Critters

We’ve been getting nice weather with highs in the 40s which melts all the snow. Then we get several inches of new snow. Then it repeats. For the last few days, we have been in the “warm temperatures that melts our snow” phase. Today the temperature has actually reached 50 degrees. Tonight the temperatures will drop and we could get snow, but they will rise again into the high 40s on Sunday. When my son was little, I used to tell him that Spring was when Winter and Summer battled for control. LOL

There is a way to determine whether a chick is male or female because they look alike until they get older. Experts know how, but even they get it wrong sometimes. Most of the time we’ve bought our chickens–either at a farm store or ordered on-line. We always choose all females but most of the time we discover that one of them is a male. Last September, for the first time, one of our hens hatched two eggs. Recently, I realized that one is a male–he developed the beautiful rooster tail feathers. I think he is the aggressive one who pecks me when my back is turned. He once bit me, grabbing the skin of my leg and holding on. He left a small bruise on my leg. Little brat.

I learned that chickens become aggressive when they think they are higher in rank than the human. I won’t stand for that so I treat aggressive youngsters the way I see the other chickens treat them: I push them around a bit. Not cruelly but just enough to let them know I am boss and they need to respect me. I have a long thin stick–not a branch–that’s probably about 1 inch x 1 inch. It’s a leftover piece from when EJ made large shipping boxes at his previous company. I use it like a staff to poke, poke the chicken. I do that a few times and a sassy chicken usually calms right down and behaves itself from that point on. I’m sure this little rooster will learn that I’m boss soon. He hasn’t tried to peck me in several days.

This little rooster is our third rooster. We have Sassy, our alpha rooster, who was sassy only when he was little. He takes good care of the flock. There is Corey, who is very sweet natured. Now there is this youngster. I will have to figure out a name for him. Do you have any suggestions? If so, share it in a comment.

I have been enjoying my trail camera. It’s a delight to watch the wildlife when they don’t know I’m observing them. I told EJ that my favorite television series is TJ’s Critter Cam, which is my Rumble channel. I go through all the videos and then choose a few to upload to my channel. My favorite video was the deer that came very close to investigate the camera. In the video, it looks as if a bright light is shining in the deer’s face, but she actually wasn’t blinded by any light. My camera has infrared so it can take nighttime photos/videos. The wildlife doesn’t actually see the light. Here’s the video:

For a week or so, I had the cam aimed at our large boulders where the animals tended to graze. However, the animals stayed in front of the camera and the camera was taking 600+ photos/videos each night which depleted my batteries. (I set the cam to take one photo and one video each time there is movement so that’s 300+ of each.) That got tiresome so I began moving the cam around each day in order to capture the animals moving through an area. I now get more manageable numbers of photos/videos and my batteries don’t need to be recharged every day.

Yesterday EJ and I put the trail camera in the forest, but I didn’t find anything on the camera this morning except photos/videos of me moving the camera. This morning I moved the camera once again. It was very foggy outside and it was fun tramping all over our property trying to find a new location for the camera. Although I live surrounded by trees, it’s difficult to find the “perfect” location. The tree has to be in a place that the animals travel through. I need a tree that is big enough—but not too big—to fasten the camera strap around. The tree I choose can’t be blocked by other trees or branches because the camera won’t have a good view or trees swaying in the wind will activate the camera. Frequently, I find a location that has some of the characteristics I need, but not all of them. I finally found a location. I will check tomorrow morning to see if I’ve captured any wildlife.

So far I’ve captured birds, raccoons, possums, deer, and a mouse or two with the cam. I’d love to also get photos/videos of wild turkeys, skunks, coyotes, bobcats, and maybe an owl or a bear. I’m excited about Spring, when the wildlife give birth. It would be awesome to see little babies on camera.