one of the reasons I finally put chicken wire over the smithy's open gables...except mine was a dove in the roof trusses that couldn't build a proper nest and could leave large messes in the shop. I got the ends covered before this year's mating season began!

There is another reason that birds should be discouraged from nesting or setting up shop in a smithy. Especially in an indoor one. That extra reason is some very nasty fungal diseases, that are found in bird feces (xxxx).

San Joaquin Valley fever is found throughout the American southwest. It is a rare but very serious systemic disease. That fungus disease is Coccidioidomycosis.  

 Histoplasmosis is another very serious systemic fungal disease. It is found in bird feces, especially pigeon dung. That disease is common in the Mississippi River and St. Lawrence River valleys The fungus can remain as viable infectious spores in dust, for decades.

None of us needs bird dung build up in our work shops. (there are other nasty fungus diseases like Blastomyces, Nocardia, Aspergillus etc., but I've made the point.)

Permit me to be a little clearer. One bird and one nest should not be a problem. Many roosting birds and their poop is.

SLAG.

don't forget psittacosis!

T.P,

Thanks I forgot about that one.

SLAG.

A couple of rattle snakes, bob cat,  javelin, and an owl that took up residence for a while.

Thanks for wire idea Thomas, i will have to keep that in mind for the future. Unfortunately it is only a 2 sided shop with a roof & thick 60mil plastic walls to block the cross breeze at the moment. A temporary structure just to keep the elements away for now. 

This guy lives in a knot hole the visitors' seat beside my forge. He emerges every so often to survey the scene in case a hapless bug should pass by.

He makes for a handsome custodian for your shop.

I got a decent sized porcupine in my yard last night. He waltzed on in, snuffled around, and waddled off.

I've been chasing the local barn cats out of my shop lately---they are casting their eyes on my nice dry sandy dirt floor.  I've told my wife that she should only feed them if she's willing to neuter them...(wonder if I can get a family discount?...)

5 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

I've been chasing the local barn cats out of my shop lately---they are casting their eyes on my nice dry sandy dirt floor.  I've told my wife that she should only feed them if she's willing to neuter them...(wonder if I can get a family discount?...)

Possibly. Neighbor and feral cats loved littering in out barn. We picked hay off the field so it had to have space between bales when stacked or it'd mold. The barn was an ideal cat litter condo. Deb didn't like my suggestion of clearing the ferals with the pellet rifle and she spend hours a day gentling them down. Live trapped the adults, had them health checked vaccinated, neutered and chipped for the med record access, then released them here. Having a non-breeding resident clouder means there is a lot less chance of strays. Kept them fed and watered in winter, they kept t he barn clear of vermin. 

How that fits in with the family discount question is. Quite possible, a number of animal rights, cat, etc. groups offer to pay or help with the costs involved. Deb re-homed all but one kitten and the new family paid the costs. Qiviut is now the upstairs house cat.

So, ask your vet or call the shelter and see what they say, you might be surprised.

Frosty The Lucky.

My vet is my Daughter, hence the "family discount" comment. Problem being that some of the ones that we are feeding may "belong" to our neighbor's barns...

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

Quite possible, a number of animal rights, cat, etc. groups offer to pay or help with the costs involved.

There are alot of places like that. We had to call animal control about people dumping cats on or ranch. We have watched people on multiple occasions stop and set a box/bag on or next to our fence and before we can call out to ask them if they needed help, a couple cats pop out and scatter to our various barns/outbuildings and the people are peeling out in the getaway car. Animal control told us about the local shelter who lent us the traps, spayed/neutered all of them, and adopted out 40 of the 53 cats we caught. All at no cost to us. We are keeping the 13ish cats left to keep the ground squirrels and Rattlers away. 

7 hours ago, ThomasPowers said:

My vet is my Daughter, hence the "family discount" comment. Problem being that some of the ones that we are feeding may "belong" to our neighbor's barns...

Got me, I forgot about your Daughter. So buy cheaper cat food. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Mr. Owen,

I think that your porcupine visitor was looking for salt (table salt i.e. NaCl ).

Herbivore animals need salt. It's a matter of life & death for them. That's why cattle ranches put out salt licks (salt blocks), for their animals.

Carnivores  and omnivores get their salt from their blood meals.

Salt is essential for digestive juices, such as hydrochloric acid. (HCl). etc.)

Also most animals that use hemoglobin have blood that is 0.9% salt.

Maybe setting out a salt block, away from the house and smithy could solve the problem.

Regards, to all.

SLAG.

As I recall they were rather noted for chewing up axe handles for the salt in them from hard use.  Also that they were a "protected species" for the indigenous people as they could be hunted by people in poor shape in hard times/situations.

Aus, if that Bandy snake was here I would have said it was a King Snake. They are good to have around as they eat rattlesnakes.

Not weird, but cute. I have over 100 of these guys coming through my property every day now that I started feeding them. We are hit 100 yesterday, so I will need to put some water out too. Gambel's Quail  Here in a bit we should start seeing the little fuzzy chicks running behind momma. The Roadrunners consider them a delicacy , A Roadrunner is proof that birds are dinosaur decendents - mini T-Rex

Just had my first rattlesnake of the year contesting my use of my postvise out here at my casita. appx 30" so a small one. (Though they look much bigger when they are striking at you...)

On April 27, 2018 at 6:52 PM, BIGGUNDOCTOR said:

A Roadrunner is proof that birds are dinosaur decendents -

I just watch how my chickens act and think that. 

 

What at did you do about the rattler Thomas? Did you throw a rasptle snake at it?  

It had not asked to borrow my tools; that leaves it open to truncation with Extreme Prejudice!  (As in if it's still their after I go to the shed and fetch an implement it's not a welcome visitor---especially as the brush is only a couple of feet away and I won't chase one into the brush.)

My landlord has about a 30'x30' lawn that is watered in front of my house and the young rabbits are really into *green* food here in the desert and so the Hawks tend to drop by and the snakes as well. On the whole I prefer the hawks as they tend to infringe less on my personal space.

I have a rule for snakes in my living/ working area if I catch them there, if they are non poisonous they get moved along, if they are poisonous they get buried. Haven't cought a poisonous one yet thankfully. Never encountered a black widow spider in these parts either. Hmmm. I like it here.   did see a garter yesterday while mowing the lawn. It moved along before I made another pass. 

You guys are making me nostalgic. I grew up in the high desert of S. Cal. and it was natural to not just walk into brush and be very careful for a couple hours after sunset. We always kept our fingers together when picking up a box, piece of fire place wood, whatever. Black widow  fangs aren't long or strong enough to bite through callus. Here if you want to see a snake you have to look in the yellow pages and arrange for a visit. On RARE occasion a brown recluse will come in in a fruit shipment, bananas seem popular with them.

How rattle snake tastes depends on what they've been eating and the time of year.  Rainy season tastes better than dry, they're gamier when their chow is thirsty.

Frosty The Lucky.

I thought the wall had cracked. Then I looked a little closer.

The non-poisonous black snake has been relocated to the wood pile.

We have a black snake about that size. He roams between the shop and the deck to the house. He sure keeps the rodent population in check. Our big dog hates big snakes, little snakes and sticks that look like snakes. It's fun to watch her do a pirouette when she encounters one.

Interesting design for a light load bracket...