A Fresno County neighborhood is worried about the death of several pets in their community.
An animal has been killing chickens and at least one cat in a rural neighborhood on McKinley west of Highway 99.
Lots of folks in Fresno County have backyard chicken coops, or even pet chickens. And they can become tasty targets for a variety of wild animals.
This backyard has been home to a small flock of chickens for more than 20 years. But their numbers are declining, quickly.
In the past week one chicken a night has been killed by an unknown predator. Their owner, Stella Mange says she is awakened by their screams, which sound almost human.
Action News asked, "You didn't know chickens could scream."
"Not like that," replied Mange. "Not like that I mean they were screaming for their life. It's really heartbreaking because they are like pets to you."
Stella's chickens have free run of the yard. They roost at night in a tree. But whatever is killing them climbs right up. Stella's daughter Debbie says there's usually not much left.
Stella's Daughter, Debbie Hatfield said, "There was feathers, different piles of feathers all through here down the side of the house and the last one that had actual chicken remains, we had to clean up that mess."
Now, it's not just chickens. A neighborhood cat was found ripped apart next door.
In talking to experts we've learned the most likely culprit is a red fox. They are common along the outskirts of the city. With an empty field next to her property, a fox would have easy access to Stella's chickens, and they can climb trees and they like coyotes can kill cats.
Stella is doing what she can she's bought a trap, but so far, the predator hasn't bothered it. She keeps a BB gun ready, in case she sees the culprit. But admits it won't do much. She wants to protect the animals, but feels helpless.
Mange saidm "I feel sorry for them because I'm defenseless I can't do nothing for them."
The Fresno County Agriculture Commissioner's office is responsible for keeping wild animals from commercial poultry and livestock operations. Action News contacted them on Stella's behalf, and they have offered to help.
Red foxes are not native species and can be treated as pests and killed if necessary.
2011年10月13日星期四
2011年10月8日星期六
As with all poultry, just follow the recipe
Like that revelatory moment when martinis start to taste good or summer turns with one chill breeze to fall, that's how chicken farming entered my synapses — synap, crackle, pop.
Our friends Mitch and Teresa were taking the kids on vacation for a few weeks, leaving their pre-pubescent hens in the hands of several neighbors, who tag-teamed the task. One neighbor one week, another the next. I found our stint with the chickens just long enough to fall in love with the whole concept.
"I want chickens too," said the little guy. So there you go.
Reminds me of disco, the senseless way raising your own chickens has swept the country, except that I think there is something deeper to it, more symptomatic of our current neuroses over the economy. Being self-sustaining seems suddenly very appealing.
All I know for sure is that organic is good, but nonorganic is far cheaper. And a chicken is really a beautiful and impressive bird, particularly when properly seasoned and roasted.
In Mitch and Teresa's case, they were simply seeking some fresh eggs in the morning, along with a little hobby for their two boys.
When I first visited, I'd expected something like that yard in "The Wizard of Oz," with chickens running everywhere and gingham-wearing movie stars falling into hog pens, but Teresa and Mitch's backyard was remarkably normal. Nice pool. Cabana. Chicken hut.
There were tomatoes reddening in the garden, and loads of lettuce, which we were told we could feed to the chickens because they love greens. There was also a tub of chicken feed.
Basically, like me, a chicken will eat anything.
Mitch had built the 10-foot-by-10-foot coop. Before the California real estate crash, it alone would've fetched $450,000. Now far less. Because the schools are decent, probably in the $200,000-$300,000 range. Like I said, they have a pool.
Anyway, the first thing a backyard chicken farmer does is acquire some chicks, which apparently — like Canadian Viagra — can be bought through the mail.
"As long as the birds are properly packaged and can reach their destination within 72 hours of hatching, the U.S. Postal Service will accept live birds for delivery," a National Geographic article explains.
Foolishly obsessive over all new activities, I picked up a copy of "Recipe for Raising Chickens" by Minnie Rose Lovgreen, who is to chickens what Shakespeare was to broken hearts.
"You can test a hen to see if she's laying," Lovgreen writes. "There are two bones [on] either side of a hen's rectum. You see, a hen only has one vent for everything. If you can fit two of your folded knuckles … ."
OK, let's move on.
Lovgreen advises that it's good to clean the henhouse once a year with lime, and the thought of all these suburban moms and dads spending a Saturday brushing lime paste onto nesting boxes makes me think this chicken-raising phenomenon might last about one more week.
"Another kind of mite gets on the chickens' legs, and their legs get scaly," Lovgreen writes. "Rubbing carbolated Vaseline on their legs at night should help this problem."
There's another activity that will be hugely popular with our suburb's Chardonnay Moms.
Meanwhile, Lovgreen says roosters are necessary if you want fertile eggs, and "it's perfectly all right to eat fertile eggs, or non-fertile eggs. They taste the same. Sometimes people wonder about that."
Our friends Mitch and Teresa were taking the kids on vacation for a few weeks, leaving their pre-pubescent hens in the hands of several neighbors, who tag-teamed the task. One neighbor one week, another the next. I found our stint with the chickens just long enough to fall in love with the whole concept.
"I want chickens too," said the little guy. So there you go.
Reminds me of disco, the senseless way raising your own chickens has swept the country, except that I think there is something deeper to it, more symptomatic of our current neuroses over the economy. Being self-sustaining seems suddenly very appealing.
All I know for sure is that organic is good, but nonorganic is far cheaper. And a chicken is really a beautiful and impressive bird, particularly when properly seasoned and roasted.
In Mitch and Teresa's case, they were simply seeking some fresh eggs in the morning, along with a little hobby for their two boys.
When I first visited, I'd expected something like that yard in "The Wizard of Oz," with chickens running everywhere and gingham-wearing movie stars falling into hog pens, but Teresa and Mitch's backyard was remarkably normal. Nice pool. Cabana. Chicken hut.
There were tomatoes reddening in the garden, and loads of lettuce, which we were told we could feed to the chickens because they love greens. There was also a tub of chicken feed.
Basically, like me, a chicken will eat anything.
Mitch had built the 10-foot-by-10-foot coop. Before the California real estate crash, it alone would've fetched $450,000. Now far less. Because the schools are decent, probably in the $200,000-$300,000 range. Like I said, they have a pool.
Anyway, the first thing a backyard chicken farmer does is acquire some chicks, which apparently — like Canadian Viagra — can be bought through the mail.
"As long as the birds are properly packaged and can reach their destination within 72 hours of hatching, the U.S. Postal Service will accept live birds for delivery," a National Geographic article explains.
Foolishly obsessive over all new activities, I picked up a copy of "Recipe for Raising Chickens" by Minnie Rose Lovgreen, who is to chickens what Shakespeare was to broken hearts.
"You can test a hen to see if she's laying," Lovgreen writes. "There are two bones [on] either side of a hen's rectum. You see, a hen only has one vent for everything. If you can fit two of your folded knuckles … ."
OK, let's move on.
Lovgreen advises that it's good to clean the henhouse once a year with lime, and the thought of all these suburban moms and dads spending a Saturday brushing lime paste onto nesting boxes makes me think this chicken-raising phenomenon might last about one more week.
"Another kind of mite gets on the chickens' legs, and their legs get scaly," Lovgreen writes. "Rubbing carbolated Vaseline on their legs at night should help this problem."
There's another activity that will be hugely popular with our suburb's Chardonnay Moms.
Meanwhile, Lovgreen says roosters are necessary if you want fertile eggs, and "it's perfectly all right to eat fertile eggs, or non-fertile eggs. They taste the same. Sometimes people wonder about that."
2011年6月1日星期三
Bear spotted in West Asheville
Several residents on Brucemont Circle in the heart of West Asheville saw the bear shortly after 8 a.m. near a chicken coop owned by three families in the neighborhood.
"I think the bear was checking out the chicken coop when I drove up," said Brucemont Circle resident Paul Moore, who was returning home from taking his daughter to school.
The bear stayed in Moore's nextdoor neighbor's yard for several minutes, then climbed a fence and went into another yard before disappearing.
Moore said he couldn't guess where the bear might have come from. It would have had to cross one or more major roads, including possibly Haywood Road or Patton Avenue, to get to Brucemont Circle.
Send us your bear news
Have you seen a bear in your yard or in a public place in the Asheville area recently? Send us a bear photo if you have one along with your contact information.
"I think the bear was checking out the chicken coop when I drove up," said Brucemont Circle resident Paul Moore, who was returning home from taking his daughter to school.
The bear stayed in Moore's nextdoor neighbor's yard for several minutes, then climbed a fence and went into another yard before disappearing.
Moore said he couldn't guess where the bear might have come from. It would have had to cross one or more major roads, including possibly Haywood Road or Patton Avenue, to get to Brucemont Circle.
Send us your bear news
Have you seen a bear in your yard or in a public place in the Asheville area recently? Send us a bear photo if you have one along with your contact information.
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