Return of the voracious caterpillars

 Look what has come back to strip my remaining two fennel plants!

swallowtail butterfly caterpillar on my fennel

I'll work on an actual update ... after I draw and paint the caterpillars.

Swallowtail butterflies

 A couple weeks ago, my four fennel plants were getting stripped of leaves.  Hubby mentioned it, and asked if I wanted him to pull the culprits off and feed them to the chickens.  I said, "No!"  Not only do the chickens not like the taste of them, they weren't hornworms but swallowtail caterpillars.  Tuesday morning, as we were feeding the chickens and rabbits, the butterflies were emerging from their cocoons.  This has happened before, but this time we got pictures when one of the butterflies stayed on my hand as I was moving them up high enough the cats couldn't reach them while they waited for their wings to dry.

Swallowtail butterfly on my fingers

Now, for a bit of interesting news ... I finally signed up for a Facebook account here.  It's strictly for business - critter stuff and art - no I won't be doing memes and definitely will not be acknowledging politics or currents events there.  Just my critters and my art, for anyone who wants to follow along on that (and has an account).

Solstice chick update

So today is the winter solstice.  The good news is, the days won't get any shorter than today - they'll incrementally get longer until the summer solstice.  The bad news is, the cold has not yet hit.  As much as I hate cold weather, I hope we can get a few days of frost to kill off the fleas which have staged a major invasion here in the 75+ weather we've been having.

The first batch of chicks hatched last month are happily growing.  We still give them a lot of food, but it doesn't seem possible to keep food in front of them at all times as the voracious little monsters hoover it up rather quickly.  I got weights this morning (forgot last night, and the previous two Tuesday evenings!) for the four week mark.  Two runts at 5.1 and 5.2 ounces, one in the middle at 5.5 ounces, (those appear to be cockerels) one pullet at 7.3 ounces, one "not-sure-just-yet" at 7.9 ounces, and one pullet weighing in at a hefty 8.0 ounces.  The big girl looks pretty good shape-wise, although her legs are a sooty color.

Pollux watching his latest batch of Wyandotte babies

left to right: a runt, the not-sure-yet and the dark blob is the big girl

on right, that's the big pullet's butt ...
looking closer that is a nice wide tail set!

Wyandotte chicks

I have a second batch of Wyandotte chicks, hatched out Friday.  Fifteen total, but one may be a cull if its neck doesn't straighten out better.  It appeared to be malpositioned in the egg.  This bunch is from only two breeding groups: Azar x the Sisters, and Tiny x the Pretties.  Week zero weights are: one at 1.2 ounce, one at 1.3 ounce, seven at 1.4 ounce, two at 1.5 ounce, and four at 1.6 ounce (all from Tiny x the Pretties).  Looks about the same as the first hatch, but I won't be able to compare again until week four because I missed weeks two and three on the first hatch.  Ah well, I'll get numbers for each week before summer hits this time.

new batch of Wyandotte chicks, hatched 16 Dec

The great possum war rages on, with egg thief number seven trapped and dispatched the previous weekend.  Something tripped the larger trap overnight, but was not caught, so I'll be looking for number eight in the traps soon.

Hubby has been busy the past week:

tree clean-up

That's a water oak behind him, and yes it came down on the workshop.  Given the size of the tree, that's really not much damage to the workshop roof.  The hurricane in early October partially uprooted this water oak (and about three other trees, but further back on the property) and it's basically been hanging for two months as we couldn't figure how to get it down without landing on the pig pen, the workshop, the power line, or the house.  It must have got tired of waiting on us, because it came down last Wednesday evening - and there was hardly any wind that night, so it came down straight.  I did need to call out the power company to get it off the power line to the main box, but we didn't actually lose power, so again not as bad as it could have been.

If I don't post again before the holidays, hope everyone has good ones, and hope y'all are enjoying all the warm weather!

Post-Thanksgiving post

Time flies when you keep yourself busy ... it's already the end of November??  That means my "baby" has had another birthday - he's 23 now.  Wow.

We hosted a small Thanksgiving here, with hubby's parents coming down.  I roasted a Muscovy duck, gifted to us by Frank and Caroline back when I helped them wrangle and castrate piglets and picked my three up.  I think that was September.  Along with the duck, I baked two decent sized sweet potatoes, then steamed some broccoli florets (store-bought, my plants are yet big enough to feed us) and opened a can of cranberry jelly.  Simple but very tasty.

roasted muscovy duck

That's the china platter I intended to send Feyd off on ... he would have filled it just a bit better, I think, but we were denied that by some nighttime predator.

Speaking of nighttime nuisances, egg thief number SIX has been trapped and dispatched.  This one tripped the smaller trap a couple times before finally getting caught in the larger of the traps.

possum number six caught

This one is pretty big, but still acted juvenile by opening its mouth and hissing at me.  I guess it grew up big from eating all those eggs ... the traps are set again, although one of the Flashy Girls sprung the larger trap again, thinking she should lay an egg next to the ones in the back of the trap for bait.

I put enough of a dent in the possum population to load up the incubator on the 1st, and chicks hatched on the 22nd.  I helped three out of the shells, as I had too many eggs in one plastic strawberry basket, but one chick was too weak and one had a dislocated hip, so eight chicks made it out of the incubator to be weighed and put in with Pollux.  The eight weights were: 1.2; 1.3; five at 1.4; and one at 1.5 ounce.  In the week just past, we lost two chicks due to smooshing (it's a technical term), likely from Pollux.  He didn't immediately adopt this group, and it's probably because I didn't take his last chick away soon enough for him to start feeling lonely and inclined to adopt any little ball of fluff.  We even had to set up the heat lamp and a tub of pine shavings for the chicks ... and of course there is always at least one who hops out immediately then cries about being alone and colder.

I weighed the remaining six chicks last evening, and had three weigh in at 1.9; one at 2.2; one at 2.4; and one at a whopping 2.6 ounces.  Next week I will be certain to have a paper bag I can fold closed to weigh them again!  The heat lamp provides just enough light for them to jump out of the plastic strawberry basket.  I know the original eight were five Bigfoot x Feyd's Daughters; two Azar x the Sisters; and one Tiny x the Pretties (the largest, also the surviving one I helped out of its shell).  I don't know which died.

Another note on those plastic strawberry containers: they don't even hold in/out newly hatched chicks.  I used four with the lids cut off to (try to) separate the eggs in the incubator, and it was not long after drying off that the chicks were up and over the sides of the baskets.  Lucky for me, I did not cut off ALL the lids on my stack of baskets, so I can try again with the current batch cooking in the incubator.  I had five breeding groups' eggs in there for that hatch, and this time I limited it to only three breeding groups (Azar x the Sisters; Tiny x the Pretties; and Azar x the Flashy Girls).  No eggs from Feyd's Daughters this time around, as one of the Daughters is broody and has been since the 17th.  She still has that crazed look in her eyes, so she may go the distance despite this being the wrong time of the year for them to go broody.  (NB: Lengthening daylight hours usually triggers those hormones, along with upping egg production just prior to broodiness.)

I'm also working on starting seeds, but I'll save that for another post.

Egg thief number 3 caught

Another egg thief caught, and this one is no juvenile.  With luck, I have now trapped the ringleader, aka "Big Mama."

unhappy trapped egg-thieving possum

this one is twice the size of the others

I did manage to collect some Wyandotte eggs yesterday before milking time - twenty-three, to be exact.  I found no intact eggs in the Big Butt Girls' tractor, and when hubby went to collect what looked like two eggs in with the Flashy Girls, he only found empty shells.  The older hens should be done molting, but they won't lay really well until after the solstice when the days start to get longer.  Y'all can see why I am trapping these egg thieves - I need all the eggs I can get for the incubator.

Egg thief number two

I was going to take a pic, but then I decided to just deal with it right away and worry about a pic on the next one maybe.  Apparently, we have a whole family of possums eating our chicken eggs.  It was noticeable because I had decided it was time to fill up the incubator and start hatching ... and finding broken egg shells in multiple tractors really had us tweaked.

I'm pretty sure I've seen Big Mama possum over the summer in the back pasture - big ugly thing.  Hubby saw her the night before last, when he went out behind the workshop to see if that annoying armadillo was digging back there again.  Wednesday morning, the first juvenile was in the smaller trap (borrowed from Lynn) but nothing in the bigger trap (bought Tuesday at TSC, 30 days to return with receipt taped to the packing).  Yesterday there was still nothing in the big trap, and hubby hadn't reset the smaller one Wednesday night.  This morning, another juvenile in the small trap ... and eggs missing from the tractor with Azar and the Sisters where I think I saw three yesterday and hubby remembers two.  I'm wondering if the juveniles are too small to trip the big trap.

Hubby had been moving the fence around, trying to close up where ever they are getting in, and I think he's got it so Big Mama can't get inside the electric perimeter, but obviously the younger ones still are.  I plan to move the big trap to behind the workshop and see what we get.  Meanwhile, the small trap will be set up in the same spot again tonight.

We are not doing catch-and-release, because they would just come right back.  The juveniles are too small to even bother with skinning and feeding to the pigs, so we are just drowning them in the big brooder tub (actually a 110 gallon stock tank) then tossing the carcass out back into the state-owned woods.

Meanwhile, the mosquitoes are HORRIBLE this year.  These aren't just the small, sneaky normal mosquitoes - these suckers are big enough to see and feel the bite.  Speculation is they blew in with the hurricane.  I wish they'd go back to whichever pit of hell they came from and leave us alone.  They are bothering a whole lot more than just hubby and me - the mosquitoes are all over the goats, rabbits, and pigs ... probably the chickens too but they don't let me get up close to see.

Fowl pox

Apparently, fowl pox is going to be an annual event here.  The past two autumns, I had noticed what looked like fungus growing on some chickens' combs ... last month, Lynn mentioned she had looked up fowl pox because a friend of hers said it was on one of her hens' comb.  So, I looked it up also, and yes, this is what went through the flock last October and the autumn before that as well.

Googling for treatment got me this article on fowl pox, and it pretty much sounds like chicken pox in people.  It's a virus, so antibiotics do nothing for it unless the bird is getting so rundown that a secondary bacterial infection tries to take advantage of the weakened immune system, and yes it is possible for a bird to die from it, although most only catch it once.  I haven't seen anything similar to shingles in chickens (which is chicken pox coming back in later adulthood) but I have seen mention of a vaccine for it like is now currently available for chicken pox.

Fowl pox can get ugly if it gets into the mouth, airways, and/or esophagus ... and that is called wet fowl pox.  The dry version stays on the outside with lesions on the face, comb, wattles, earlobes, and even legs and feet.

We'll be doing what we can: bleach-cleaning waterers, feeding fermented scratch twice a day, Nutri-Drench in the water, and vitamin crumbles on top of the wet scratch.  We have abetter chance of getting snowed in under a blizzard than being able to control the mosquito population here.  The neighbor to the north has a dug pond; the property to the south has a dug pond; the property to the west has a natural pond; and the state land to our east has a swamp.  Emptying buckets and wagons and whatnot here on our property does nothing for the number of mosquitoes.

Oh, if anyone wants pictures, there is Google image search.  Just be aware that "wet fowl pox" will get you some graphic photographs of what it looks like on the inside of dead chickens.

Venomous snakes

Hubby and I just killed the second water moccasin (cotton mouth) in less than a month.  This one started out under the carport, then slithered under the car.  Hubby backed the car up after bringing the compost fork and a shovel over.  We use the compost fork the "spear" it, then the shovel to cut its head off, once we can be sure the head isn't going to be free enough to strike.

The previous water moccasin had been inside the electric perimeter, in front of a chicken tractor.  Neither the carport nor the enclosure are good spots for a venomous snake - they are what they are, cannot be anything else, and therefore we kill them.  We had the same issue with pygmy rattlesnakes the first spring.

These are the first two water moccasins we've seen since moving out here, and hubby and I briefly speculated on why we are suddenly seeing them.  The past two springs seemed to have more rain, and the cottonmouth population likely had a boom, but with fewer good rainfalls so far this spring the snakes are probably expanding their hunting territory.  I really don't want them sampling my chicks.

Chicks pics and a visitor

First up, pictures of the adorable chicks, now a week and half old.

splash Silkie and Gold-Laced Wyandotte chicks

week and half old chicks

The little Wyandotte pullets look to be getting in wing feathers, and there is a bit of variation in the amount of gold.  I'll be interested in seeing how they feather out.  As for the Silkies ... they are unbelievably cute!  I can now understand why and how people keep these as pets.  They are very laid back, and don't really panic when picked up.

Now, previously when we have had wildlife visit us, it has been less than pleasant.  The past few days though we have had a nice visitor in the form of a female pheasant.  I think she's attracted to all the chicken feed that inevitably spills a bit, and I am hoping the hawks, eagles, and owls leave her alone.

female pheasant

our pheasant visitor

Beans and corn sprouted

So Saturday, hubby found the bean sprouts peeking up through the compost.  Then we both went over to where I planted the corn, and sure enough there were little green blades popping up!  This morning they are obvious enough for the camera to focus, so here are pics.

garden bean sprout

newest garden bed with beans

corn sprout

corn bed, with a couple volunteer acorn squash

Yup, there are at least two volunteer acorn squash growing with the corn already.  No bother, as we are planting squash in this bed anyway.  Probably crook neck summer squash and zucchini - we do love stir-fry zucchini!

Now, in other news ... last night after we went to bed, as we were almost asleep, we woke to the noise of a shotgun.  Next door.  He fired off at least half a dozen shots, so we knew it was serious.  I asked this morning, and sure enough, the bears are awake already.  Grrr ... this bear was trying to open up their pig pen, so they are doing repairs this morning.  It did get one of their chickens, but both cows and both pigs are unharmed.  That's particularly good, because the cow is about to calve and the sow about to farrow!  I guess the electric netting fence will be tested sooner than we hoped.  Cross fingers and knock on wood that the bears are successfully deterred.

Bears.

Regarding Bears.
FL Wildlife Commission's bear info page

In the link above, near the bottom of the page, is a video produced by the Florida wildlife commission. I found this to be quite informative.
They have several Bear related articles which might be worth the reading.( I'm not done yet!)
So far from what I gather covering last nights attack on the Chickens, It's our fault the bears attacked the chickens. Ok. So, to get just a little deeper here, the big rule is Don't feed the bears and don't attract the bears! Sounds good. What we needed to know before last night was that we were attracting bears. We also needed to know what bears ate and how they go about finding food. That's on us, no going back.
The big thing is securing food, trash, gardens and live stock. Which to this point we haven't really given much thought about. We don't create very much trash and mostly put it out in the morning before trash pick up. So that's covered. The gardens are all open boxes so it's fair game if we loose some to critters. No big deal they grow back?! Right?...
Livestock. Ok, we're slack where that's concerned. Mostly because we just didn't know we needed to do more. We have had our chickens for 18 months or more and until the Raccoon attack we'd not had any problems. Now things are different. we are looking at electric fencing now we are on a budget and have to plan this out. Going back to the FWC articles and video the big winner is electric fencing as a nonlethal answer to keeping out chickens safe. They say it's the most reliable way to keep bears and other critters out of where you don't want them.
I have said before education is painful and I stand by it. (Experience)
In the meantime I have put the tractors back together. I was surprised at how well they took the beating. I am hoping that the bears don't bother us again tonight
well I've gone on long enough.
Thanks for reading.

Black bears attack

Last night, two black bears got into the bigger "better" chick tractor, and killed 10 or 11 chicks.  One or both tried to get into the shorter triangle tractor the nuggets are in, but could not touch them apparently.  Hubby caught the bears red-mouthed and in the act.

Once we scared off the bears (very loud noise from a cap-and-ball black powder pistol, our noisiest firearm) we tried to assess the damage and catch the survivors who began coming out of various hiding spots.  This morning, there was one more survivor where the bigger tractor had been, looking for his buddies and food.  They aren't holding very still for counting, but it looks like we have 12 or 13 assorted chicks left now, along with all 8 of the nuggets.

I did not see the bears, but from hubby describing one as smaller than the other, I suspect this was a repeat visit from our unwelcome neighbor who came up on our porch (!) back in October.

While it is extremely expensive to build a bear-proof coop, and logistically impossible to make a bear-proof tractor, we are toying with the idea of setting up a safe zone with electric fence perimeter to scoot the tractors around inside.  Unfortunately that will need to wait until payday.

Raccoon attack

Our new chick tractor was hit in the wee dark hours of the morning.  Hubby had put a piece of plywood up against it where the chicks were sleeping too close to the wire, but apparently the plywood piece was too light, as he noticed it out-of-place this morning ... then saw the carnage.

First, do NOT try to tell me how "cute" raccoons are.  In fact, it's best to not attempt to tell any chicken owner that ... especially not one who has had to deal with the aftermath.  I knew there was at least one chicken-eating raccoon around, because my neighbor lost all but one hen to a raccoon back in the spring.  I saw the blood splatters on her coop before she washed them off.

The good news is we only lost one chick this time.  The bad news is the varmint will be back, probably tonight.  The ugly news is I awoke at 0200 and 0400 (approximately) because I was having dreams of going out and finding dead chicks.  Ugh.  Next time I have dreams like that, I will be going out to check on all the birds!

Now, for a not-really-bad pic of the poultry wire pulled out in the corner.

corner where raccoon hit, pulling out the wire

Yes, that is blood on the PVC pipe.  A basic description of how a raccoon kills a chick: it reaches its hand-like front paw in through the chicken wire, grabs the head and/or upper neck ... and yanks it out.  The body does not fit through the hole in the chicken wire, and so that stays inside.  This particular coon got a leg also.

So hubby and I are heading into town to buy enough stuff to make a second chick tractor, with the modifications we talked about yesterday.  These modifications certainly do include half-inch hardware cloth!

I guess this can be put down as a hard lesson learned.  Raccoons are stronger than I thought.  I am assuming they are every bit as difficult to catch/trap/kill as their reputation suggests.

The unwelcome neighbor

Our one major unwelcome neighbor just came onto our front porch to sniff at our front door ... the black bear.  No pic, as the camera was not my first thought.  It wasn't quite my third thought either.  I can't believe how quiet she was, either ... hubby was sitting here with his back to the open window and didn't hear her.  Yes, we know she is a "her" because one of her cubs had ventured just out of the treeline.  When I did think of grabbing the camera and opening the door (after she walked off the porch!)  she loped off to her cub and the trees.

This is the first time we've actually seen her ... and she just walked up to our front door.

No parsley seeds for me

As I was walking around and looking at my various garden boxes ... I notice my two curled leaf parsley plants which were bolting nicely will not be giving me seeds.  The swallowtail caterpillars have found them, and hubby and I counted fifteen caterpillars on the two plants!  Hubby had to come out and see this.  I must admit, it is impressive in a flower-stripping way.

there are fifteen swallowtail caterpillars stripping my curled parsley bolts

close up of the biggest swallowtail caterpillars

 Hubby commented it is good for the caterpillars that we now know what they are ... meanwhile I was thinking how lucky they are I know the chickens don't like the taste of them.  I had wanted seeds from these parsley plants!  They have been healthy and contributing fresh parsley leaves to our meals for almost two years now. *Sigh.*

Swallowtail caterpillars on my parsley

So, about a week ago I learned that I did not have funky-colored hornworms on my dill when I read (and saw) a post by Eli a couple counties south of me called "Where did my swallowtail caterpillars go?"  Oops ... I had fed them to the chickens!  The chickens didn't really care for their taste anyway.  So, now I knew that the funky neon yellow, black, and white design on a green hornworm-ish body is a "no-kill" pest.

This morning I found at least four (I swear I counted six the first time) of these swallowtail caterpillars on the one flat-leaf parsley bolt from last year's salad box.  After a quick Google image search, I have decided to let them eat however much of the parsley flower buds they like!  Very pretty, especially if these will have some blue on them.

After several tries, I finally cussed the digicam into focusing on one:

swallowtail caterpillar on my flat leaf parsley