Long time parrot breeder - new to chickens

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Cheryl Reese

Cheryl Reese

Hatching
Jul 4, 2015
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I'm from Oklahoma and have been keeping and breeding parrots for about 30 years. I have a Moluccan Cockatoo, an African Grey 2 Double Yellow Heads Amazons and a Nape Amazon as pets. I also have breeding pairs as follows: 2 prs. of Double Yellow Heads, 1 pr. Napes and 1 pr. of Lilac Crown Amazons. The majority of my parrots have been bred, raised and handfed by me.

I recently obtained my first layer chickens and just yesterday, got them set up out in their chicken house (10x14 foot shed that I have covered the floor with straw. I raised them from tiny chicks and they are about 7 weeks old now. I have them set up with their feed and water, and a few roosting places for them in the building. After they are used to their house I plan to let them run loose in the yard and be free range backyard chickens. I'm hoping that they can't get over the 4 foot fence, but just in cause I have a full roll of welded wire to build them a covered pen. Time will tell. Aside from their grower feed, I have been supplementing them with fresh veggies and fruit that has been chopped up in the food processor (which they love).

I have 3 Barred Rock hens, a Rhode Island Red Hen, a Buffington Orp and an Americauna. BTW......all my chicken will be used only for eggs, as I could never bear to slaughter one of them........they are pets to me. I'm intrigued by all the different breeds of layer hens, but I figured this six were enough to start with and I don't want to upset any neighbors.

I'm looking forward to learning all about chickens.
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. Unless you trim the flight feathers on one of their wings, your birds will have no trouble whatsoever flying over a four foot fence. Even with a wing trimmed some of them may make it over your fence. Definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is loads of useful information there that will keep you from making beginners' mistakes. Please feel free to ask any specific questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.
 
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Welcome to BYC!

That's a nice mix of breeds you have.

If you're worried about them getting over the fence, just take a pair of scissors and cut the outer feathers on ONE wing. This will leave them unbalanced so they can't fly, but it doesn't hurt them. The feathers will eventually grow back normally; it's not permanent. Of course, you probably know this since you have parrots!
 
It would be better to cover their run or extend the height of your fence and have the top part angle Inward to make it more difficult for them. If you clip wings, there goes one avenue of escape from predators.
 
drumstick diva said:
It would be better to cover their run or extend the height of your fence and have the top part angle Inward to make it more difficult for them. If you clip wings, there goes one avenue of escape from predators.
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I might try this..........that sounds easy enough.
 

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