PinWheels, Chickens, and Bicycle Tassels

*Preface: This post has nothing to do with photography, other than that it has photos in it* ;-)

Upon first glance, a post about chickens, pinwheels, and bicycle tassels don’t seem to fit in the same sentence. But I promise, it will all make sense very quickly. Let me explain with a little backstory.

This past June, a box arrived via the Post Office with 16 precious little bundles of fluff. A big reason for me moving out of Northern Virginia was so that I could have some space to breathe and raise some chickens.  So when that box arrived, I was over the moon excited! These little loves of mine. I've been with them since their day 1 (or 2-3)

 Fast forward to present day. Life is not always peaches and cream. In the past half a year, I have lost 50% of my girls. I realize that they are chickens, but they are mine. They are my girls, and I want to protect them, keep they healthy, and eat their yummy eggs. So yesterday when I pulled into my driveway after work, I knew something had to change. You see, when I pulled in yesterday, I noticed a big, black mass huddled in one corner of the chicken enclosure. I then noticed Velvet and the girls huddles against the opposite side. As I walked towards them, the red shouldered hawk flew away. At least I knew what did it this time.

First, I was really nervous that my poor Hazel (yes, they all have names) was still alive. I quickly assessed that that was not an issue ( I did NOT want to have to do that dirty work.) My nervousness quickly turned to concern for the remaining 8. By farming standards, my predation has been pretty low. But I don’t care. These are my girls and I don’t want any more of them to become supper for someone else.

Enter the pinwheels and bicycle tassels. Last night, I ran to Wal-Mart to see what I could find in terms of warding off predators of the avian variety. I first considered netting, but with the size of the fencing, that wasn’t going to be a feasible option. I had heard that shiny objects confuse predatory birds, and makes them unable to hone in on a victim. I’m sure one of my biology/zoology friends will have something to say about that, but I figure it is worth a try. So, I went home and created my “anti hawk” contraption. I now look like I live in West Virginia (sorry if you're from West Virginia.)

The girls aren’t too sure about it. Velvet has been crowing non-stop, warning everyone of the scary new objects.

These little ones are precious to me, and I figure it’s worth a try! I’ll update you all on whether this works or not (time will tell)

 

 

And one more for good measure. My Velvet is now a feathery beach ball! (I'm 5'8 for scale)