INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Leahs Mom]

@missflock

6 ft! Those 2 must either be young or a light breed!

I was going to suggest zip-tying either some hardware cloth or chicken wire to stick up about another 6-8" above the fence top but not sure if that would stop them. The thought was that if there is a top rail on your fence that they can get on to go over, the thinner wire sticking up may deter them since there's no rail.

 

[Leahs Mom]

At the end of the season, I put up a portable net around the garden and let the birds dig in there. Also in the spring. There are tons of worms since the ground is mulched well and my husband uses the garden area all winter long to just throw the compost scraps right onto it. Bananna peels, etc.

Of course they love to dig through those.


And...
I have ONE 2-yo Swedish Flower Hen that goes over the fence to the garden DAILY at will. Ours is a 4 ft. chain-link. She has remained light enough to hop up there and over. There is a top rail there to help the process.

The think I'm concerned about with this is that she will teach the younger birds to do the same and they'll get over there and be in a place where a hawk could more easily get them.

 

[missflock]

I may have to add another 6-8". That's a good idea. We specifically got 6' tall fence in hopes that it'd be tall enough that they wouldn't easily just fly over. We were wrong! Our Golden Sebright Bantam is very light! (This is the first of this breed that we have owned. But we read full grown they usually won't weigh more than 20 ounces) She's about 5 months old. Nothing will stop her. I have to get a ladder on a weekly basis to get her off the top of our coop because she will fly up there and poop all over our solar panels. The Roof peak of our coop is about 10' tall. And not sure if she flies on to the edge of their run then up on to the roof of the coop or if she does it one shot.
This is how tiny Ducky Is. And that's in the arms of a 6 year old.


They are all the same age. But "Ducky" is the tiny girl to the right. So yes, she's a very light breed!

This is our coop (before it was finished and before the run was even started. I really need to take more pictures of it) That she manages to easily get on to the peak of.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Oh yes, Sebrights go where they want to and there's no stopping them. Even with clipped wings, mine have always been able to get to the roof of the coop in one leap. Round about the time they turned a year old, they thankfully all settled down and aren't as prone to flying anymore, but sometimes they get a wild hair--hence this picture of Scooter I posted on the previous page, up on the upper rail of our building project!

So basically, to Sebrights, fence is only a suggestion, not a rule.


But I do agree, putting a little extra fence on top, especially if it's not as stiff so they can't land on it as easily, should deter fence hoppers. Mine will try to fly up onto the fence if they can see the top, but if the fence is floppy they try once and then give up.

 

[Greenthumb83]

At the end of the season, I put up a portable net around the garden and let the birds dig in there. Also in the spring. There are tons of worms since the ground is mulched well and my husband uses the garden area all winter long to just throw the compost scraps right onto it. Bananna peels, etc.

Of course they love to dig through those.


And...
I have ONE 2-yo Swedish Flower Hen that goes over the fence to the garden DAILY at will. Ours is a 4 ft. chain-link. She has remained light enough to hop up there and over. There is a top rail there to help the process.

The think I'm concerned about with this is that she will teach the younger birds to do the same and they'll get over there and be in a place where a hawk could more easily get them.

Love it. I will definitely be letting the chickens take up the garden when the season is over.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Nothing will stop her. I have to get a ladder on a weekly basis to get her off the top of our coop because she will fly up there and poop all over our solar panels.
They are all the same age. But "Ducky" is the tiny girl to the right. So yes, she's a very light breed!

@missflock

Solar Panels.... caught my eye.

What are you powering with you panels?

And, yes! You DO need to get some photos for us


And...how does that little one fare with all those big birds?

 

[Indyshent]

I have been struggling with free time myself, summer especially going into fall gets so busy. They are planning to finally do one of my Moms rotator cup Wednesday so she has use of an arm. One of the key things I start looking towards is livestock management with fall coming. We will not be keeping Turkeys anymore. Love poults, love turkeys, period but they have been pretty unproductive for us overall. I may consider restarting in a couple years but have to focus more on what species are really working for us.
Downsizing more on chickens. Will be keeping small groups of the breeds that fit. They will coop well, free range smart and rarely see predator issues. The duck breeds are staying. Geese, Peafowl, Guinea and quail. I have also learned not to hatch without a deposit. Too many commitments not met results in chicks that need a home.
Livestock, keeping my Hampshire pair and Berkshire sow. Love my Oberhasli goats, staying! Adding a new buck in the spring from another breeder. Keeping our current Buck but want to have new bloodline for my pairs offspring. Cows, oh yes sold! My bull is flat awesome so far. I can check hooves, walk him on lead. He has learned butting is NOT OK. Both our new heifers seem to have attached to him, likely since he is the oldest of the 8 calves.

So glad Moose is still working for you! The calves are all such doll babies

If you can't find a paying home for the turkeys (and I'm sure you can), I can always take them in. Turkeys are my bane, my weakness, and yours are darling birds. Even the crazy, mean one is still funny (and she has that wicked red eyeliner!).

Since you mostly breed turkeys for meat, why not try some of Porter's $4.99 poults? They're crossbred poults for one third of the normal going poult price. They're disease free, and will come in a rainbow of colors (crossbreeding is how he learns more about turkey genetics). They'll look as good, taste as good, and be as friendly as normal varieties at a fraction of the price. while the offspring won't be showable (for any event but possibly showmanship, if I understand correctly), I've still seen crossbred poults go for $12+/ea on craigslist. Porter's also has $9.99 purebred poults in assortment packages, which would give you some experience with breeds you haven't met yet. I've really enjoyed raising heritage poults of different breeds, and it does make them easier to tell apart at the same time as letting me experience multiple breeds.

I love the idea of helping breeds in trouble, but I have to admit that losing a few $14 poults is pretty darned devastating with an ugly cherry on top, and I kind of wonder if cheaper poults live longer, healthier lives in the same manner as Jeff Foxworthy's cheap sunglasses ("Anybody lose a pair of cheapos?"). Free chicks, after all, seem to be right about invincible by comparison to expensive ones.


Which breeds of chickens are working for you?

I agree, Try the cardboard, you'll be so glad you did! We use is it in all our Gardens. I also refuse to use any pesticides or weed killers. This year we put up several raised garden beds(along with our regular garden which is about a half acre)... put cardboard down where the grass was, built around/over it, covered in in soil (and finally used some from our compost), and got to planting. I haven't picked weeds once this year and our fruits and veggies are booming. Well, they are booming but we don't get nearly as much as we'd like. We can't keep the chickens out for the life of us. We have just over 15 Acres, 3 Acres of it are fenced (6 ft. tall fence) for the kids and where our Gardens are. The chicken coop and run is just outside of the fence. But whenever we let them free range if we turn our back for two seconds the chickens will have flown the fence.... then my zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, melons, peppers, etc will be dinner to the chickens. I don't want to keep them from free ranging, and really not wanting to put netting all over my yard..Husband says they need their wings clipped... and I don't want to do that either! Two chickens do it more than any of the others. They happen to be my two favorite (One is a little golden sebright bantam-"Ducky" the other is our scissor beaked EE- "Chase")...They are stubborn, entertaining, escape artists...and although it frustrates me when they get in the garden, I always kind of have to just laugh and shake my head... because these girls are good at making sure they get wherever they want to go and they look so proud of themselves. I swear there are times when they will "hop our fence" and they look at the girls and roosters that didn't make it over and they laugh at them. The other day it couldn't have been 5 minutes after I got them out of the garden and back to where they free range and I hear my 5 year old yelling "Ducky is in the fence and on my trampoline!" No sooner than I got her back out, I turn around and Chase is inside and perched on the swing set with a Strawberry hanging out of her beak.

I might have to give in and have wings clipped....but I have a feeling those two would still somehow manage to easily make it in.

Maybe I should just plant them their own garden outside of the fence next year.... hm...

Cherry tomatoes. Any other garden plant which reseeds itself and becomes stubbornly weed-like. I keep cherry tomatoes around just for the birds. The birds pick off little 'maters and reseed them all over the yard for next year. We don't much care for cherry tomatoes, but the birds love them (and the hornworms seem to like them more as well, which is a bonus).

Wing clipping can help, but it's not a solve-all. I've had sumo-wrestling Brahmas skip a four-foot fence with their wings clipped. Determined birds are a major obstacle. You may need to clip both wings. I haven't had much luck clipping lighter breeds like EEs, Leghorns and Sebrights because they're often so light that they can still clear a fence.

I may have to add another 6-8". That's a good idea. We specifically got 6' tall fence in hopes that it'd be tall enough that they wouldn't easily just fly over. We were wrong! Our Golden Sebright Bantam is very light! (This is the first of this breed that we have owned. But we read full grown they usually won't weigh more than 20 ounces) She's about 5 months old. Nothing will stop her. I have to get a ladder on a weekly basis to get her off the top of our coop because she will fly up there and poop all over our solar panels. The Roof peak of our coop is about 10' tall. And not sure if she flies on to the edge of their run then up on to the roof of the coop or if she does it one shot.
This is how tiny Ducky Is. And that's in the arms of a 6 year old.


They are all the same age. But "Ducky" is the tiny girl to the right. So yes, she's a very light breed!

This is our coop (before it was finished and before the run was even started. I really need to take more pictures of it) That she manages to easily get on to the peak of.

Sebrights and Leghorns are the best flying breeds I've yet seen. I've seen both fly perhaps sixty feet in a go--and about twenty feet up. They don't all fly like that. but if they decide to fly, there's not going to be a fence big enough outside a baseball stadium. Good news is that light breeds don't damage your crops as much as heavier breeds. They're smaller, lighter birds who won't be breaking your squash plants by stepping on them, and they're voracious pest control in a garden. By all means, go ahead and encourage them being there!

 

[missflock]

Quote:
Our chicken coop door, (which is also on a timer-opens at dawn and closes at dusk)
multiple motion sensor lights,
All of the lighting inside of our coop,
a ventilation fan, (because we only have 3 windows which are on the smaller side. Although we do open the larger barn style doors a lot)
a warming unit for the water (for winter)
and a cooling fan (For summer)
and by the one entrance door we have a bug zapper (to help keep fly population down)

All in which are solar powered.
And she does well. All the other chickens are much larger but they pretty much acy like she's their baby. Or on a bad day they act like she doesnt exist. Lol

 

[missflock]

the only thing we don't like about them being in the garden is they keep eating all our strawberries, nibbling on our zucchini, snatching all our grapes. lol They are great for bug control... and I love them around our compost and our garden... but not when they are eating all our stuff!

 

[HelloChickies]

I had a great "Chicken Moment" this morning!

I have a couple of birds that like to be petted, but my 19-week-old Easter Egger pullet, Sunny, has never come to me. Suddenly this morning, she jumped right up into my lap, and made herself comfortable! I was so surprised, that I held my breath. lol When I finally started to breathe again, I slowly reached into my pocket for my phone, to record the event with a picture.

I didn't push her by trying to stroke her, but tomorrow I'll be sure to have some treats at hand, in case she does it again! Ah, the simple moments that are very magical. (Only chicken people would understand this. lol) Isn't she a pretty girl?


Sunny


She hasn't given her first egg yet, but I expect one very soon! I can't WAIT to see what color they are!
I wonder if she's getting friendlier because she's getting ready to lay?