Recent content by Western North Carolina

mine are all 3 months old. 4 have streamers coming out of the back of their hair poof, and 1 does not, and has very round ball like "hair." So I assume I have 4 boys and 1 girl.

Out of all my wcb polish, only 2 have large wattles, and 1 has smaller wattles. The other 7 have zero wattles. Do they develop at different ages, or can I assume the ones with the large wattles are males. At 7 weeks old I assume they don't have saddle feathers yet. Though the ones with...

I don't know how you guys free range bantams. There are fearless hawks around here. No way i can free range mine without major losses. So making several large, lightweight chx tractors, as well as the run. I wish i could free range. But may as well put up a sign "free lunch for hawks."

And so it has begun. I have 30 bantams. 20 polish, 5 silkies, and 5 cochin, all 4 1/2 weeks old. A few of the polish are showing the beginnings of plucking. The one in pic being the worst. It is also the smallest of the polish. I separated it right away. I think it is a silkie doing it...

sorry, i realized that after. Wasn't sure what HC meant... hardware cloth, duh. I'm stressing too hard about making them safe. I dont want to go overboard, just make it safe. Thanks for your suggestion. Definitely looks impenetrable.

Thanks. I kinda figured, but had seen other people seemingly knowing gender by 3 or 4 weeks old, and with far away pics too, so thought I'd try.

It's just that in searching for answers myself, I saw that a lot of other people had asked similar questions and got no real response either, so I thought it would be helpful. Lots of people pre-search for wire online before going comparing prices to a local hardware store, etc, or to see what...

Yes, I saw that before, but it said nothing about gauge. The thing is, all those different kinds of fencing that site has pictured, come in different gauges. So if someone says, "welded wire fencing" that could be any one of multiple gauges. As someone else mention about "looking for the holy...

Any guesses on the genders? 3 are frizzles, and 2 black ones are smooth. All bantams. 3 1/2 weeks old. Chick 1. (frizzle) Chick 2. (frizzle) Chick 3 (frizzle) Chick 4. Smooth Chick 5. Smooth

I would be afraid to do only bottom in 1/2" hardware cloth, because weasels and smaller coons, etc can climb right up and in through the larger wire openings. I assumed I had to do the whole thing in 1/2 hardware cloth, and then cover that in a stronger gauge wire since possums etc can break...

So possums can't chew threw 19 gauge 1/2" hardware cloth? I ordered that size hardware cloth, but am afraid a possum or something similar will be able to chew through in near corners or something. I have read many people claiming that a possum chewed through it. I plan on covering it with...

I have asked, and seen other people ask repeatedly (in various locations around the internet) about the minimal wire gauge to keep certain predators out, but there is never a specific answer, only vague answers. People say "the thicker the better" or "welded wire" or "fencing wire," etc. Of...

Nobody answered the question, which was WHAT GAUGE wire?

I live south of fontana dam, 3 miles south of the western smoky mountains. 80 percent of the land in this county is gov forest. I have about 1/2 to a 1/2 acre grassed, and the rest is surrounded by tall trees. Behind my house is nothing but forest. So lots of predators. I don't have a dog...

I was wondering the same. Mine are only 3 1/2 weeks, and some are pretty large. I figure they will be twice the size they are now when fully grown, but not sure. My polish are almost twice the size of the cochins and silkies, but they are all the same age.