Some updated photos of my baby mail-order koi

[Damon0306]

Took some new photos of the baby koi I purchased about 3 weeks ago.

There finally starting to pack on some size and are growing very well.

These babies were to restart my pond, after a major disaster losing all my 5 year + large koi, due to my own fault not following a quarantine procedure with new fish.

So I am starting from scratch again, and boy have I learned my lesson. Just cannot describe the feeling of losing such large fish that you had for years.

But anyway I'm really enjoying these new guys..

Me and the dogs are on constant Heron patrol.

Lately there has been a hawk scoping my pond, do they eat fish? I took a photo of the bird, but because it was so far away it was hard to focus on the bird.

But make no mistake it was some sort of Hawk.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.






My rat terriers kill birds baby squirrels, moles frogs and just about anything that comes into the yard.. Good thing because I have a on going battle with Herons.

[mitten]

Its nice to have terriers in the yard to keep the varmints away. Nothing in or on the ground anymore so they bark at the birds, doves, crows, vultures, hawks (some skim low through the yard) and now...planes.

Good luck with your new fish. Looks like the red and white posse.

Mickey the windowman

[Sangreaal]

That's a red-tailed hawk you have, and no worries of it swooping your pond. They prefer the little furries on the ground--better to keep an eye on your rat terrier when a red-tail is around, though they naturally prefer mice, rats, gophers, rabbits and hares, and sometimes lizards and snakes.

Marie

[PapaBear]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sangreaal That's a red-tailed hawk you have, and no worries of it swooping your pond. They prefer the little furries on the ground--better to keep an eye on your rat terrier when a red-tail is around, though they naturally prefer mice, rats, gophers, rabbits and hares, and sometimes lizards and snakes. Marie

I had several Koi (HAD being the key word) that would argue with you about that statement

[Sangreaal]

Quote: Originally Posted by PapaBear I had several Koi (HAD being the key word) that would argue with you about that statement

I sit corrected! .5% of a red-tail's diet can be fish.

Diet: mammals including mice, rats, moles, shrews, squirrels, pocket gophers, cottontails, opossums, muskrats, weasels, how cats (70-85%); birds including ducks, coots, pigeons, quail, rails, gallinules, doves, woodpeckers, songbirds, pheasants, crows and rarely poultry (10-15%); reptiles and amphibians (3-10%); fish (.5%); invertebrates (1-5%)

I have a pair of red-tails that nest in an old oak here on the property and raise their young here every year. One of the fledglings got off to a hard start this season and I had to bring it in to play catch up with the others. S/he had no attraction to fish at all, but man, you should have seen its eyes pop when I offered a mouse! They've never attacked my chickens or cats in the years they've lived, bred and hunted here, but they do a great job on the furry vermin the kitties miss!

Marie

[luke frisbee]

I've noticed raptors seem to intentionally travel directly over the pond....
A) clear underneath so no worries
B) see further out to the sides for dinner