lovely. Very sad news about your 2 silkies.

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  5. Oh no Mel, the poor silkies.
    Indian Runners are my favourite ducks, we used to have four, but we went away and my in-laws let them free range overnight, sadly the foxes got them. I'm waiting for a local breeder to have some more on offer as the kids are keen to have them again.
    No help on the goshawk front foxes are our main predator.

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    1. Sneaky foxes. I just hope the ducks are too big to be considered food for the Goshawk, who obviously picked on the Silkies as they were still quite small.

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  6. Oh my goodness, that's awful Mel, what a distressing experience. What the heck is a Goshawk??? I'm assuming a big nasty bird of some sort.
    Your new duckies are amazing though, so pretty and white. Quite the little beauties to add to the collection.
    I think Lucky and Hope are also quite apt names for the two surviving silkies. Hope there are no more tragedies on that front.
    xo

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  7. It's a bit hard to see but that's the Goshawk in the first photo-not any larger than the chooks really but just the ultimate predator. Hope there are no more distressing tragedies too.

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  8. A big yuck - to part a.
    But how beautiful are those ducks??
    So sweet.
    Hope you don't have any more unwelcome guests.
    :-) x

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  9. Oh no! Am sorry that you lost two of your chooks like this. But this post has certainly been helpful to us - we've been debating for some time over whether we should fence the 'roof' of our new run. Your experience has definitely made our minds up for us!

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  10. It puts a whole new slant on "something nasty in the woodshed"! Something gave our girls a fright and chased them round the yard in a flurry of feathers last week but we are still none the wiser as to what it was. I have got serious duck envy though!

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  11. I have duck envy!!! They are gorgeous! Do you need a pond for them? So sad about the little silkies.. Fingers crossed it never happens again. xx

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    1. Hi Emma, they don't need a pond like other ducks to breed etc but they still like a bit of water to wash in. We just picked up a paddling pool ( one of those clam shell pool/sandpit things) rom the tip and they are happy with that. We also used a large kennel ( also from the tip) with straw on the floor for their shelter. They use that at night but generally lay out in the sun together during the day.

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  12. What adorable Indian runners :D

    Ten years ago, when there was a foot and mouth outbreak here and restrictions on livestock movements were in place, the sheep in the herding with dogs display at the local ag. show were replaced by about 15 Indian Runners. Watching them run in and out of the sheep pens at the dogs' behest was a comic delight. Such characterful creatures.

    So sorry you lost those Silkies x

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  13. Oh Mel! What a shocker for you. The pixies were so looking forward to meeting all your chickens. I don't mention this dastardly event to them. And I'm just as fascinated about the presence of goshawks as anyone and I'm a local! J x

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  14. Ugh, poor chicks. The ducks look like characters. Great names, too.

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  15. Huuuugs awful to have lost your babies to the goshawk. Pretty awful :( and desperate to have dived in through the shelter!

    Your ducks are so adorable. I'd loooove ducks but I'm forbidden. Poo is too much apparently says mr bok. You'll have to let me know how messy they are.

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  16. Oh Mel, so sorry about your chooks. I love ducks, but know I would get too emotionally attached, we have a lot of raptors here at the hut, including a resident pair of wedge tailed eagles, not a good mix with ducks. We'll stick to plants and lots of them. Besides, we had wild ducks take over our dam last year which was lovely.

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  17. Hi mel, I've not commented before. I actually found your blog a few weeks ago through researching whippets as family dogs. Then I found out you are blog friends with Marian whose blog and IG photos I love. What a small world! I live in Brighton in the UK and have 6 children....anyway... I wanted to comment and say how sorry I was that you lost your silkies to that naughty goshawk.I can't believe he got in there. It's horrid losing animals. Good old remy straight there! Your ducks are gorgeous. I just love their posture. Good luck with them and I hope your chooks aren't too traumatised! Sarah

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  18. Loving the new additions to your family - Cecil and Rose (who could resist such beauties!!!)
    I notice they are male & female - let me know when you are selling a few females in the future LOL!

    Clever girl!!

    P.S We got 6 point-of-lay Isabrowns this w'end :-)

    Much love
    xoxox

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  19. Mel I think I'm in love with your Indian Runners. How sleek and beautiful do they look!
    Awesome additions.

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