₦airaland Forum

Ameboperoo:
Those ones are falcons. They don't migrate like the hawks. The colour is not black like hawks and they can even steal bigger chicks if they are very hungry and the chick will be dropped if too heavy for them and hardly survive.
Also, they can perch close to the chicks and even pretend not to be a threat before pouncing on one of them.
Hawks and some other birds do migrate to dryer regions and even as far as North Africa or Europe during the raining season.

Whoa! No wonder all the chickens went to hide.

Ameboperoo:
Those ones are falcons. They don't migrate like the hawks. The colour is not black like hawks and they can even steal bigger chicks if they are very hungry and the chick will be dropped if too heavy for them and hardly survive.
Also, they can perch close to the chicks and even pretend not to be a threat before pouncing on one of them.
Hawks and some other birds do migrate to dryer regions and even as far as North Africa or Europe during the raining season.

Wow! This is interesting knowledge.

kay29000:
Hmm...I noticed that, but what I'm seeing now is this small looking hawk...or maybe it is another bird of prey that looks like a hawk. Maybe it is a falcon. It came this afternoon. I've seen it fly down to my driveway side of the compound and pin down a lizard. It perked the lizard a few times before flying off with it. It looks like a hawk, but smaller. I'm guessing it is a falcon. Or maybe it is a smaller species of hawk. It doesn't circle my farm like normal hawks do. It just lands on a vantage point like my roof or fence, and then observes.

Today, I saw all the chickens hiding inside where they sleep when I came back, and the rooster just kept making noise. I looked up and saw the small terror on the roof, looking down.

Falcons.

They hardly disturb Chicks. They go after Lizards most times.

I have them aplenty in my area but they have never Prey on my Chicks before (to my sights). But the Rooster will always warn, and the chicks and Hen run for cover when the fly by or hovers above.

Lukuluku69:
Falcons.

They hardly disturb Chicks. They go after Lizards most times.

I have them aplenty in my area but they have never Prey on my Chicks before (to my sights). But the Rooster will always warn, and the chicks and Hen run for cover when the fly by or overs above.

Okay. I've seen it flying down to take a lizard before. So maybe that's what it was hunting for.

kay29000:
Honestly, I wish I had a professional camera to take pictures of the different types of birds that land in my compound, on the trees. At least 12 different types I see regularly. Of cos you have the common pigeon, and laughing dove (Odere koko in Yoruba)...these two reproduce rapidly, that's why they are so many of them around. Then you have the pied crow which are very common too, but rarely land in my garden. They just fly over to the tallest building on my street. But they are always around. And then at night, you have bats and owls.

Pigeons, laughing dove, pied crow, bats, and owls are the most common. Then there are the different exotic looking birds that come around once in a while with different beautiful colors. These are the ones I wish I could take clear pictures of. They are so beautiful,.

Pied Crows do feed on Chicks too. They are opportunistic in there approach. Due to their size and being less agile when compared with hawks, Falcons and Kites, they need to be really close before they can hunt successfully.

Another birds of Prey in my area is the Kite like birds (Definitely a Kite). It snatched Chicks so quick you will Marvel at the speed. White Colour, it can glide on a single spot for minutes on end, then dive with astonishing speed.

Lukuluku69:
Pied Crows do feed on Chicks too. They are opportunistic in there approach. Due to their size and being less agile when compared with hawks, Falcons and Kites, they need to be really close before they can hunt successfully.

Another birds of Prey in my area is the Kite like birds (Definitely a Kite). It snatched Chicks so quick you will Marvel at the speed. White Colour, it can glide on a single spot for minutes on end, then dive with astonishing speed.

This is the same bird I was referring to. They sometimes come in pairs and would even snatch prey from each other mid flight

Ameboperoo:
This is the same bird I was referring to. They sometimes come in pairs and would even snatch prey from each other mid flight

Very true.

Anti spam bot banned me twice in the last 12 hours. All I did was type about my encounter with the mother cat...the white cat last night. I didn't even know what exactly triggered the ban.

kay29000:
I let the 2 male Noilers out this evening.

They started chasing the local hens around, and the local Rooster had to show them who the boss is. Eventhough they're bigger than him, he chased both of them off like they were kids

They eventually went to visit their female Noilers

Good job you are doing bro.

Please if a male noiler crossbreds with a local. What's the percentage the chick will come out as noilers and will they still take 4 months to reach marketsize (if given the proper feed regimen)

Vice versa the case. If a local cock crossbreds with a female noilers. What's the percentage the chick will come out as noilers and will they still take 4 months to reach marketsize (if given the proper feed regimen)

Will really appreciate your answer if you Yiu have.

kay29000:
I've sold a few. But honestly, I have been raising birds for a decade now, mostly Agric chickens, this thing with local chickens is like a pet project for me. I see this thing I do here (posting about them) as a journal that people can learn from in the future, whether it is someone trying to raise local chickens next year or in 2075.

So in a nutshell, my reward is knowing that someone in the future will learn from my experience raising Local Chickens, and know how to avoid the mistakes I made. I'm a very busy person (I'm into multiple businesses for a living) and the reason why I can do this is because even if I don't tend to the chickens for a couple of days, they will be fine. And that's one of the reasons why i'm skeptical about crossbreeding them with Noilers. I don't know how self reliant and strong those crossbreeds will be.

Thanks for this thread. It's being insightful. Being following from day 1. This my first comment ever.

Since you don't eat them local

kay29000:
I've sold a few. But honestly, I have been raising birds for a decade now, mostly Agric chickens, this thing with local chickens is like a pet project for me. I see this thing I do here (posting about them) as a journal that people can learn from in the future, whether it is someone trying to raise local chickens next year or in 2075.

So in a nutshell, my reward is knowing that someone in the future will learn from my experience raising Local Chickens, and know how to avoid the mistakes I made. I'm a very busy person (I'm into multiple businesses for a living) and the reason why I can do this is because even if I don't tend to the chickens for a couple of days, they will be fine. And that's one of the reasons why i'm skeptical about crossbreeding them with Noilers. I don't know how self reliant and strong those crossbreeds will be.

Thanks for this thread. It's being insightful. Being following from day 1.

Since you don't eat them local breeds. Will you be open to selling a set (two pullets and a cockerel) to me? I will be starting a small backyard poultry in Sept. once I am done setting up my new place. . Will you be open to selling a set (two pullets and a cockerel) to me? I will be starting a small backyard poultry in Sept. once I am done setting up my new place.

internetpo:
Good job you are doing bro.

Please if a male noiler crossbreds with a local. What's the percentage the chick will come out as noilers and will they still take 4 months to reach marketsize (if given the proper feed regimen)

Vice versa the case. If a local cock crossbreds with a female noilers. What's the percentage the chick will come out as noilers and will they still take 4 months to reach marketsize (if given the proper feed regimen)

Will really appreciate your answer if you Yiu have.

Good evening. I can't answer these questions cos I've never done any form of crossbreeding before. A few people have spoken about crossbreeding Noilers with Local chickens, but I'm not ready ti try it yet.

internetpo:
Thanks for this thread. It's being insightful. Being following from day 1. This my first comment ever.

Since you don't eat them local

Thanks for this thread. It's being insightful. Being following from day 1.

Since you don't eat them local breeds. Will you be open to selling a set (two pullets and a cockerel) to me? I will be starting a small backyard poultry in Sept. once I am done setting up my new place. . Will you be open to selling a set (two pullets and a cockerel) to me? I will be starting a small backyard poultry in Sept. once I am done setting up my new place.

No problem. When you're ready to buy just let know.

Rwshd:
Tremendous work, OP!

3. How do you handle your local roosters when they become mature: do you sell them off, or do you leave them to inbreed with their siblings? (I currently have three young roosters and a young hen, all siblings from the same mother.)

Keep up the good work!

Those three young roosters eventually grew up, and I handled two of them "nutritionally". The flock leader is the last-rooster standing, and its sister and mother are currently brooding.

Again, keep up the good work y'all!

Rwshd:
Those three young roosters eventually grew up, and I handled two of them "nutritionally". The flock leader is the last-rooster standing, and its sister and mother are currently brooding.

Again, keep up the good work y'all!

Nice.

Loosing chickens always makes me sad.

Early this morning we lost four 6 weeks old chicks. Very healthy and active chicks, eaten by prey. It's sad cos it's almost like they wait for you to feed them well, and then they strike.

So, I came back from work around 2 am this morning, and saw one chick was missing. I thought it was sleeping somewhere else. I went to bed, and I was woken up by the sound of the chickens making loud noises. I grabbed my torchlight and headed to their cage. I saw a few of them scattered around our garden, making noise. There was one chick dead on the floor, it's throat had been slit. At first I thought it was an owl that did it, cos I saw one fly over my head while I was looking for the remaining chickens. It flew by twice, and I concluded it was the culprit. My torch wasn't fully charged and its light was going dim, so I went in to get another torch. When I cam back out, I saw a rat carrying a chick he had just killed (that chick was still alive before I went back inside). Do you believe that after I stoned it, and it dropped the dead chick, it still tried to come back to carry it, while I was standing there. I used annoyance to stone it again, but I missed it.

The funny thing is that, I see these same rats (normal big street rats), waking by the chickens and chicks in daytime, without attacking them. I wonder what changed. I have watched them from my balcony upstairs for months just strolling past the chickens and doing nothing. If anyone told me they would kill my chickens, I would never believe if i didn't see with my own eyes.

kay29000:
Loosing chickens always makes me sad.

Early this morning we lost four 6 weeks old chicks. Very healthy and active chicks, eaten by prey. It's sad cos it's almost like they wait for you to feed them well, and then they strike.

So, I came back from work around 2 am this morning, and saw one chick was missing. I thought it was sleeping somewhere else. I went to bed, and I was woken up by the sound of the chickens making loud noises. I grabbed my torchlight and headed to their cage. I saw a few of them scattered around our garden, making noise. There was one chick dead on the floor, it's throat had been slit. At first I thought it was an owl that did it, cos I saw one fly over my head while I was looking for the remaining chickens. It flew by twice, and I concluded it was the culprit. My torch wasn't fully charged and its light was going dim, so I went in to get another torch. When I cam back out, I saw a rat carrying a chick he had just killed (that chick was still alive before I went back inside). Do you believe that after I stoned it, and it dropped the dead chick, it still tried to come back to carry it, while I was standing there. I used annoyance to stone it again, but I missed it.

The funny thing is that, I see these same rats (normal big street rats), waking by the chickens and chicks in daytime, without attacking them. I wonder what changed. I have watched them from my balcony upstairs for months just strolling past the chickens and doing nothing. If anyone told me they would kill my chickens, I would never believe if i didn't see with my own eyes.

Heya sorry for the lost it so painful

opeyemi3737:
Heya sorry for the lost it so painful

Yeah. Thanks.

Two more chicks killed by the rats this morning. Even though I changed their location to a more secure place (a shop we no longer use, with a good door). I don't know how they got in. Only 4 chicks left. I have decided to put them in indomie box and bring them inside the house overnight.

These are some of the challenges poultry farmers face all over the world. If it's not rat, it can be cat, or snake, hawk, or coyote, or fox in foreign lands.

We lost like a dozen bird to these prey some time ago. I am building something worth the stress. Our chicken would hatch 17 before u know it we will lose like 10 due to different circumstances.
I am not letting a bird leave my space. I have busy body neighbors who feed on stolen birds I am not going to labour for some lazy entity to eat.. I am doing everything to be sustainable from greens to creating my own incubator. I am a DIY expert. I can create anything from mechanical to electrical by just looking at samples...

People are going through a lot raising birds . As for me I am building a brooding area for 500 birds then a big space to occupy my birds in future. My Indian friends need Chicken and it must be a pure local breed. My brother create a prey box. Once they come they sneeze high pepper concentrate mixed for difficult breathing. No animal can withstand such harsh mixture. No pity who wan run u down...quote author=kay29000 post=136195200]Loosing chickens always makes me sad.

Early this morning we lost four 6 weeks old chicks. Very healthy and active chicks, eaten by prey. It's sad cos it's almost like they wait for you to feed them well, and then they strike.

So, I came back from work around 2 am this morning, and saw one chick was missing. I thought it was sleeping somewhere else. I went to bed, and I was woken up by the sound of the chickens making loud noises. I grabbed my torchlight and headed to their cage. I saw a few of them scattered around our garden, making noise. There was one chick dead on the floor, it's throat had been slit. At first I thought it was an owl that did it, cos I saw one fly over my head while I was looking for the remaining chickens. It flew by twice, and I concluded it was the culprit. My torch wasn't fully charged and its light was going dim, so I went in to get another torch. When I cam back out, I saw a rat carrying a chick he had just killed (that chick was still alive before I went back inside). Do you believe that after I stoned it, and it dropped the dead chick, it still tried to come back to carry it, while I was standing there. I used annoyance to stone it again, but I missed it.

The funny thing is that, I see these same rats (normal big street rats), waking by the chickens and chicks in daytime, without attacking them. I wonder what changed. I have watched them from my balcony upstairs for months just strolling past the chickens and doing nothing. If anyone told me they would kill my chickens, I would never believe if i didn't see with my own eyes.[/quote]

Poultry is not a child's play. Protecting your flocks is one big task. Na rat wey dey bend like snake u dey go overlook. I don dey plan my retirement by going deeply into full time chicken stuff...baba build something from scrap for the bird. Those indomie carton no be am oooo. quote author=kay29000 post=136206686]Two more chicks killed by the rats this morning. Even though I changed their location to a more secure place (a shop we no longer use, with a good door). I don't know how they got in. Only 4 chicks left. I have decided to put them in indomie box and bring them inside the house overnight.

These are some of the challenges poultry farmers face all over the world. If it's not rat, it can be cat, or snake, hawk, or coyote, or fox in foreign lands.[/quote]

The same gentle girls wey u dey see for streets na Dem dey stand for junction when night don come. Night comes with new identity. Most wickedness na night he dey happen.

opeyemi3737:
Heya sorry for the lost it so painful

Hmm...thanks for your contribution. I will look into what you talked about.

I heard my chickens making the continously noise they make when a predator is closeby. I came out, and once I walked within their midst, they stopped making noise cos they now felt safe. And then I looked around and found this falcon on my neighbor's roof, looking down on them.

...

Sorry for your loss, OP; may God restore your lost stock. Different strokes for different folks.

My own neighbor's hen with its seven little chicks spent the night outside its cage in a nearby bush and emerged the next morning unharmed. But put them inside their cage, and forget to lock it, na then vampire cats and malicious rats go show you shege pro-Max before daybreak!

#ChickenLivesMatter 😢

The falcon came around today again. Rats have eaten all the chicks anyway (except one), so there is nothing for it to carry.

Something funny happened...while every other of the adults ran into hiding, the alpha rooster and the most dominant hen kept approaching where it was and making loud noises. They didn't seem scared, but the falcon didn't seem moved by their defence either. It just perched on the door looking around. Till I came out and it flew away.

Rwshd:
Sorry for your loss, OP; may God restore your lost stock. Different strokes for different folks.

My own neighbor's hen with its seven little chicks spent the night outside its cage in a nearby bush and emerged the next morning unharmed. But put them inside their cage, and forget to lock it, na then vampire cats and malicious rats go show you shege pro-Max before daybreak!

#ChickenLivesMatter 😢

Yes o.

kay29000:
Loosing chickens always makes me sad.

Early this morning we lost four 6 weeks old chicks. Very healthy and active chicks, eaten by prey. It's sad cos it's almost like they wait for you to feed them well, and then they strike.

So, I came back from work around 2 am this morning, and saw one chick was missing. I thought it was sleeping somewhere else. I went to bed, and I was woken up by the sound of the chickens making loud noises. I grabbed my torchlight and headed to their cage. I saw a few of them scattered around our garden, making noise. There was one chick dead on the floor, it's throat had been slit. At first I thought it was an owl that did it, cos I saw one fly over my head while I was looking for the remaining chickens. It flew by twice, and I concluded it was the culprit. My torch wasn't fully charged and its light was going dim, so I went in to get another torch. When I cam back out, I saw a rat carrying a chick he had just killed (that chick was still alive before I went back inside). Do you believe that after I stoned it, and it dropped the dead chick, it still tried to come back to carry it, while I was standing there. I used annoyance to stone it again, but I missed it.

The funny thing is that, I see these same rats (normal big street rats), waking by the chickens and chicks in daytime, without attacking them. I wonder what changed. I have watched them from my balcony upstairs for months just strolling past the chickens and doing nothing. If anyone told me they would kill my chickens, I would never believe if i didn't see with my own eyes.

I am sorry for your Loss. Very painful when you lose Chicks moreso 4 weeks old Chicks. I have been in that shoe dozens of times.

The Rats (those big ones) do feed on Chicks too. They usually attack and eat them when they are about One Week to about Five Weeks old.

When I moved newly to here, their are many of them around and sometimes, I do lose the whole brood to them and even eggs.

They are usually hungrier when they are pregnant or have mouths to feed (Usually there is a nest nearby with 2/3 baby Rats that needs feeding)

Try and get a Trap from the Local Market. Bait it with Roasted Corn or Fried Coconuts that's what a man that borrowed me the Trap used and in return he took the Rats while I had the marauding Rats killed.

Whatever the Issues are, we keep trying...

kay29000:
The falcon came around today again. Rats have eaten all the chicks anyway (except one), so there is nothing for it to carry.

Something funny happened...while every other of the adults ran into hiding, the alpha rooster and the most dominant hen kept approaching where it was and making loud noises. They didn't seem scared, but the falcon didn't seem moved by their defence either. It just perched on the door looking around. Till I came out and it flew away.

I used to have one Hen like that, my kids call it Crazy Lucy, I can't count the numbers of time it actually went after Falcons, Hawks that tried to make a steal in my Compound!

Even Cats and Dogs too.

Rwshd:
Sorry for your loss, OP; may God restore your lost stock. Different strokes for different folks.

My own neighbor's hen with its seven little chicks spent the night outside its cage in a nearby bush and emerged the next morning unharmed. But put them inside their cage, and forget to lock it, na then vampire cats and malicious rats go show you shege pro-Max before daybreak!

#ChickenLivesMatter 😢

Very True.

You put them in the Cage and lock up, Cats visits and do their thing.

Then, you went out and didn't come back before they roost and you search every where and no sign of them, you become anxious and couldn't sleep thru the night and very early in the morning, you stepped out hoping and wishing. Then the Hen majestically walk by with all her Chicks behind her!

Indeed #ChickenLivesMatter