A few of our deer

[wroughtn_harv]

Robert you are a lucky man! I find it comforting to watch animals interact. And you have picked some of the most beautiful animals on earth to watch.

Folks come around the shop and some are put off the thirteen chickens that own the place. Of course the chickens think it interesting when strange humans come around too.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

They are a lot of fun and I like all animals also. I would like to get some ducks but have never got around to it, I figure as big as our pond is we should have something to live by it. Animals are a lot of fun to watch when someone new comes around as you never know what they will do, the animals or the people. Take care.

 

[IllMarty]

Robert,
I too appreciate seeing deer interact while bowhunting. The difference between gun season and bow season is unbelievable in Wis. where I hunt. I have food plots on my land which helps keep them closer during the rut after all the ag crops are gone. I got a small digital camcorder that fits in my fanny pack for filming the deer . It is a blast. Camm trakker is also fun.

Nice Bucks!!!!!!!!!! Marty

 

[wroughtn_harv]

<font color=blue>I would like to get some ducks but have never got around to it,</font color=blue>

We've had ducks. My position on ducks is you could have a hog farm turn into a ghost town by just moving in some ducks. The hogs would leave cause of the mess.

I've got seven roosters all the same age. One of them from a chick has just been a people person. He'd flare up and get fighty right out of the get go so he picked up the name Scrapper. The rest of the roosters act like roosters. But Scrapper acts different when it comes to folks.

Yesterday morning he was wanting his morning attention, a rub and some conversation. When I didn't respond in an appropriate and timely manner he entangled himself in my feet and got a good cussin' instead.

It is funny how it works. It's like occasionally he needs to confirm his position in our relationship.

The one red hen that pecked me in the eye thinks I'm her pet human. The other day I was rubbing and talking to my black hen. Red hen came up beside us and started what I call her cussin'. When we didn't acknowledge her acting bad she raised the anty. She started pecking at my hands on the black hen.

These are common everyday chickens picked up as chicks at Tractor Supply this late January or early February. Doing just like folks and rising to our expectations. I've noticed folks are like that. They will rise to our expectations. Fall too.

As for the harvesting of animals. We ended up with twenty some broiler chickens from Tractor Supply. What man can do to a species with selective breeding is truly sad. These chickens only knew how to eat and put on weight in all the right places. We harvested them.

I personally did the killing. I felt a responsibility to them to be the one to do that. Sorta like a defined clause in a contract if you know what I mean. I was responsible for feeding and caring for them and since they were going into the freezer.................

My friends were surprised about this. I'm known for being the guy who ridicules the hunters about how brave they are to face down a mean old dove and only have a twelve gauge for a weapon. I don't kill snakes or spiders or wasps unless it's an either or situation. My wife thinks it's the ultimate in irresponsibility to not kill the mice and rats that have found the shop a warm place to live.

But I just don't see the logic in killing just cause you can.

I hope you don't send any of your deer to Texas. What they do here deer season is against the law in about forty nine of the fifty states.

Deer hunting here involves two weeks of baiting to get the deer used to getting food about twenty five yards from a stand where the hunter can hunt them down mano y mano via ambush season opening morning.

 

[tdenny]

Robert,

Great pictures. I will attach a picture of our friendly visitors. We don't "raise" them but they sure seem to think they live at our place. Here's a picture of the big guy one morning in my backyard.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I understand the mess factor as we have a family of Canadian Geese that visit us. But you get use to it especially if you walk thru deer pens everyday. Different shoes for different places if you know what I mean.

It is fun learning the different personalities of animals. Our deer are the same way. Some will intentionally get in our way and stop us so we have to pet them, then they won't leave us alone. We raised a couple hundred of the boiler chickens from farm and fleet over the years and it is sad to watch them grow. Eventually they get too heavy if you don't do them in early, once they get too heavy they start breaking their legs from the weight. I am glad we don't raise them anymore as it gets tiresome.

It is funny how we basicly have the same views on most things as I only kill animals if they become a nusiance. I have more fun watching everything but also obey the fair chase rules. I hate poachers. In NY it is illegal to hunt over bait areas. If you have to hunt over bait then you are not that good of a hunter, that or a lazy one. I have hunted in NY and Ohio. I only use a muzzleloader in Ohio and the only animals I will shoot in any state is at least a 2 year old buck or older. I won't shoot the does as in most cases they still have their fawns with them and their fawns don't know what happens or what is going on. On the same token I understand and don't mind the people who do shoot the does as the deer herds are getting out of control and the does are the way to control it but I hate it when people go out and kill two fawns and a spike and brag about shooting 3 deer. They killed the easiest targets and really should not be bragging about it. The hardest animal to hunt is the wild turkey though. It is almost impossible to get them in to 30 yards on a regular basis unless you do a lot of scouting and study the birds you are going to hunt. Around here woodchucks die, if they live they dig holes in the pens which is bad. Other then that everything lives unless the fox's catch it. Take care.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

When the big guy bugles you have to get chills.

You are a lucky person.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Yesterday morning first thing out of the box I found a full sized rat in the scratch for the chickens barrel.

I've seen five mice go to happy cheese land courtesy of the chickens but this was a full sized rat in the shop. Since it was in the shop stealing food for the chickens I figured I'd do the gawd's will thing. I'd just turn the rat loose amongst the chickens and whatever happened would surely be gawd's will, right?

What is unreal is the chickens will eat side by side with the rats and rabbits around the chicken house. But they eat the baby mice cause they look like bugs I guess.

Anyway I called the chickens and here they all came. Funny about them chickens. They seem to know when I've got a treat and come with an appropriate attitude. I turned the scratch barrel over in their direction and out came the rat doing the double high step dead away from me.

The term "hen on a June bug" would be appropriate. They were on that rat like it was an off colored step child that stuttered and walked with a limp.

The rat made one desperate run back at me and I kicked it back to the chickens. Yesterday the chicken gawd had more of it's stuff together than the rat gawd did.

My bro in law is helping out at the shop. He brought in with him a lab cross pup about a year old. Pup went after the chickens right out of the chute. After some explanations and a discussion or two along with some tied out front with water she's calmed down and really doesn't seem to see them anymore.

First day she wanted to chase chicken cause they made such good noise while fleeing I guess. Second day she didn't. Smart pup.

Of course she did learn the hard way about messing with chickens while they're having rat for breakfast. We heard a squawk followed by a yelp and here come the pup with her tail firmly tucked between her legs.

She was also introduced to welding current one oh one yesterday. It was a rainy ugly day. But we still got a class three hitch fabbed and installed on my bud's new Dodge one ton utility body. Pup nosed the stinger while feet were in water. That DC will kick your butt and then ask you where you got the bruise on your backside.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

We had a baby rabbit, around 6" or so, in the fawn pen and the one fawn trots over to see what it is and the rabbit didn't flinch till the fawns nose touched its head. When the rabbit jumped back the fawn kicked her feet in the air and took off having a ball running. We were watching another fawn chase a bird thru the grass, everytime it get close enough to smell the bird it would fly a few feet away. Fawns are comical to watch as everything is new to them and they love to explore.

We have mice get into our feed dishes and when the dish gets low the mice can't get out. Our deer love to stomp them so every now and then we find a few dead mice in the food dish. I have never seen the deer stomp them but it has to be hysterical.

 

[tdenny]

wroughton_harv,

In all honesty that was the one and only time I saw the big guy. I see his harem and the youngsters nearly everyday though. They aren't too skittish and are a pleasure to have around. We like em. That other picture I attached was from quite a ways away. He was between 1500 and 2000 lbs (horse sized).