The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Wildlife => Topic started by: in the hills on February 20, 2013, 12:28:37 pm
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I usually have nothing against them ..... BUT ..... we have a really aggressive one here at the moment.
Ventured out into the sunshine yesterday to throw out a few handfuls of corn for the chickens. As I walked away the girls started to make a real fuss, thought a bird of prey must be overhead, turned to see squirrel hanging onto one of the Rhodies backs. :o Jumped from one hen to another and was in no hurry to scamper off even when I shouted and chased.
Never seen them attack the hens before.
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:o never seen that either but i know they are tough cookies.....they also have needle sharpe claws...poor girls.......not sure they would be able to lift a hen but certainly hurt one.........I used to smile at squirrals running out of my neighbours green house carrying tomatoes up the tree.......well I never????
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Just shoot it.
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:( I agree, the sooner it goes the better before it shows others it's antics.
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Roast squirrel? Squirrel pie? Assuming it's a grey, I agree that the only cure will be to get the gun out. Normally I'm not very bloodthirsty, but if it was my hens being attacked I know who I'd vote for.
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You need to be sure it's a grey before you get rid - I've seen a red that had a grey overlay and a grey with a reddish tail - and now there are blacks in both being seen in fairly large numbers
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Leave the poor thing alone. It's been a tough winter with a struggle for food.
Maybe take out more corn, enough to go round. Animals rarely behave badly unless they're desperate.
We just accept that our chicken food feeds squirrels, the entire crow population and everything else besides ...x
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Can I send you our crow's and other pests and vermin to feed please
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No thanks x
We have enough!
I wasn't being flippant, sorry. If my hens were being attacked I'd be distraught. But I'd assume it was for food.
We tried also all sorts of things to deter the crows but it didn't work.
I couldn't shoot them though xxxx
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Sorry a memory triggered by that just had me laughing out loud. I once had a neighbour who shot the crows who were stealing their hen food. Just down the lane another neighbour (Toonsers is what we call them up in Aberdeenshire :innocent:) were feeding the same crow family. Constant glowering at each other was maintained to the day I left. Then when I applied for planning for my remaining piece of land, the Toonsers managed to spot a squirrel in my trees - only one ::) - ............. and a badger set (it was an old fox hole), only one :innocent:........... and a few bats (they hadn't realised that they were pipistrelles and living in my loft so we knew about them and they weren't anywhere near the plot, and there were at least 50 :excited: :excited:) .................. three environmental and one arboreal survey later and £3000 I finally got the PP. They are still feeding the crows, and my friends are still shooting them.