Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Peekin In]

We arrived home yesterday to an eerie silence. Our bonus rooster Jimmyroo usually comes to greet us but he was missing. We found him later, he was the victim of a hawk who killed him but didn't really even bother to try to eat him.

Sad sad day, Jimmyroo was one of 6 chicks that were sent with a blue mark on their head as fillers, apparently I was supposed to kill them instead I chose to raise them. We lost one in the first few weeks then we lost 3 more to raccoons. The two remaining boys were bought inside and have been overnighting in the garage where they were safe. Jimmyroo was the friendly one of the bunch, he would welcome us home, stand in the way of our cars when we tried to get into our out of the garage .. he usually ended up in the passenger seat hitching a ride. He would come and visit the kitchen window looking for scraps and he was very helpful when hubby was fixing the truck (although he couldn't quite lift a wrench he was always there for support)

So this morning no early morning roo from Jimmy .. no visit to the kitchen window and no mr Fabio shaking his fabulous golden hackles at the girls in the chicken coop.

Who would have thought I could get so attached to a silly rooster.

 

[Outdoorlover]

Anyone is welcome at Chickenstock, there is no entrance fee, although a donation to help cover the cost of renting the pavilion is greatly appreciated. If you plan to eat, plan to bring either a dish to pass or platic plates, silverware, etc (see the members page listed below in my Sig line). If you want to participate in the gift exchange, bring a gift - does not have to be either large or fancy. The food is always great and plentiful, and the gifts are fun.

I'm more interested in seeing birds and meeting breeders, is Chickenstock a good place for that?

 

[Outdoorlover]

We arrived home yesterday to an eerie silence. Our bonus rooster Jimmyroo usually comes to greet us but he was missing. We found him later, he was the victim of a hawk who killed him but didn't really even bother to try to eat him.

Sad sad day, Jimmyroo was one of 6 chicks that were sent with a blue mark on their head as fillers, apparently I was supposed to kill them instead I chose to raise them. We lost one in the first few weeks then we lost 3 more to raccoons. The two remaining boys were bought inside and have been overnighting in the garage where they were safe. Jimmyroo was the friendly one of the bunch, he would welcome us home, stand in the way of our cars when we tried to get into our out of the garage .. he usually ended up in the passenger seat hitching a ride. He would come and visit the kitchen window looking for scraps and he was very helpful when hubby was fixing the truck (although he couldn't quite lift a wrench he was always there for support)

So this morning no early morning roo from Jimmy .. no visit to the kitchen window and no mr Fabio shaking his fabulous golden hackles at the girls in the chicken coop.

Who would have thought I could get so attached to a silly rooster.

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss!

The thought of predators getting my chickens will keep me up at night so I'm wondering if a 2' rat wall, and patio blocks at the base around the whole perimeter will keep my chicken safe??
I have a fox living close by, along with raccoons and every other small predators in the book, I can't take any chances so if there is something else I can do, I'm open to suggestions

 

[1muttsfan]

I buried about 6" of hardware cloth stapled underground to cedar planks (I would have done 10-12' in lighter soil, here we have dense clay and packed rocks, very hard to dig in), and have hardware cloth up 3" from the ground overlapped over chicken wire, which goes up 6". The run is covered with heavy-duty poultry netting supported in the center with a tall post. Never had a single predator get in, and we have them all here.

 

[1muttsfan]

So sorry to hear about Jimmy roo, always hard to loose the friendly ones, but they are also most susceptible to predators as they are the last to run.

 

[dyorto]

First time trying to integrate new chicks to the flock. It's so nice out that I wanted thechicks to have some outside time and I put them in my small unused coop. The big girls are curious!!

The chicks are just about 2 weeks old. After Tuesday the weather should stay fairly mild and I'll move their heating pad cave outside in this coop until they don't need heat anymore.
What's the best way to eventually let the bigger birds interact with the babies?

 

[aart]

First time trying to integrate new chicks to the flock. It's so nice out that I wanted thechicks to have some outside time and I put them in my small unused coop. The big girls are curious!!

The chicks are just about 2 weeks old. After Tuesday the weather should stay fairly mild and I'll move their heating pad cave outside in this coop until they don't need heat anymore.
What's the best way to eventually let the bigger birds interact with the babies?

I'd put 'tiny doors' in the little coop so the chicks can go in and out but the big birds can't.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old

Can you fit that little coop into your run(if you have one)?

 

[Outdoorlover]

I buried about 6" of hardware cloth stapled underground to cedar planks

If 6" of hard cloth is working for you, I guess 2' of cement blocks should be enough to prevent digging under
Thanks!

 

[dyorto]

I'd put 'tiny doors' in the little coop so the chicks can go in and out but the big birds can't.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/integrating-new-birds-at-4-weeks-old

Can you fit that little coop into your run(if you have one)?

It is in the run area. My run just isn't enclosed at all from the top. Just a 5 foot fence around the area. I only have one hen that likes to fly over it. I do plan to add a fully enclosed area this spring or summer that will extend from the big coop so that they are better protected from overhead predators. So far that hasn't been a issue luckily. Just one loss due to a raccoon last year

 

[Peekin In]

Jimmyroo was free ranging so he was always susceptible to predators. The rest of our flock is in a run which has heavy tree cover and the ducks have netting over the top of their run as they are also not the brightest when there are airborn predators although I have been out when there was a bald eagle to find them all inside the coop and the drake with his head tilted looking up.

The wire around the main coop is dug into the ground and we make sure the birds are all locked away in their respective coops between dusk and dawn which honestly seems to be the safest thing to do overnight.


In other news today we get to do the first cleaning of the duck pond and get some yard work done while its warm.