I am still trying to capture the murdering bastard who has caught and eaten seven of my chickens. Yesterday there was no mink in the trap but the cat food was gone. So last night John set the trap just to be sure. He has a very precise nature when it comes to these things. I will check it after the morning milking. 
I spent a decent portion of yesterday repairing the back wall of the chicken coop which is in the Rat House with my bits of wood, pieces of metal, flattened beer cans and old rusty baking trays using my mini sledge hammer and an old coffee tin full of rusty nails. I found many little holes big enough for a mink and now they are all closed.
But the Rat House is a colander – too many holes.. so as soon as possible I will begin to finish their gypsy caravan and shift them out of the chook house all together. The plan is to clean and insulate the chook house and turn it into the delivery suite and nursery for the kunekunes that I will begin to breed next spring.
Although it does not look like I am winning yet, it feels like I am making advances. Though the little chook who was being drug away by the mink, as I was trying to get through the door, is not very happy. She would not get on the roost last night and was settled on the floor of the coop. If the mink did get in she would be first, and I could not bear for her to go through that again so she is in the dog crate on the verandah. She is still in terrible shock and may not survive. But chickens are tough.
Spring is definitely beginning to come out from behind winters cloud. The relief is palpable. Though why you would want to palpate relief I do not know. Best left alone I think. Just enjoy it.
This cheerful little box is a wildlife camera. It is motion activated. Lent to me by a friend, I have put it in the chicken coop, if The Mink does get in, we will be able to see where he comes from. Though I really really hope he does not get back in. It is too awful. Maybe the flash will scare him off?
So I will check that later too and see what we come up with. Hopefully nothing. All I want to see is sleeping chooks.
We had quiet night, no incidents, nothing got in, all was well in the chook house when I checked at 4am. Even the little brown hen on the verandah is still alive, much to her surprise. Fingers crossed.
Queenie and baby. 
Good morning. Daisy milked clean almost all day yesterday. I am still milking three times a day. But there seems to be some residual mastitis holding on. Her oregano oil arrived, so today I will begin to treat her with that. It is to be diluted with olive oil and inserted into the teat after each milking which is easier than it sounds. Oregano is a natural antibiotic so let us see how that goes.
I hope you all have a lovely day
Your friend on the farm
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
54 responses to “Onwards and Upwards”
Queenie’s Bobby is just gorgeous! I do hope you catch the mink quickly.
Progress! I hope you catch/deter the murderer. I know it was a relief to not have another dead chicken today and may it stay that way. Lovely to see Ton looking so healthy and that is one beautiful Bobby. Happy Friday.
“pop goes the weasel”, the last line in the song has certainly taken on a different meaning now 🙂 Here’s hoping you win both battles (mink and mastitis) really soon. Laura
Oh my C, there is always so much for you to deal with. I admire you so very much! I shall have to enjoy a glass of red wine in your honour this evening for all you do every day.
🙂 Mandy xo
When you say that Daisy milked clean, do this show as blood on milk?
No when a cow has mastitis the usual sign is little flakes or solid strings in the milk. We had a metal cup with a screen over the top that the suspected quarter was squirted into to catch it. The udder is often hard, can be red and warm where the mastitis is located. A cows udder has 4 chambers/quarters. One can be infected while the others are just fine. Actual blood in the milk would be a sign of injury to the udder or possibly a blocked teat canal. Sometimes when a cow freshens her colostrum milk will look reddish colored, but it usually clears within a few days and the calf will drink it with no ill effects.
thank you jeanne, good question misky, i should have made that clear.
Thanks, Jeanne. Now I understand a bit better. 🙂
Queenie’s bobby sure is a handsome one. Is Boo getting used to the bigger animals?
I can understand that minx needs to find food for their young but taking your chooks is not the way to go….batten down the hatches….bring on the alarm lights.. and keep minx out…..
Chickens are such nice creatures and right there with rabbits on the low end of the food chain. Rather a hard place to be. I’m sure she adores being in a nice place on the veranda…much better than the floor of the hen house. Good thing she has you to watch out for her…she would be easy pick’n next time for sure, left up to her own little chicken thoughts.
✿♥ღLinda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
We wound up nailing hardware cloth over all the little holes and cracks in the hen house. We also have slider windows with screens (old windows from remodeling the house) and nailed hardware cloth over those, too. We need to keep the windows open a crack for ventilation. I think all predators love chickens.
You are the subject of the moment in New Jersey! None of us here has ever seen a wild mink or had any idea how brutal and disgusting they are: killing animals without needing their meat as food. But a whole bunch of us are rooting for you and the chooks.
You are on the case and that predator will be caught. It’s just a matter of time. What joy to see the spring foliage.
Sounds as if the mink is taking the cat food instead of the chooks. I know this not a final solution, but could you start laying out food further and further from the chook house? If the mink is feeding young, she may start taking it in preference for an easier feed for her babies.
An interesting thought kate, but feeding them only brings more in. The cat food is in a trap and still ignored.. I just need to work harder on filling in all the cracks and holes in this old building.. c
Hi Celi .. Beautiful photos. So sorry to hear about your chooks. Best of luck with Daisy. 🙂
Rotten little murderous thief, that weasel. Hope he/she is well and truly warned off and the dogs now have a collective image of Weasel as Enemy that will shield the chooks and all of their compatriots from further massacre. All of you, be safe! I’ve never heard it said about minks specifically, but hey, if one shows its furry face around the birds again you might want to find out if it “tastes like chicken”! Bonus: free fur collar. 😉
Peculiar thing to wish for an Easter gift for you, but do hope you catch the rotten scoundrel and be able to sleep past 4am !!!!!! We have had ‘loving’ pictures of Boo with just about every baby animal on the farmy – love today’s with a very handsome Bobby and guess what replaced little Prince Georg’e ‘Mummy I love you’ pic on my computer 😀 ? Don’t know whether you have ever celebrated the holiday in any shape or size, but my very bestest wishes anyway!!
And to you eha, is easter at the same over there? I can’t remember.. c
Depends on one, Milady!!!! ni-ni, and NO 4am walk thru’s!!