Washingtonians - Page 7812  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chicken Rustler 

OK so I am gonna throw myself under the bus. JUST FYI for some of you newbies. I see and hear lots of panic stories about locking the coop at night etc. Well for what it's worth (and I know many will disagree) I NEVER lock my birds in the coop at night. They are all contained in the coop/run. They are free to go to bed when they want and go out when ever there want in the morning. And just in case yer wonderin yes I do live in the country. In fact I live so far out in the styx that they have to pipe daylight to me! Yes we have yoddle dawgs, bears and BIG kitty cats. But anything that is gonna get a chicken dinner here will have to get into the run then fit through a chicken size door into the coop then get up 3' off the ground to pull the birds off the roost. By the time all that could happen I will probably already have delivered a lead injection and the problem would be solved. SSS ! ! !  That is how we do it here!

I don't lock mine either...but i have a 5 ft chain link fence all around my yard....but the other day when DH went to leave for work around 4:30 in the morning, a coyote was standing at the chain link looking. also we had a cougar just 1 road over ...it is gone now.

CR. I do it the same way.

Hinotori

 Only good deer is one that is in the freezer.

This year I got all my blueberry plants covered with nets to stop the deer and birds.

The deer have no fear of humans around here anymore as to many uneducated people feed them not realizing what they are doing to them.

When we first moved here they see you they'd run into the woods.

Now you got to yell at them and do other activities to get them to leave.

They have eaten 5 tomatoes plants.

Three 35ft rows of raspberries.

10 strawberries.

So far left the corn, peas, pumpkins, sunflowers, lettuce, carrots, alone.

Hoping to afford a fence next year or at least do a fish line fence which works really well for some people.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chicken Rustler 

OK so I am gonna throw myself under the bus. JUST FYI for some of you newbies. I see and hear lots of panic stories about locking the coop at night etc. Well for what it's worth (and I know many will disagree) I NEVER lock my birds in the coop at night. They are all contained in the coop/run. They are free to go to bed when they want and go out when ever there want in the morning. And just in case yer wonderin yes I do live in the country. In fact I live so far out in the styx that they have to pipe daylight to me! Yes we have yoddle dawgs, bears and BIG kitty cats. But anything that is gonna get a chicken dinner here will have to get into the run then fit through a chicken size door into the coop then get up 3' off the ground to pull the birds off the roost. By the time all that could happen I will probably already have delivered a lead injection and the problem would be solved. SSS ! ! !  That is how we do it here!

For 3 years we left our coop door wide open.  Nothing.  We started closing the door again in fall because it keeps the wind and rain out.  The raccoons discovered they could get into the day pen from the various trees overhanging.  Of course, we never, ever locked the night pen.  Eventually one hen got nabbed, then a few months later another.  They had 3 years to help themselves to an avian smorgasbord, but only when they got sneaky did it start to matter if we did lockdown.  

Ill gotten gains taste sweeter?  What fun is there walking in the front door and taking food from the chicken pantry?  More fun if you can play raccoon  "Mission Impossible"?  

My last hen I lost was eaten down to the bones and feathers, with one egg (pre-shell) sitting neatly in the middle of the carcass like warped carpaccio.  Bright orange yolk.  They were too packed full to lick up the tastiest part, the little sh**ts.

It was so much easier, especially around solstice time, to let the girls make their way in and out.

Okay, I just checked on my meal worms....I have so many that they I am considering feeding the family....MY GOSH!!!! I need to feed more to the birds I guess. it is crazy how many I have. I need to start another drawer I guess.....HOLY COW...they are going to take over. Anyone got good recipe for meal worms...AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chicken Rustler 

OK so I am gonna throw myself under the bus. JUST FYI for some of you newbies. I see and hear lots of panic stories about locking the coop at night etc. Well for what it's worth (and I know many will disagree) I NEVER lock my birds in the coop at night. They are all contained in the coop/run. They are free to go to bed when they want and go out when ever there want in the morning. And just in case yer wonderin yes I do live in the country. In fact I live so far out in the styx that they have to pipe daylight to me! Yes we have yoddle dawgs, bears and BIG kitty cats. But anything that is gonna get a chicken dinner here will have to get into the run then fit through a chicken size door into the coop then get up 3' off the ground to pull the birds off the roost. By the time all that could happen I will probably already have delivered a lead injection and the problem would be solved. SSS ! ! !  That is how we do it here!

Unfortunately, it's illegal to discharge firearms in the burbs.  But I would like to add, that keeping chickens should be easy and enjoyable.  I too was obsessed in the beginning with predator protection, especially eagles.  For the past few years I had been living in Bonners Ferry, ID, and had wolves and moose in my yard.  The girl at the Buckley feed store assured me that predators are looking for an easy meal, especially here, where there are trash cans.  My advice to those of you obsessing over predators, is to take a deep braeath, and get a security light. 

I would also like to point out that county law says each chicken is only required to have one square foot to live in.   Any thing you do beyond that one square foot is fabulous, so quit worrying, because asking and wondering already proves you are a good chicken parent.

I now understand about chicken brokers.  I went to Egdewood Chicks yesterday.  It was disgusting, and she doesn't quarantine.  She buys chicks and whatever from craigslist and local auctions, and sells it out of a cage.  The cages of juveniles had no shade or protection, although she might pull them into a shed at night, I don't know.  She just started keeping chickens, and admits she hardly knows anything.  I really hope she sells her cochin pullet before the four cockerels get randy.

I told her she should look for info here, and that maybe some of you had advicce for her.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4cats3kids1hubby2many Anyone got good recipe for meal worms...AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

stir fry - or maybe as a pizza topping

Funny you should mention that, some years ago, when I was in the ad industry, I saw an ad campaign using all sorts of bugs in food. The photographer did a great job because all the food looked so yummy until you looked close and saw all the bugs, grasshoppers etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by itsren 

Quote:

Originally Posted by SadieSue 

I would like to see how your Silkie run turned out too Kim.

 

Me, too!  Is it big?  Or little?.  I'm still trying to find "little" coop/ run examples.  It seems many people keep their Silkies in large coops/ runs.

I will try to get pics today. The run is big, but the coop is small. I have a tractor coop inside the run and we made the door big enough to get it out. So I have options!!! Lol! Always gotta have options!

I have to say that I was intending to only have 3 silkies in the tractor coop and move it around the yard, then I thought about the winter and wanted more silkies, and so on, and so on.

So I made a run that is about 160sq ft. I can attatch a new coop to the outside at a later date if I want to. But it would be small. They don't need much space.

Maybe a VF coop?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chubby Chicken 

 

I would also like to point out that county law says each chicken is only required to have one square foot to live in.   Any thing you do beyond that one square foot is fabulous, so quit worrying, because asking and wondering already proves you are a good chicken parent.

Well, just because a "law" says you only have to have one square foot, doesn't make it right. To me that's just plain criminal and a total offense to humankind. That is battery raising chickens and not what backyard chickens is all about. If people can't give their chickens some kind or a run, they shouldn't be raising them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4cats3kids1hubby2many 

Okay, I just checked on my meal worms....I have so many that they I am considering feeding the family....MY GOSH!!!! I need to feed more to the birds I guess. it is crazy how many I have. I need to start another drawer I guess.....HOLY COW...they are going to take over. Anyone got good recipe for meal worms...AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Chocolate covered ? ? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chubby Chicken 

Unfortunately, it's illegal to discharge firearms in the burbs.  But I would like to add, that keeping chickens should be easy and enjoyable.  I too was obsessed in the beginning with predator protection, especially eagles.  For the past few years I had been living in Bonners Ferry, ID, and had wolves and moose in my yard.  The girl at the Buckley feed store assured me that predators are looking for an easy meal, especially here, where there are trash cans.  My advice to those of you obsessing over predators, is to take a deep braeath, and get a security light. 

 

I would also like to point out that county law says each chicken is only required to have one square foot to live in.   Any thing you do beyond that one square foot is fabulous, so quit worrying, because asking and wondering already proves you are a good chicken parent.

And that is why SSS. a quick .22 shot is barely noticed.

I wouldn't depend on a security light to keep predators away. 

And IMHO  ANYBODY who is keeping chickens with 1 SF of space. Need to by made to live that way themselves. They do not deserve to have any animals.