Arkansas folks speak up.........

[draye]

Yummy! Wish I had been there!

You ought to one sometime. Every third Sunday of the month @Salem Road Church of Christ. Benton, AR.

 

[lcertuche]

We are have a multi-cultural lunch at the end of the month at our church in Waldron. It was suppose to be Asian but I guess some people wanted a different choice. I will probably make egg rolls. Don't you love your church family!

 

[MrsBachbach]

Long post, sorry! So I've gotten brave & been letting our 12 cheeps free range for a while now (9-10 weeks old), some when we're gone(to store/shopping) but usually when we're home, after work & on weekends. Sitting in LR this morning watching Tv & something caught my eye thru window( facing south, our backyard & 3-4 acre field) I first thought it was a fox, but prob a coyote. Happened really fast but think it was bigger than a fox. It crossed our field coming from the west, right behind where the chickens were out in the field along tree line, moved thru our Pine tree line that borders our land, into neighbors field & was staying next to tree line, moving up the line. I ran outside as soon as I saw it & started clapping. The chickens ran up towards me & one of our huge pine trees that they hang out under & the coyote/fox ran off. First time I've seen anything around our house other than deer, altho I know predators are in the area due to where we live in West Fork. Now I'm going to worry about them free ranging at any time, altho I know it's best for them if possible. I was getting too comfortable letting them stay out as much as possible & my hubby has been warning me. Yikes! I waited for them to go in their run for feed/water & shut the run door & let our 3 dogs out to run around. Wondering if it was going to attack them, wouldn't it have done it immediately?

Are your own dogs not trustworthy around the chickens? They could be a deterrent to the predators if they are not a threat to the chickens.

 

[Kcarp03]

Are your own dogs not trustworthy around the chickens? They could be a deterrent to the predators if they are not a threat to the chickens.

Honestly, we haven't let them interact yet. When we first put them out in their Run & Coop and let the dogs out, they ran straight to it & acted like they wanted to get at them. But we yelled at them & they haven't seem to want to mess with them since then. When we let the Cheeps out to free range, they will go all around one side of the dog's pen & the Dog's just ignore them now. I just told my Husband this weekend, that we really need to get the dogs(all 3 are labs) out one at a time while he is there & let them interact because I want them to protect the Chickens or at the very least, just not eat them! I'm a little worried about the youngest lab, she's still pretty hyper & likes to run so I know she will start running and the Chickens will scatter & run, which makes me think she would chase after them & instinct to grab would kick in.... We will work on that this week I think.

 

[Kcarp03]

Not always, sometimes they will stalk to see if humans are near and try to come back when they think it's safer. I only let mine out in the evening for a couple of hours before sunset when I can sit and watch. I have scared off dogs, feral cats and shot a raccoon and 3 skunks trying to get a free meal.

Yes, that's what I was thinking. If I hadn't seen it cross the field, it would have continued going up the tree line, stalking them & we'd have a few less Chickens! We don't have any feral cats around thank goodness, but of course there are skunks & racoons around. I will definitely be more watchful & less likely to let them out if we're not going to be there, even for a little while. That scared me some! We need to let the dogs start interacting with them, make sure we don't have to worry about them eating one of them so they can be out at the same time. Right now, we just have to alternate, haha

 

[lcertuche]

Well we finally thought we had a safe place for our chickens to roost at night. It is a trailer that is enclosed but last night my son went out to check on them and there was a pack rat in with the chickens. I had him put some rat poison in an area where the chickens can't get too and he saw the rat run to. We've saw them in the house too but I am more worried about the chickens. I put poison in the house too. They are really big and cheeky running around during the daytime!

 

[Janet Lynn]

I am very happy to announce that one of my hens laid her first egg today.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am very happy to announce that one of my hens laid her first egg today.

 

[lcertuche]

Congrats on the egg. Mine 16-week old Production Reds aren't laying yet but I need to start getting some nest boxes ready. I only have 5 of them and a couple of younger pullets. I have 11 Black sex link cockerels that will end up in the freezer when the weather cools. They will probably be tough but that's what a crockpot is good for.

 

[Hooligans7]

Congratulations, Janet. That first egg is a thrill to see, along with the knowledge that your former pullet is an "online" layer now. My birds are on strike due to the upper-90s temps — 99 today! I've started putting a big chunk of ice in their water pan every day around noon, but it's not enough. I tried a wading pool but they wouldn't go in it. Perhaps I'll try it again. How are your birds dealing with the heat? Are you doing anything special for them?