Sunday, July 4, 2021

Feral Chicken Adventures in the Shama Habitat !

This blog is about "shamadramas". But no dramas are complete without intrigues and intruders. So we are adding in a bit about the Feral Chickens Hens who are sharing "our" Shama's habitat.

"Rosie" and "Posie" are sisters who were apparently born in the jungle across the street from us and come over for breakfast, snacks and dinner time. 

"Posie"  has just earned her title as "Most Clueless Chicken Mamma of 2021" by repeatedly putting her chicks in jeopardy. 

Will write more about all of this another day. 

Right now I just want to jot down a few notes about the "Sad Demise of Two of Posie's Chicks and the Remarkable Resurrection of "Chickie" another of her chicks. This is so I can toss my handwritten note and continue this later.

Thursday, July 1 : Footage from the Wyze Camera

Location: Lower Kitchen

Starring:  "Posie"  and her 9 chicks 

TIME:  1:38 PM - "Posie" and her 9 chicks are actually IN the kitchen, pecking about under the cupboards and floor. To get there this feral, living in the jungle Chicken, had to take her brood through the laundry room hallway, make a right turn to the Lanai, through the Lanai to the Living Room, Right turn into the Kitchen. Why??? All 10 of them seen alive and happily pecking about.

TIME:  1:54. Sadly-  one chick body seen on the floor, not moving. No other chickens about. 

TIME: 2:36: Don goes to the kitchen, sees the expired chick. Takes it out to "Posie" who has zero interest in it. None.  She is by the pool with her other chicks acting normal. But now there are only 6 chicks. Where are the other 2? Huh?

TIME: 2:45 Sue and Muppet (on leash) search the house and find two feeble chicks, barely breathing. One under a chair in the Living Room, other one near the chair. 

So what happened here? The camera can't tell us as it is a part of a pair of cameras and the system can only retain the recording of one at a time. And pigeons in the front yard set off the front yard camera. Snap !!! Very frustrating as we don't know if our dog got to them or it was the cat that we had heard earlier in the day  meowing.


Followup in very brief:  1 of the 3 injured chicks survived after receiving yogurt and honey water over night. She is back with her flock. "Posie" the mom has still made efforts to take them all back inside the house AND she is perfectly fine eating out of the chicken feeding tin plate  outside as long as the predator (said border collie who MIGHT have munched on her kids)  is laying down next to it. If he stands up she fluffs up, otherwise she is indifferent. Thus earning "most clueless mom ... ever" award.

And "Posie" is now nesting in the very same  tree that the CAT was in that was the subject of the prior post (the pretty little, yet lethal Siamese mix). That cat that ate 3 of the Shama chicks! The cat that got trapped and whisked away to the animal clinic where it was adopted by the vet! That cat. That is where Posie is nesting. With her vulnerable chicks. And we have no idea if all the chicks were able to climb (seriously, wait until I post the pics of this tree) up to join her. I hope to get up really early and look for them. 

Pics to come