What did you do today?

[Taffy]

How can you even tell the difference between a sharp-shinned and a cooper's hawk?  Other than size.

I had a very active bird feeder going until a cooper's hawk came around.  One day it dove over the house (2 stories) and caught a black headed finch, but not quite.  The finch escaped and dove down behind a trampoline.  I wasn't really to pleased with the cooper ruining my bird feeder fun and I went over and picked up the bird.  It died in my hands a minute later.  The hawk was out there watching me with hateful eyes.  I tossed the bird's body out in the snow and sure enough the hawk came and got it.  I think there was a lot more going on in that bird's head than in most animals.  He understood the situation.  In the end I weened the finches off my feeder because it was making it way too easy for the raptors (Kestrels have nested in a missing soffet panel for 20 years at the house).  

I'm considering the falconing hobby.  I currently have two parrots sitting on me while I type.  I don't think they'd be friends.  But you would not believe the amazing view and giant fields across the street from my new house.  Perfect for falcons!

Here's a pic of me and some kind of eagle in Mongolia about 12 years back.  That was not a happy bird, I don't think.  He's like the horses that work on beaches for tourists hehe.   Very authentic though!  His breath smelled like rotten meat-- Who knows what he was eating.

Charlie Horse - we have a point of view difference.      I always root for the raptors!  Raptors are top predators and 90% of them die in their first year of life.  Tweety birds are prolific breeders because they're prey.

It's tough to tell the sharp-shin from the Cooper's other than size.  I have both hunting our farm along with a number of other raptors.

Falconry is a huge commitment.  I can put you in touch with falconers in your area if you decide to do it.

That's a huge Golden Eagle on your fist.  They're really powerful.  Did you get to see it hunt?

Here's a photo of my Harris' Hawk, Sniper, when we were hunting rabbits.  He was a kamikaze hunter!

   

[Charlie Horse]

Yeah I know its a lot of work. Thats why I haven't started yet. I need to get settled and get enough money to build an aviary. For my parrots if nothing else. I know that its the type of hobby that you have to more or less apprentice with someone. I had my chance to start with a kestrel years ago when one got pushed out of the nest. It ended up at the bird sanctuary, though I'm not sure what they really did with it. He was healthy and willing to eat so he'd have been a good bird. Though my parrots were raised from eggs by humans. Not really sure how birds imprint.

No, I didn't get to see the eagle hunt. We were pressed for time on that trip. Only 4 days in Mongolia. What a crime!

[Nanno]

That's so cool, Taffy. Thanks for sharing!

[LORI]

I have really enjoyed reading these posts! Very interesting. I have always been an admirer of our birds of prey. I have a bald eagle that lives somewhere in the swamp behind my farm. I am still looking for his house lol

[Charlie Horse]

Crayola likes to hang with me while I work out in the mornings. Generally I stick him on the window sill so he's out of my way. Obviously my neighborhood is lousy with cats! A neighbor is feeding a dozen of them at least and they're always in to stuff, sitting on cars, going IN cars, and whatnot. I put a spring loaded hinge on my door just in case. As a parrot owner, it makes me nervous having so many around... Obviously Crayola isn't that worried about it.

[DownUnder Gal]

Jeez ... that must be annoying to have a feline peanut gallery hanging about!

[northcoast]

Rough month so far. Lost the new doeling I got for my daughter to a dog attack two weeks ago. Woke up one morning to my 8 month old LGD puppies in the goat pen, not where they were supposed to be. I found the wee one laying down in the corner of one of the stalls in the barn with a broken, bleed horn and puncture marks on her abdomen. I got the bleeding stopped quickly but the internal injuries were too severe and there was nothing the vet could do.
Same day the doeling passed on I noticed my two wethers I castrated a short time ago have urine scald so I've been fighting that. The cold snap we've had and now the heavy rains are not helping. Any tips for treatment would be greatly appreciated.

[Nanno]

Oh, that's so sad about the doeling! I'm sorry that happened. LGD's can be really hard sometimes. We've been fortunate so far with ours, but it's one of the things I worry about, especially with kid goats. Hopefully it was just a curious puppy thing and won't become a learned behavior.

Try putting Bag Balm, Vaseline, or Desitin on the urine scald and see if that helps. It'll be messy but it should provide enough moisture barrier for the skin to heal.

[DownUnder Gal]

So sorry to hear of your loss Northcoast

[Bob Jones]

We are in for a chilly winter here I think, so I lined the shed with straw for some additional comfort. The goats snack on it as well as lie in it and butt against the stack. I tied them together and to the wall to keep them in place. The boys have actually gained weight since then. They will be as fat and lazy as I am by spring.

An advantage of living in Utah is that so many people have food storage. When they move, many don't wish to move it with them. I have been buying food grade wheat and oats at feed grade prices. Some of it is 70 years old. One container had an unopened container of salt, so we gave that to a friend who has antiques in her kitchen. The salt was probably spoiled anyway. The container I opened yesterday had the salt premixed with the wheat. I don't give them very much, so it shouldn't matter.

This year I got a new electric bucket for them. The heater is in the bucket in a space below so that the inside is smooth. The last one just had a heater mounted in the bottom. Next year I hope to run pipe down that wont freeze. But maybe not. Carrying water is one of the few exercises I get right now.

So if you make sea biscuits from 70 year old wheat, are they 70 year old biscuits?