3 Years of Work & Now It's Gone - Major Predator Attack
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ต.ค. 2024
- A major predator attack on our breeding flock killed all the roosters and half of the chickens...
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I am so sorry to hear about your loss! I recently started a pig farm in Nigeria and have been inspired to venture into poultry from watching yours and some other channels. I hope this experience strengthens you. I pray you gain strength from the love of family and friends and also from thousands of us around the world that enjoys your channel. God bless you!
Sorry to hear about your losses. When you said; "this is a real channel, I knew I had to join your channel. Loved to see how much patience you have with your beautiful childeren. Thank you for sharing your story.
I will never forget the morning when I was ten and went out to our hen house only to find that something had broken in and killed all of our chickens. This was one of our few sources of food for we were very poor. My father calmly sent us back to the house and set up a blind and used the dead chickens as bait. When the animals returned he killed five or six with his rifle, as they came out of the hen house with dead chickens in their mouths. What we did not know was that the neighborhood dogs had formed a pack and had gone on a killing rampage. We were not the only place hit. My father never let us kids see the dead dogs but he did let me help him bury the dead chickens. It left an indelible imprint on me as to how fragile and cruel life could be. However, we got chickens from family and friends and started again. We got eggs and incubated them and increased our flocks. We helped our neighbors to rebuild their hen houses safer and better. We lived far out in the forest away from town and it drew all of those that lived there closer together. We knew that we had cougars and bears, bobcats and foxes, we just never thought our own dogs could turn killer like that. We lost our own dog that day and I will never forget the courage it took for my father to do what had to be done. Then all alone somewhere in the woods he dug a hole and buried those dogs. Dogs that had been all of our friends and companions. This is the life of a farmer and husbandman of the land, it is not idyllic it is sometimes the most painful thing, and yet the rewards of living close to the land are worth it. It may be more real than some can bear but I cherish it in my heart for that time spent close to the land as a child has helped me endure through all of life's struggles since.
May you find the strength to carry on and see this as just another lesson in vigilance. A husbandman's life is hard, and there are always setbacks, but seeing you bring up your family in this way brings back so many fond memories of my own childhood. Take time to gain wisdom from the encounter then move on. You are doing what you love to do and doing it well. Gods blessing on you and your little family.
Take comfort, I'm 72 and can remember when someones dog attacked your chickens you would let them know and they would end it. If your dog got into someones chickens you ended it. People depended on the chickens for eggs and meat and wouldn't tolerate a dog attacking them.
Lesa Hanners What a beautiful and very helpful comment. Thank You for taking the time to share that perspective!
Yes . sadly once a dog or animal gets a taste of the chickens, they will always come back, in my area we never even gave dogs deer bones, as we did not want them to get a taste...
Postofficejoe: I suppose chasing and catching the chickens helps them revert to the wolf pack sense.
Lesa Hanners Thank you for sharing the strength and comfort that your family and neighbors found amongst many sorrows. Your story (testimony) brought tears to my eyes. I hope someday in Heaven that I will have the honor of meeting your father.
I told Simeon that although he is a witness of Christ before the world, what is most important is his witness and example as a husband and as the father to his children. He’s doing well.
Sorry to hear about the loss of your flock. Thanks for being open. One of the reasons I watch your channel.
I appreciate how real and visible you are about real life on the farm. Sorry for the loss of your flock.
Pro tip: you can watch movies at Flixzone. Me and my gf have been using them for watching a lot of movies these days.
@Charlie Krew Yea, I've been watching on Flixzone for since december myself :)
I love the way you respect your children. Great channel, keep up the great work.
So sorry for your loss. I am proud of you young farmers for acknowledging what is reality and death on a farm and how to overcome it. Thank you for sharing it.
I am so sorry for your losses. Thank you for sharing this. We all know there are good times and bad times but some people only want to share the good. I think it takes courage to share the bad things that happen. Once again thank you for the courage to share the bad. Blessings to you and your family. Your children are adorable.
After being raised on a farm,I know these things happen. I'm sure you are so very devastated! I'm so sorry...it's very hard work that you do. Please continue to share with us...the good and the bad. Most of us over the internet enjoy the process of the work you do and sharing your life with us. Best wishes as you continue your farm work.
Oh I am so so sorry for your losses! This is so hard and yet you have handled it with grace and fortitude. Please don't give up! I wouldn't be surprised to see that rooster and hens to come back at least long enough to help you rebuild the flock! And last but certainly not least, thank you for the excellent, patient and loving example of fatherhood! God bless you and your family!
I too am sorry for Your loss, I wake in the morning and dread going out to count our dead just from Bad weather conditions of late. I have seen where something has tried to pull at the fencing on my Silkie chickens..I would dread losing my turkey's and chickens or Ducks or the quail..
Marco, There is a God! He loves you. I'm 54 years old and I will never stop believing in him. I pray you find peace.
Marco - How about YOU stop being so darn disrespectful! 🤨
@@lottatroublemaker6130 He revels in stirring the pot. Let it go! And God bless you :)
Your children look to be such a blessing to you. Keep your head up and I'll still be praying for you. Thank you for all that you have shared; it's meant more to me than you can know. Stepping into the future isn't easy, but remember you do it every breath you take, every beat of your heart, every moment, every day. And, just breathe.
I guess there’s always heartbreaks and headaches available. And also much good. Thank you for sharing both. Praying for you and yours!
Thank you for sharing the most difficult times in your life. You are truly trying to help other professionals. Please Do not let life get you down. I could never run a farm and admire you and your resilience. The lil ones are adorable
I found your channel thru Justin Rhodes and have just started watching your videos. I enjoy and learned from watching them. I'm so sorry for what happened to your flock! I know it will take a lot of effort and time but you can rebuild your flock and I pray that your new flock will be even better than the one you had. Many blessings to you, your family and your homestead.
Thanks for sharing. I watch your channel because I learn a great deal from you and I’ve learned from this video too. Thank you for your transparency too. It’s a tremendous blessing to gain your insights and also feel your painful disappointments. We’re just beginning our homestead so you’ve helped me prepare for the possibilities...and to persist despite the set backs. What a blessing you are. ❤️
I am so sorry to hear about your loss! I hope you find your way thru this and can continue with your breeding program and maybe get more Bress chickens to continue with.
Brother I can tell that your loss hits very hard; my heart goes out to you, your family, and all your good efforts. I wish you all the very best as you carry on.
I know it's disenheartening, but with your surviving flock you can build your numbers. It takes about 30 days for the sperm to clear out of the females reproductive system, so if you gather every single egg they produce now (they will start laying within 2 weeks) and hatch them. you can have a decent flock in 6 months. Don't loose hope, Simeon! We are all praying for you and your family!
Oh, God, I love these kids so much!! So precious. Thanks for sharing them with us. Can't get enough!
Thank you for showing not only the realism of farming, but that of your parenting. So many others edit out their children. You are an inspiration. Sorry for your loss.
It's great that you share the ups and downs. Especially for those of us that need to know. Thank you
Had chickens on our farm growing up and almost exact same thing happened to us. Great thing was that the hens eggs were already fertilized from the breeding by the roosters and we were able to get new chicks when the hens went to setting on their eggs. Bless you my friend and what an awesome experience you are giving people around the world to view.
Sorry for your loss. Thanks for keeping it real. -- The kids are cute, and your patience quite admirable.
So sorry for your loss. But we pick up and move forward. You can do it. Thank you for sharing and being real!
You are a caring man. It shows how you tend to the care of your children and present yourself.
Sorry for the situation. It had to be very sickening to come upon.
I'm so sorry to hear about this! How heartbreaking that must have been. Hope things get better soon.
Sorry for the loss. Happened to a friend of mine last year. So good for you to share.
Thank you for sharing this with us. I’m so very sorry that happened to your flock. I hope you can build your flock back soon. Probably was a fox. So sorry.
You have beautiful kids. Love your family. ❤️
So sorry for your loss. I can only imagine how difficult this was, and I admire you for sharing. It is important to remember there are difficult times too. Makes the successes all the more rewarding.
Simeon I'm truly sorry for your lose of live stock. Thank you for sharing this devastating news with us. I so love all your videos and shared information you share so freely. I've learnt so much from you. THANK YOU.
Sorry for the loss of so many of your chickens. I know that you will recover, make adjustments to your safety measures, and you will start again, stronger than ever.
Tack för att du delade med dig av denna upplevelse. Det hjälpa oss andra som skall börja en liknande resa. Uppskattad.
I'm so sorry that you lost so many of your birds, Simeon. Best wishes on getting things up and prospering again.
So sorry that this has happened to you. I am going to be getting a small flock together this coming spring, and it is helpful to hear problems others encounter. Great for a newbie. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Such a beautiful landscape, thanks for sharing it with us. I've grown up in Oregon, which is a rainforest area, and it's beautiful. Your lands are another kind of beautiful.
I'm sorry to hear about the birds, I'm sure that's rough. I wish you guys the best in rebuilding.
Simeon, I am so sorry to hear what happened to your flock. It is so disheartening but I know you will come back from this. Prayers for your farm and family. Also, it's good you told your daughter how serious it is to risk a fall from the hunting tower.
Thanks so much. I for one really appreciate your heartfelt honesty
I loved to see your patience and calmness with your daughter. Though you were busy and in the middle of something else, you still took the time to not be irritated or short with her, instead you remained calm and clearly explained the problems with her attempting this ladder on her own. More fathers could learn from your example
It is so depressing when you have cared for living creatures and another living creature comes and destroys what you have cared for. I lost 5 of my flock to predators as well and it was so discouraging. Keep us posted we love your Swedish Homestead.
Geez...this is rough. Thank you, though, for being real and telling the truth about how it is - good or bad. So sorry about your loss.
Your kids are adorable!
Thanks for sharing. It's important for people to see the good and the bad. Sorry for your loss.
Always hard to "like" such videos with hard news... but I very much appreciate your authenticity...I still think you have a beautiful place... and the truth is the diversity is part of the whole picture...predator/prey... safely/ harm... abundance/loss... without the one we don't appreciate the other. I pray you will rebuild and come back stronger... you answer to none of us... we are honored to be able to share in both your joy and loss... thank you! Smiles and blessings
Thank you for sharing all that you do. You do have such a beautiful farm and family. I am terribly sorry for your loses but I know you’re already overcoming it. You have a positive, never give up attitude and I’m certain that’s part of all your successes. Thank you again, for taking us along. Gods continued blessings and bounty be with you and yours. ~Lisa
Thanks for being so honest. I live in a high predator area and keep thinking about having chickens here. You just reminded me why I don't do it.
So sorry for your loss. It is such a joy to see such a healthy wholesome family. God bless you all.
Sorry to hear about your loss. May God give you the strength and blessing to move foward. You are a strong man, you can do it. BLESS YOU!
So sorry to hear of your losses. Being raised on a farm many years of my life, I know of some of the many hardships farmers go through..
Sorry for the loss. Thks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing. I know it was not easy for you. Gods blessings .
So sorry for your losses. I hope you are able to recoup, rebuild n figure out a way to avoid this happening again. Wishing you the best from Quebec, Canada. (Your kids are really cute) Love your channel n family values!!!! 🍁
Sorry to hear about your flock. It's not all good happy times running a farm. I think it's an important reminder for all of us. Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful kids, growing up in a beautiful place with a great father!
Thank You.For sharing your Farm Life and making it Real.
Your children are absolutely adorable... the most precious things on your homestead. :) So sorry about the chickens...
Simeon, I am so sorry about the attack on your flock. I feel your pain. I had an egg business with over 100 hens, 5 roosters, 36 ducks, 4 geese, and 10 quail. One winter I started losing some 3 month old gosling's I was raising for a restaurant. Next it was chickens. This was in the daytime too. I started seeing a large red fox loping through my pasture. it seemed that the fox would wait for me to go to work in the morning then he would jump the fence into my chicken pen and just kill chickens. One day in February,I only worked a half day. I got home at 12:30 and went straight to the chicken pen and found 4 dead chickens (one rooster was still warm.) Then I found 4 more buried in the yard. I must have interrupted his killing spree because as far as I could tell he hadn't taken any. His greed was his downfall though. The next day I was off work and I kept watch over the flock all day and locked them up tight. I also borrowed a trap and baited it with a dead hen. By that night he was hungry enough to go into the trap for the hen. I went out for a final night check and my dog alerted to the trap. When I shined the light on the cage I saw him then went back to the house for the gun. In the morning light next day, I saw why he was hunting during the day instead of nighttime. This fox was suffering from a bad case of mange. with about half of his fur gone it was probably too cold for him to hunt at night. My chickens were easy daytime prey but we're locked up tight at night. So I had put him out of his misery and mine.
Jon Doe, I did that fox a favor because he had mange so bad he had lost half of his hair. He couldn't hunt at night because it was so cold he couldn't keep warm enough. Therefore he couldn't catch his normal prey. I was within my rights to kill the fox because he was killing my livestock and damaging my business. I don't go around killing animals for the fun of it and I made sure I was killing the fox that had caused the damage. Honestly, if he had just taken a chicken or duck every once and a while because he was hungry, I wouldn't have had a problem with that. It happens sometimes with Hawks and I'm fine with that. This fox was killing just to kill and didn't even eat any of the chickens he killed. It's possible the fox had rabies or something else wrong with him, I don't know but he wasn't behaving normally. Without treatment the mange would have gotten so bad he would have lost all of his hair and froze to death if he hadn't starved first. I put that fox out of his misery. Call me a horrible person if you like but I don't feel sorry for killing that fox.
Jon Doe, I don't know what you are talking about and neither do you. I am not white, I am Native American. My people killed animals to eat for thousands of years until Europeans came and stole our land, cut down our forests, dug up the land, killed off our game, and locked the native people up on reservations with soil that wouldn't grow a tumbleweed without a means to hunt food. They were given rotten meat and flour with bugs in it issued by the government. Yeah, there are people who hunt for sport or trophies. I am not one of them. I killed one sick fox that was devestating my livestock. I don't go out hunting foxes that are in their territory minding their own business. These foxes live in the city and come into our yards. They kill our cats and small dogs and chickens if one dares to keep them.
Don't assume you know me from one TH-cam post. You just show what an ignorant ass you are.
@Jon Doe are u saying native americans are vegetarians? And wev delt with many neighbors who kill on site wether the fox is a problem or not. I think she was in the right
@@dianarussell6278 You had to make an ass out of yourself by saying "the europeans did it". The europeans did fuck all, the europeans were friends among themselves as much as american tribes were, in other words, would wage warfare among themselves. Stop making it into a racial thing. Most european kingdoms/nations didn't have any colonies or were even colonized themselves.
Thanks for sharing, Simeon. You're one of my favorite channels exactly because you share your struggles and failures, which in themselves provide lessons. This is WAY better than the fakes who just pontificate as if they know it all and/or use the channel as an infomercial so that vendors give them free stuff to advertise.
Thanks for sharing even the down times, your channels fantastic and I must say I truly enjoy watching your family's Journey. I hope many more successes and setbacks and I know you will achieve that! Best wishes
sorry for your loss. it stinks to have to start basically from scratch. but I'm sure that you will overcome. good luck and thank you for being real with us
You are so kind and gentle with your children - they will learn your ways and be strong kind adults.
oldchickenlady. Yes he seems just such a father....probably also how his father was with him..
Thanks for keeping it real, Simeon...I'll admit I'm one who tends to forget that what I see on your videos (generally) is your Sunday best and not necessarily how you live the other six days.
Back in the 80s I had several small flocks and saved the eggs from hens I knew were good layers. I borrowed an incubator and hatched out about 20 chicks. I brooded them in the house and then put them in their own pen. One morning I went outside to feed them and they were all dead. A dog I didn't know scared them to death because he wanted to play with them. All that time, effort and money gone. I haven't had chickens since, although that isn't the reason. That's life on the farm.
I'm sorry for the loss. Stay strong...You are BLESSED!
Thank you for sharing all parts of homesteading. Some days it seems there are way more hard things, than pretty.
Sorry for your loss. Keep on and thanks for the honesty.
So sorry to hear about your flock, bad stuff happens when we're not looking. Many hopes and prayers that you get things worked out soon and remain a strong and happy family. Many hugs to your family, peace and love. Blessings
What a lovely family you have! Just like a pioneer in the old west, you tell what happened and soldier on, accepting that it is natural for predators to be opportunistic. Please do not give up! God bless your efforts and give you strength and finances to carry on!
You have such a beautiful family. Your kids are living a wonderful childhood. It's heartwarming to watch your videos. All the best to you.
Your so patient with your children. So sorry you had a predator come into your life but chin up and keep up the great work and love your videos, Carol from Michigan
Hang in there Simeon! All the good stuff and all the bad stuff still make a beautiful farm! Love you and your wonderful family!
I love your videos. You give a real perspective of life on a farm. You have such a beautiful family. Sending love and prayers your way
Thank you for sharing this moment of REALITY.
The editing process of TH-cam can certainly a create a curated experience for viewers, but having you describe and recap this is hopefully helpful for you as well as showcasing these real life situations for us.
Best of luck on the lessons you learn from this and know that it WILL get better. :)
I'm a newer subscriber to your channel and really enjoy it and have learned many things from your sharing and I really appreciate the effort to create the content that you do.
I'm so sorry for your losses. Thank you for being real. Goodness your kiddos are adorable. Forward you all go. :)
So sad to hear of your losses. No doubt you will learn from the experience and move forward as you have from every other set-back. Set-backs and challenges make us smarter and tougher. Thank you for keeping your vlog real.
Sorry for the loss. I'm actually building a chickshaw and I'm using your ideas to help build mines. Thanks for sharing your triumphs and misfortunes, you are a great inspiration to me.
Thank you for keeping us in the loop. We know it's real life with real challenges. It's why we like coming back. You're real...good & not so good _& bad you share. Thank you for that.
Thanks for being honest with us. I know you will keep going because two of the best reasons were with you in the stand.
There will be bad days but you regroup and come back stronger that is key. You have beautiful children. It is always good to hear an update from your farm. Keep on giving it your best effort is all you have to do.
Sorry for the loss of your chickens. Those babies are adorable. Just precious
So sorry for your loss. It always stinks to lose animals on the farm. You are resilient and will come through this. Best wishes.
A set back for sure... ☹️
you and you’re family are amazing, thank you for sharing. I really enjoy a peek into what you do on your homestead.
keep going i love looking at what you are doing my husband john and i have just retired from our farm and we bred highland cattle and i have a flock of chicks but we don’t have fox’s thank goodness good luck get more chicks i love them
Stay strong 💪! I love your videos and admire your hard work. Learned a lot here. My husband's family had a farm in Poland and had to stop farming due to economic reasons. It was hard work. Best wishes.
Sorry to hear about the loss of your flock! Been there myself and it sucks! Best wishes to you!
Thank you for sharing good times and bad. Sorry for your loss, it hurts but it is reality. Hard as we try sometimes things happen. You have a great outlook and your children get to know what is real and accept things better as they grow up. Don't lose heart.
Thank you for sharing your good journey and the bad times. God bless
So sorry to hear about your sadness. Nothing can take away your knowledge that you learned. God bless!
I'm sorry about the losses ,thank you for being open
Thank you for sharing your hardship. I know it is a reality but still devastates. You have such beautiful children. God bless. Brenda in N TEXAS, USA
I really appreciate you, Simeon, and this video. I also agree somewhat with Ronnie in Florida, that you accept the responsibility. It's our job to care for and protect our animals. Thus, to some degree, we have to accept the blame for disasters like this. I'm confident you'll bounce back, brother, wiser, better, increasingly successful and fruitful. Your kids are also very precious. Protect them with all you're worth!
You got this bud. You know these things happen from time to time and it really sucks when they do. Sorry for your setback but setback sometimes gives us a chance to reevaluate and continue to grow in the directions we wanted or needed to go to begin with. Kick the dust off your heels, stay grateful for the opportunity to learn, and continue to move forward.
May all your branches become full of fruit.
So sorry for your loss :'( Hopefully you will recover from this soon, A great year weather wise but still problems arise, You have you're health and a beautiful family and I wish you all well, peace to all :D
Ugh. I am so sorry you have had to go through this. I have lost birds to a bobcat, a cougar both during the day and to raccoons at night. The raccoons were the worst. I had a migraine that morning and I got out a bit late to let them out. I was sobbing as I came back in. Knowing they had died scared and I had lost the majority of the birds was really hard. Not many eggs or meat that year. Just a month ago a neighbor lost their chickens here. It happens, even if you do everything right and are careful. Thanks for posting this though because it really is important that people understand that these kinds of things can happen.
I love watching you with your little loves. You are such a loving and patient parent. Sorry you had to go through this loss. Homesteading can be rough sometimes. Chin up and press through.
So sorry for your losses! You guys do a great job! We've experienced setbacks too, my entire laying flock started egg eating, and even will crawl into the roll away boxes. No matter what I've tried, nothing helped. They love the taste. So I have to butcher them all and order new birds. Thanks for being real! You have a very good and honest heart! And so sweet and honest with the kids too ("dead or paralyzed" comment made me chuckle, I say the same thing)!
So very sorry for your loses. As you said, you show all aspects of what farming is about. Many only show the good and too many people jump in to homesteading with no knowledge about raising birds or livestock. Thank you for your honesty.
Aw Simeon, I hate hearing that you lost so many. Very strange this happened to me this past weeks with my backyard chickens. My son actually caught the fox in action and chased it away before it could take the hens away. We will come back stronger. Blessings to you and be encouraged in His provision. Thanks for sharing.
So very sorry about your chickens. Heartaches are so hard. Best wishes for your recovery. I will be thinking about you and your family and the work you will be doing to bring your dreams back to a new beginning!
I feel your pain !!! same story happened to us but in a much smaller scale. We only had 30 chickens and one very feisty rooster in there with them. They had come in from free ranging and everything was peaceful, but in the morning we came to let them out and found the rooster decapitated and right by the door. He must have fought all night long, we think with a raccoon . Killed 20 of our 30 chickens. Don't know how he got in or out !!! I feel your pain !!!!
Big hug and so sorry for your loss. God bless.
I second the sentiments of Dolly and the wisdom expressed by Fred. Are all your current hatchlings already promised to customers? Can you pull some of them out of the 'pipeline' to rebuild the flock since they are the product of your selection process? God be with you and guide you. He has blessed you with adorable children.