Posts: 485
Threads: 49
Joined: Dec 2006
Beachboy wrote, regarding coqui:
"...Besides, who knows if the economy keeps taking a dive. Those little creatures could end up on the barbecue menu in the near future!"
I wonder, has anyone actually tried eating a coqui frog as yet? If so, then please do tell. "Tastes like chicken, but noisier," maybe?
Seriously, though, does anyone know if they have any toxins in their skins (seems unlikly, with chickens and suchlike eating them) or perhaps (more likely) harbor any unpleasant helminthic/bacterial/viral parasites or diseases? Cooking (as via frying in oil) should neutralize most any protein-based threat if done thoroughly enough, but --as with the Giant African Snails-- just touching the moist froggies without gloves may be risky if they are serving as a vector for passing some organism on to humans.
The question is not entirely just stemming from pure curiousity; if (as during WWII) it ever comes to down to eating termites and coqui or starving then it might be good to know what to expect and what sorts of precautions to take vis a vis dining on coqui. (Termites apparently are very bitter tasting, but will sustain human life at dire necessity).
)'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'(
"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."
Pres. John Adams, Scholar and Statesman
"There's a scientific reason to be concerned and there's a scientific reason to push for action. But there's no scientific reason to despair."
NASA climate analyst Gavin Schmidt
)'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'(
)'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'(
Astonishing skill! This archer is a real-life Legolas and then some!
http://geekologie.com/2013/11/real-life-...rs-anc.php
)'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'( )'(
we need to find a solution.
But you don't fund a program to try. That is why most govt projects suck.
What we need is an X-prise approach. We should figure say, 3 million tax free bucks goes to the first guy that figures it out.
Posts: 1,243
Threads: 55
Joined: Feb 2008
We rented a house in the Kehena Beach area in Feb. of 2006. At night you could hear the surf... nothing else except an occasional car without a muffler (someone could make a mint with a muffler shop in Puna!) driving up the hill. In February 2007... we heard what we thought was "a" singular singing frog. "Oh how charming!" We had been to many Caribbean islands before with singing frogs, not the Coqui, but noise makers none the less. We also lived on a lake near Chicago where we had lots of tree frogs and cicadas... both made noise, but we considered it natural noise....noise with charm. And we have lived in downtown Chicago where sirens and traffic were constant noises not charming but to be expected in a major urban area. In May of 2007 we rented the house again for a month... this time there were probably 30 or 40 Coqui frogs in residence on the 1/4 acre lot. Part of the problem is that the owners had planted a great deal of bromeliads and we had rain nearly every night. Perfect breeding ground for the Coqui. It was not deafening but we could no longer hear the surf and it certainly was not as charming as when there was just one.
Then we went to visit Barbara Fahs' Hi''iaka's Healing Garden in HPP for an article I was writing for Edible Hawaiian Islands Magazine. Barbara wrote the book Super Simple Guide to Creating Hawaiian Gardens. She also writes the column, "The Healthful Herbalist" for the Hawaii Island Journal. She has established a large natural garden on a lava bed in HPP. She had recently been to a symposium on the Coqui Frogs and the danger that they present to Hawaii. While we were there, Barbara had workers tearing out hundreds of her beautiful bromeliads because they were home to the Coqui and she is one of those people who cannot sleep when they are making noise. According to her, unchecked they can grow to numbers of 40,000 or more per acre. THAT would drive anyone nuts. Since they have no "natural" predators in Hawaii, this is a serious problem. Later I did learn from people in Honokaa and Kukuihale that when chickens are allowed to run free on property the frog population remains in check. There are still a few of them, but for the most part they are eradicated. That makes a lot more sense to me than citric acid or spraying pesticides and government spraying.
A note about government spraying. I lived in Costal South Carolina where mosquitos were a serious problem. They had trucks and airplanes spraying chemicals all over at night. It was so spooky. There was no voice given to the public about this issue. The bottom line is that the government thought it was good for the people... period.
All I know is I am getting some chickens in January as soon as we get into our house! Anybody know where I can get them?
Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany
Devany Vickery-Davidson
East Bay Potters
www.eastbaypotters.com
Posts: 990
Threads: 22
Joined: Dec 2007
Devany, watch out which subdivision you are in before you get chickens, in their haste to keep Puna rural, the newly arrived jerks have banned chickens in their subdivisions. Sometimes I think the coqui is a punishment from the Gods for banning chickens.
Gordon J Tilley
Posts: 581
Threads: 44
Joined: Feb 2006
Devany,
Join this Yahoo Group and you can get your chicken questions answered (or at least discussed - LOL):
mailto: hawaiichickens@yahoogroups.com
Allen
Baton Rouge, LA & HPP
Allen
Finally in HPP
Posts: 507
Threads: 64
Joined: May 2008
According to
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/coqui/bio_control.asp
chickens may not be so helpful in getting rid of coquis:
Chickens
Since there have been numerous reports of chickens consuming coqui frogs, trials were conducted with wild chickens and have yielded mixed results. Chickens are active during the day while the frogs are taking refuge from the sun. Chickens will eat coqui frogs they encounter when scratching if the frog is moving, but frogs are not their primary food source. These trials have only been conducted in cages where frogs do not have a clear means of escape. In large, open areas frogs will likely hop away before chickens have a chance to catch them. Similarly, feral cats, rats, and mongoose may opportunistically eat coqui frogs, but frogs are not their primary food source and it is highly unlikely they reduce frog population sizes.
Given the potential for an increased number of feral chickens, cats, rats, and mongoose, and the ecological problems and noise disturbances associated with them we do not recommend the use of these animals as a coqui frog control measure.
I don't know about this chicken scaring coqui myth.
We have plenty jungle fowl running around but still have coqui.[V]
-------
My Blog
Posts: 1,243
Threads: 55
Joined: Feb 2008
Thanks, I will check with our neighbors. We are not really in a sub division... we are on Paukaa Point, only 8 neighbors.
quote:
Originally posted by gtill
Devany, watch out which subdivision you are in before you get chickens, in their haste to keep Puna rural, the newly arrived jerks have banned chickens in their subdivisions. Sometimes I think the coqui is a punishment from the Gods for banning chickens.
Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany
Devany Vickery-Davidson
East Bay Potters
www.eastbaypotters.com
Posts: 1,243
Threads: 55
Joined: Feb 2008
Mahalo Allen! Who would have thought that there was a group dedicated just to Hawaiian Chickens??? I am joining right away!
LOL
quote:
Originally posted by allensylves
Devany,
Join this Yahoo Group and you can get your chicken questions answered (or at least discussed - LOL):
mailto: hawaiichickens@yahoogroups.com
Allen
Baton Rouge, LA & HPP
Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany
Devany Vickery-Davidson
East Bay Potters
www.eastbaypotters.com
Posts: 1,243
Threads: 55
Joined: Feb 2008
Rbakker & Damon,
I know this is not at all scientific, but we stayed at two properties in Kukuihaele and one in Ahualoa on our last trip buying real estate. All three of these people swore that they had tons of the Coqui before buying chickens and letting them roam. I did not see a single cat. Two of these places had also done work to eliminate water holding plants. And let's keep in mind that last summer there was a bit of a drought up there. Only one place had more than 2 acres and they had 50 chickens roaming the property, no fences, but creeks and cliffs on both sides. BTW, these were "Jumping/Flying chickens" I saw them up in the trees, as high as 8'- 10'. That sounds good to me. Regardless, these frogs are a menace and anything that works, even a little bit is something.
quote:
Originally posted by rbakker
According to
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/coqui/bio_control.asp
chickens may not be so helpful in getting rid of coquis:
Chickens
Since there have been numerous reports of chickens consuming coqui frogs, trials were conducted with wild chickens and have yielded mixed results. Chickens are active during the day while the frogs are taking refuge from the sun. Chickens will eat coqui frogs they encounter when scratching if the frog is moving, but frogs are not their primary food source. These trials have only been conducted in cages where frogs do not have a clear means of escape. In large, open areas frogs will likely hop away before chickens have a chance to catch them. Similarly, feral cats, rats, and mongoose may opportunistically eat coqui frogs, but frogs are not their primary food source and it is highly unlikely they reduce frog population sizes.
Given the potential for an increased number of feral chickens, cats, rats, and mongoose, and the ecological problems and noise disturbances associated with them we do not recommend the use of these animals as a coqui frog control measure.
Aloha au i Hawai`i,
devany
Devany Vickery-Davidson
East Bay Potters
www.eastbaypotters.com
|
