Random Thoughts Thread

[Bo Diddley]

Racoons are also rabies carriers - they can go mad and foam at the mouth - like the one in our yard that I hit with a shovel - and then cut its head off by stomping on the blade.

Unless you put the head on a spike to send a message to the other racoons, that's just weak sauce.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I didn't know that they were invasive; a half-assed internet search makes it seem that they expanded their range into Utah naturally as a result of human alteration of the landscape into suburbia. I assumed that their range went from sea to sea, since I know that they're native west of yall.

There were no raccoons when I was a kid. I distinctly remember when they started showing up because my in-laws have hounds and they started chasing them at night. It was quite a novelty at the time. This was 20-30 years ago, IIRC.

As for your brother's chickens, you might be SHOCKED, SHOCKED to learn that people in the native range of the racoon successfully raise chickens. Also, almost every house around here has a screen around the chimney to prevent racoons and chimney swifts from nesting.

They killed all of his chickens before he figured out how to stop them. And you might be SHOCKED, SHOCKED to learn that some people like to have free range chickens with open access to a coop for nesting.

[wuapinmon]

There were no raccoons when I was a kid. I distinctly remember when they started showing up because my in-laws have hounds and they started chasing them at night. It was quite a novelty at the time. This was 20-30 years ago, IIRC.



They killed all of his chickens before he figured out how to stop them. And you might be SHOCKED, SHOCKED to learn that some people like to have free range chickens with open access to a coop for nesting.

Let me know when the Audubon Society writes an article about predators and free-range chickens (also an invasive species).

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/fall-2016/an-organic-chicken-farm-georgia-has-become-endless

[Jeff Lebowski]

Let me know when the Audubon Society writes an article about predators and free-range chickens (also an invasive species).
https://www.audubon.org/magazine/fal...become-endless

That would be cool to watch a bald eagle take out chickens!

(Unless I owned the chickens of course.)

[wuapinmon]

That would be cool to watch a bald eagle take out chickens!

(Unless I owned the chickens of course.)

I might raise chickens just so I could watch bald eagles take them out.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I might raise chickens just so I could watch bald eagles take them out.

[BigPiney]

I found the back half of a rabbit in my yard one day. I am guessing a pretty big bird dropped it there.

Could be a hawk, but we get goldens and bald eagles around here.

[All-American]

As for your garage problem, your cats are far more invasive and destructive than any racoon.

I'm okay with banning cats.

[Bo Diddley]

I'm okay with banning cats.

[Pelado]

I thought you liked pussy.

Doesn't everyone?

latest?cb=20130407144044.jpg

[Paperback Writer]

Speaking of cats and predator birds....years ago a neighbor got 5 kittens at one time, one for each of their kids (kind of like GOT with the Starks and direwolves). Anyway, the remains of one of their kittens was found in the park across the street. This neighbor thought that an adolescent kid of another neighbor was responsible for the demise of the kitten. Kind of unsettling thinking there is a kid in the neighborhood killing/sacrificing house pets. At the time this kid was a nuisance as he had shot out car windows with his brand new BB gun and it was not uncommon just to find him in our wood fenced back yard playing with my kids' toys and then leaving with them. I expressed my doubts to this neighbor that this kid was into killing animals. The mystery was solved early one morning while jogging when I spotted a large hawk on the neighbor's roof clutching another kitten. When I reported the news to the neighbor, the family was down to 2 kittens.

[wuapinmon]

Speaking of cats and predator birds....years ago a neighbor got 5 kittens at one time, one for each of their kids (kind of like GOT with the Starks and direwolves). Anyway, the remains of one of their kittens was found in the park across the street. This neighbor thought that an adolescent kid of another neighbor was responsible for the demise of the kitten. Kind of unsettling thinking there is a kid in the neighborhood killing/sacrificing house pets. At the time this kid was a nuisance as he had shot out car windows with his brand new BB gun and it was not uncommon just to find him in our wood fenced back yard playing with my kids' toys and then leaving with them. I expressed my doubts to this neighbor that this kid was into killing animals. The mystery was solved early one morning while jogging when I spotted a large hawk on the neighbor's roof clutching another kitten. When I reported the news to the neighbor, the family was down to 2 kittens.

Don't fuck with Red-Tailed Hawks. They will take whatever they want. (NSFW language)

[falafel]

I didn't know that they were invasive; a half-assed internet search makes it seem that they expanded their range into Utah naturally as a result of human alteration of the landscape into suburbia. I assumed that their range went from sea to sea, since I know that they're native west of yall. As for your garage problem, your cats are far more invasive and destructive than any racoon. As for your brother's chickens, you might be SHOCKED, SHOCKED to learn that people in the native range of the racoon successfully raise chickens. Also, almost every house around here has a screen around the chimney to prevent racoons and chimney swifts from nesting.

But, I do recognize that nuisance species are nuisances. I have a BB gun to plink squirrels off my roof when they start damaging the fascia because squirrels.

Don’t shoot native wildlife

[Pelado]

Don’t shoot native wildlife

...very many times.

[RC Vikings]

Someone in the neighborhood let loose their rabbits and we probably had about ten rabbits running around for a couple of years. There was some turnover but the numbers always stayed pretty high. They destroyed one of my young trees by eating the bark so I wasn't a fan. This summer a hawk showed up in the neighborhood, we haven't had a rabbit problem since. We had an owl around also but I'm pretty sure it was the hawk that got them.