Thistlebloom Farm
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Spouse found feathers on the ground today, making him suspect that he missed finding a hen to escort back into the barn last night. Didn't help that the feathers were black, so evening chores will commence earlier to allow extra light to find our black hens and escort them to safety. #AgSpoutible
05:39 PM - Sep 04, 2023
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Carla Vivarttas
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In response to Thistlebloom Farm.
Are they molting?
05:43 PM - Sep 04, 2023
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Thistlebloom Farm
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In response to Carla Vivarttas.
Not that we know of. We'll try to get a head count on the black ones this evening (they stand out b/c the vast majority of our current hens are red or buff). He didn't see any blood, but there are plenty of predators on and around the farm.
05:50 PM - Sep 04, 2023
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Carla Vivarttas
B
In response to Thistlebloom Farm.
Foxes will take the entire chicken, leaving only piles of feathers behind. A fox ate 3 of our chickens. But as the days shorten, our hens have started molting. One is molting very rapidly. She was leaving piles of feathers everywhere for a while.
09:01 PM - Sep 04, 2023
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Thistlebloom Farm
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Thank you for telling me about this. We know we've had weasel, raccoon and hawk predation, but what you describe about fox behavior comports with his more recent, complete description of what he found.
In response to Carla Vivarttas.
11:40 PM - Sep 04, 2023
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