dang - hit by a predator- not so much culling needed now

[aart]

Hmmm, this pretty much means a do over. Different times in the last several years, I have thought I would like this breed or that... but really I like a flock of different chickens. Think I might just go to Sandhills and see if I can get a mix. If I get them now, they would be coming into lay in January. Going to be a long fall of store bought eggs. I am blessed that this is not an impossibility for me. Get them ordered, get the coop/run cleaned up and made tight.

Dang discouraging, but not impossible.

Mrs K

Sounds like a nice lemonade to sip while you assess and improve your predator protection

 

[Mrs. K]

Once you get it cleaned up, it still sucks, but you either make plans to move on or need to get out. Two birds can hardly be called a flock. Ugh all the brooding chores, and the integration chores to try and create a new flock. An established flock is such a pleasure. What a wreck, thought we had it fixed, and didn't.

ok, lemonade... going to get the money order, get it sent. Meanwhile, a bit of carpentry, a good clean out and some patience.

Thanks for the sympathy!

Mrs k

 

[bobbi-j]

Keep us posted on what you get to rebuild!

 

[Mrs. K]

Caught two coons, wondering if there are one or two more, as the trap was moved and sprung, but nothing in them. Coons are so darn smart, and kind of cute, until they are raising havoc with your birds.

Predator that tears apart birds and comes in the night is almost always coons in this country.

ok Money order all set for the mail to Sandhills Preservation, tomorrow. Sandhills had 25 chicks for $30, Super Assorted Chicks, will contain at least 6 breeds, but can contain up to 10 breeds. So that should give me a nice mix. If one figures, (here I am doing quite a bit of counting before I have them ordered, let alone hatched) 12 roosters, and 12 hens, that would be a nice start for me. Truly I do not need more than 8 -10 hens, but hey, do overs are that.

Clean out of set up, and a bit rebuilding is the next step. Think once I get feathers on the chicks, I will get them into this coop/set up, keeping the bigger birds in the other set up for a while, then adding them later on. Older, fewer birds from a different coop into many smaller birds in their home coop with lots of hide outs, should not go real bad. Art, Bobbi-jo do you do this at 4-6 weeks old?We will see.

Then later will pull the rooster chicks to the bachelor pen.

January, things should be back to normal...

That is the plan.

 

[carlf]

Sorry to hear about your birds.

Keep the trap set until you go 2 weeks without catching a predator.
Then set it every weekend from now on.
Try changing up the bait.Marshmallows work well.
And put the trap snug up against a wall and cover the back where the bait & trigger are so that they cant reach in & get the bait.

Did you ever figure out how they got in the run??

 

[bobbi-j]

Caught two coons, wondering if there are one or two more, as the trap was moved and sprung, but nothing in them. Coons are so darn smart, and kind of cute, until they are raising havoc with your birds.

Predator that tears apart birds and comes in the night is almost always coons in this country.

ok Money order all set for the mail to Sandhills Preservation, tomorrow. Sandhills had 25 chicks for $30, Super Assorted Chicks, will contain at least 6 breeds, but can contain up to 10 breeds. So that should give me a nice mix. If one figures, (here I am doing quite a bit of counting before I have them ordered, let alone hatched) 12 roosters, and 12 hens, that would be a nice start for me. Truly I do not need more than 8 -10 hens, but hey, do overs are that.

Clean out of set up, and a bit rebuilding is the next step. Think once I get feathers on the chicks, I will get them into this coop/set up, keeping the bigger birds in the other set up for a while, then adding them later on. Older, fewer birds from a different coop into many smaller birds in their home coop with lots of hide outs, should not go real bad. Art, Bobbi-jo do you do this at 4-6 weeks old?We will see.

Then later will pull the rooster chicks to the bachelor pen.

January, things should be back to normal...

That is the plan.

I haven't done that particular type of integration, but if you're only adding a small number of older birds, that's about the age and way I would do it. Will be fun to hear what you get for breeds!

Good luck catching the rest of the varmints! I agree with carlf - keep that trap set!

 

[aart]

I integrated young this year and was very happy with the results.
Brooded in the coop partition one week after hatch/purchase.
Opened tiny escape doors in partition wall at about 4 weeks, took wall down at about 6 weeks.
Most the adult birds barely paid any attention to the chicks, except for a few pecks when chicks got to nosy.
There were a couple adults who did a bit of chasing, but no 'pin em down and beat the stuffing out of them'.

I think the success stems on the fact.....
..... that the adults were used to the chicks being in the coop behind that mesh wall...
....and once sharing physical space, the chicks were so small to be no real threat....
....and chicks food and water was on other side of wall and they continued to use them after wall was down.

 

[bobbi-j]

I integrated young this year and was very happy with the results.
Brooded in the coop partition one week after hatch/purchase.
Opened tiny escape doors in partition wall at about 4 weeks, took wall down at about 6 weeks.
Most the adult birds barely paid any attention to the chicks, except for a few pecks when chicks got to nosy.
There were a couple adults who did a bit of chasing, but no 'pin em down and beat the stuffing out of them'.

I think the success stems on the fact.....
..... that the adults were used to the chicks being in the coop behind that mesh wall...
....and once sharing physical space, the chicks were so small to be no real threat....
....and chicks food and water was on other side of wall and they continued to use them after wall was down.

Oh. Yeah. I did that! Sorry, it's been a rough week, I'm exhausted, and I had a brain fart. This was the first year I did that. Brooded in the coop from Day 1 with partition, started introducing a hen or two at a time around 4 weeks, full integration around 6 weeks. I feel so dumb!

(Last spring was a LONG time ago!) I had one hen that would actually seem to hunt them down and not just peck, but grab feathers and seem to attempt to pull them out. They had hiding places, and quickly learned to avoid her at all cost. No real pinning down, though, and trying to kill them. I'm not sure when it happened, but it didn't take too long before they were all roosting/huddled together at night.

 

[aart]

Quote: Yeah, the chasers were feather grabbers....but they never, and still do not, roost together...tho I have seen one or two sneak in to roost with the bigs now that some of the littles are laying.

 

[bobbi-j]

Yeah, the chasers were feather grabbers....but they never, and still do not, roost together...tho I have seen one or two sneak in to roost with the bigs now that some of the littles are laying.

It kind of surprised me, to be honest. There are roosts in the side of the coop they were brooded in, and I fully expected them to roost over there because I didn't think the old girls would let the youngers roost with them. But I went in there one night, and many of them were huddled in the corner on the old girls' side, some roosting next to a couple of the olders. My old generic red one, though, will NOT let anyone roost on her 7' roost. Apparently she needs all that space. If one of the youngers jumps up there, she is immediately chased off. The other old ones have their own places, so they don't bother her.