test please delete

[SueEllen]

Short(ish) answer: we have chickens and the squirrel is heavy enough to open the feeder. It then eats the corn (which is mixed in with layers pellets) and throws the pellets on the ground. This brings in rats.
If it doesn't find corn then it takes the pellets.

The amount of food 4 chickens would eat in a day can go to one squirrel in about 15 minutes. If you refill the feeder, they will just take more a cache it somewhere.

The fox and badger that regularly come into our garden can't get at the chickens because their main run (6x4 metres) is fenced off and the house is off the ground with an automatic door, so at night when either of them turn up, they don't get in.

(Actually that wasn't short at all, was it)

Fair enough. I don't particularly like them because they dig up young plants and bulbs.

It got to the point the only way some stuff survived outside was putting a layer of chilli powder on the soil.

Cats and other animals were intelligent enough to avoid the area because it made them sneeze.

The problem has decreased now due to some trees being cut down.

[SueEllen]

Morning!

[norrahe]

Morning

[eek]

Morning: wave;

Definitely morning by the looks of that message

[norrahe]

Definitely morning by the looks of that message

I haven't had enough sleep or caffeine and it's been a mare of a week.

[NickFitz]

Half asleep here :

The lead dev has been reworking the data-gathering process while I was away. The result is that there's no data. So I'm just going through all my views making sure they show some sensible message when there's nothing to display

Bacon will be here soon

[zeitghost]

I've just had a nice snooze whilst "reading" a 1981 manual on diskette drives and some obscure operating system of which I've never previously heard.

But the sun's out now, so time to wake up a bit.

[norrahe]

Half asleep here :

The lead dev has been reworking the data-gathering process while I was away. The result is that there's no data. So I'm just going through all my views making sure they show some sensible message when there's nothing to display

Bacon will be here soon

I could do with some bacon. Think I've still got some of the home made stuff in the freezer, might go and dig some out.

[barrydidit]

Re dispatching squirrels.

As I understand, it is illegal to release the creatures so once trapped they must be killed. It's also illegal to kill them in an inhumane way, so chucking the trap in a binfull of water isn't considered sporting. I think the only thing which can be done is to shoot them, but that's a bit tricky also if they're in a little cage.

What's your method, Fox Hat? I always wondered about mains voltage through the cage

When I kept hens there was never an issue with squirrels. Pigeons and rats were right buggers, and once a jackdaw got into the run and couldn't get back out. Chickens pecked it nearly to death before i could fish it out. Dunno whether it survived or ended up as somethings dinner.

[SueEllen]

Re dispatching squirrels.

As I understand, it is illegal to release the creatures so once trapped they must be killed. It's also illegal to kill them in an inhumane way, so chucking the trap in a binfull of water isn't considered sporting. I think the only thing which can be done is to shoot them, but that's a bit tricky also if they're in a little cage.

What's your method, Fox Hat? I always wondered about mains voltage through the cage

Electrocution would have the RSPCA after you however quick it is.

They think they are the law when in fact they have to go to court like everyone else.