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I stand corrected. It is quite possible to cleanly kill a raccoon with a .177 caliber air rifle. I hope a have a few days of peace while I upgrade the coop.

The run is enclosed by 2x4 wire fencing. The chicken wire was to discourage smaller critters from entering through the space and extends about 24 inches out underground to discourage digging. Recently we acquired quite a bit of lumber and I’ve been planning to build a new coop to secure them at...

About an hour before sunrise the sound of my chickens in distress woke me up. I rushed outside and I saw four out of five hens standing out in the rain. As I checked the a-frame the fifth one popped out. I didn’t see anything in there. My daughter came out because of the commotion and said that...

Yesterday I went to check on my flock and one of my reds started laying. I wasn’t expecting them to lay until next month. I guess she was ready. Here’s a comparison with the leghorn

Good news, apparently I don’t look like a leghorn so I was able to snatch the remaining chicks while I tried to snag a hen. The brooder has been patched up and they’re back in it. I hope that in 3 weeks that they’ll be ready to be integrated with the hens.

There was already a conversation concerning the chicks escaping into the run. Unintended Integration It would be more stressful for the entire flock if I were to go after the chicks rather than the hens.

I lost another chick today to the hens. It’s the fifth day since they were unintentionally integrated with two hens. I thought for the most part it was going well, but apparently not. I just ordered pinless peepers for the hens and it should come in tomorrow. I figure it would be easier to...

Yes, the chicks were in their third week when one of them jumped into the run. Now they are in their fifth week. I was working outside yesterday so I was keeping an eye on them. Today I still pop out to check on them but during the heat of the day the hens seek shade under the brooder and the...

Thank you. I was caught flat footed because I wasn’t planning to integrate them for another few weeks. So far they’ve been adjusting. Last night I checked on them and they were all in the a-frame. I put some obstacles in the run to allow the chicks to run through but to slow down the hens. I...

I was planning to give my chicks more room in the brooder when they discovered that they could escape in to the run from a break they made through the green mesh I used to keep them separate from the hens. So far they’re behaving, but I lost one chick to the hens already so I’m keeping an eye...

We specifically got egg layers to help feed a large family and to teach the children where food comes from and to teach them the importance of taking care of animals.

I think that’s most likely as well, but the hens are drawing blood through the mesh.

I fixed the mesh to keep the chicks from jumping out, but I believe that I have reason to suspect that one of the hens is the aggressor. For the time being I’m barring them from the landing.

The mesh is stapled to the floor. I’ll go ahead and add to the top of the mesh on the front

I checked around the brooder, everything on the outside was sound. The green mesh in the inside was still secured as well. I noticed that there were two little cuts to the mesh on the front side, but they don’t seem significant. Is it possible that the chick jumped over the front straight into...

I didn’t see any damage at the time. All the other chicks looked like they were trying to go through the mesh as if they we trying to follow it. Nothing was giving. I haven’t really seen the hens on the landing at all. They are usually in the run or under the brooder for some shade. I’ve seen...

Valid point, but the chick was found inside the run in front of the a-frame. The window screening and wire is on the outside. The chickens are essentially caged in because the property is not fenced in and there are hawks. The brooder/coop has a landing where, I thought, the hens can go up to...

The green mesh is only on the inside. Everything is enclosed with wire. I didn’t see any breaks. It will have to wait until morning.

Late in the evening I heard the chicks peeping rather loudly in the coop and when I went to check on them I saw one of them in the run. The hens already got to it. I can’t figure out how the chick got out, but I have a feeling that one of the hens pulled the chick out of the coop. I thought the...

The roof isn’t waterproof yet. We’re thinking of putting a plastic panel on top on a slope. the a-frame is the roost and nest box for the hens. When I added the new coop I inadvertently increased the run area for the hens by adding a crawl space underneath. An added bonus since now I don’t...