February 28, 2011: Pip Squeek, the watch "cat"

When you have chickens, there never seems to be a dull moment.  A few days ago, as I sat on the couch with the back door open, enjoying my first cup of coffee, Pip Squeek, the neighbors black and white cat (looks like he wears a tuxedo!) who has adopted me and my yard, went tearing off the deck.  Who knew "fat boy" could run so fast????  I have affectionately named him "fat boy" because he is a rotund little fellow.  Seriously though, I didn't realize he could run so fast.  Lessened some of my worries about him being chased by a dog.  I jumped up to see what he was after.  By the time I got there, a large red tailed hawk flew off the ground and into a nearby tree.  There was something on the ground that the hawk had killed.  It was large.  At first I thought Pip Squeek was after what was on the ground, but he only sniffed it and stood guard.  He had actually gone after the hawk who had ventured into his territory.  Not only was I amazed that a cat would go after a huge hawk, but I was secretly pleased that I now had a guard cat.  Who knew? 

I looked down to find a very large pigeon.  Sad, I had seen it flying a few days before and wondered what it was doing all alone.  It was a greyish/blue and white flecked bird with red feet.  Very pretty once and so large, it had to be about a third of the hawks size.  The hawk had decapitated it and it's head was nowhere to be found.  Odd.....

The hawk flew over the fence to a bigger tree and waited there.  Fat boy and I went back to the porch.  I expected the hawk to come back.  I figured I might as well let him eat it since he had already killed it, but I didn't see him come back that day.  However, the next morning, "something" had had a fine meal for there was nothing left but a pile of feathers and part of a wing.  Poor little pigeon.  I wondered what the chickens must have thought because I'm sure they saw the entire scene.  The pigeon was bigger than my two little bantams....

Every time I get the bright idea to let my chickens free range as I feel they were meant to do.....something like this happens.  This is the fifth hawk kill I have seen in the back yard since this adventure began.  I imagine this probably always went on, but I was at work and never saw it.  I would occasionally see a pile of feathers in the back yard and assume a cat had gotten a bird.  The brutal facts of nature.  Sometimes I am amazed chickens, basically defenseless, have survived this long.