I’m Nwachi, and I’m happy to be here! Thanks to Pattie and Danny for the warm welcome. 😊 I came across FIA and loved the idea of having a place where people can share the funny, messy, and sometimes completely unexpected side of life with animals. 😂 I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone, seeing your animals, hearing your stories, and learning from the community. Glad to be part of the Agency! 🐓🦆🐾 Looking forward to meeting everyone!

Danny had to move Buttercup this morning. She is sitting some eggs and decided to move off of them. We moved her because we figured she would end up moving anyway but we don’t want to keep moving the eggs. This is her second time going broody. She sat on some chicken eggs last time and then we added some baby guinia under her when the chicks hatched. We are hoping to add some baby call ducks under her this time. The duck eggs are in the incubator now, the timing should be about right. Buttercup is a great mama. We have only ever had three chickens go broody and it has not happened much.

Gracie is always looking for a snack of eggs. She knows she isn’t supposed to be in there but she still looks. I don’t think she realized it was going to cause so much trouble.

Around here, not every visitor is friendly. Whether you have chickens, ducks, guineas, rabbits or other backyard animals, predators can show up when you least expect them—and sometimes in broad daylight. Depending on where you live, you may be dealing with raccoons, rats, foxes, coyotes, hawks, owls, snakes, opossums, stray dogs and other animals looking for an easy meal. We have lost some of our animals due to predators and we are always on the lookout for any trace of them. Recently my husband caught a snake near the chicken run. A few things worth checking around your own “headquarters”: 🐾 Look for weak spots. Check fencing, gates, corners and anywhere an animal could dig under, squeeze through or reach through. 🔒 Check those locks. Raccoons are surprisingly good with simple latches. If it can be flipped or pushed open easily, it may not be predator-proof. 🕳️ Watch the ground. Tracks, digging, feathers, disturbed dirt and unexplained holes can tell you something has been checking out your property. 🌙 Don't forget nighttime security. A run that works fine during the day may not be enough protection after dark. Make sure everyone is safely secured before calling it a night. 📹 Cameras can be eye-opening. Sometimes you have no idea what is wandering around your property while you're asleep until you see the footage! And remember—predator-proof doesn't mean predator-never. Keep checking your setup. Animals are persistent, and what worked yesterday may eventually become a weak spot. We use hardware cloth all around our runs and we do keep our runs open to the coop at night. The only time we had a problem with something getting in was a large rat. My husband, Danny and Gracie go rat hunting every night with a BB gun. Otherwise so far it has kept everything out. 🕵️‍♀️ FIA FIELD QUESTION: What predators are your biggest concern where you live? Have you ever caught one trying to get into your coop, run or animal area? And most importantly—what have you done that actually worked to keep your animals safe?