NY chicken lover!!!!

[rancher hicks]

WELL....I finallly saw what has been getting in my coop ..
A RAT ! suspected that it was one ...
Last night I went to check the coops were all closed at 12:00am ...
And I saw it ...the cat spent the night in the coop ..
no rat caught yet ...I think I might go out and get a rat trap..GRRRRR !

I set two traps last night using peanut butter and store bought bait, but caught nothing. Nothing went for the bait. I've seen mice but not rats. I've also seen disturbed soil in the yard but this was a much bigger patch and inside the run.

I have been leaving dishes of food on the ground but will be picking them up from now on. I have got to figure out something.

I've been dealing with some ground hornets that built a nest under the newspapers where the rhubarb is. I've gotten stung a few times and hurting. Also itching where I got stung.

 

[TillyPeeps]

Have you looked online for country rental property ? Skaneateles & S falls is a Upscale area ...Properties will be expensive
Other areas might be cheaper Jordan , Elbridge , Auburn , Senate , Weedsport , Port Byron , Marcellus , Warners , Camillus , Cato

http://realestate.syracuse.com/?cla...at=42.993099&lng=-76.456398&list_type=rentals

Thanks for the information. it is definitely helpful. I'll contact the house owners to see if they will allow chickens. Yeah, I do not plan to live in Skaneateles area, which is expensive. I searched the surround areas. Haven't find a farm house for rent yet. Those regular rental houses have a very small chance to let me have chickens

.

 

[TillyPeeps]

By the way, anyone know how many chickens are allowed in Skaneateles and surround areas? Since I saw many chickens, I assume 6 hens is legal, right?

 

[akaruby]

I had a silkie hatch after pipping the wrong end and one leg is stuck backwards behind it and it won't stay underneath the chick. I don't think it's slipped tendon. The leg is complete stretched straight back and not bent.

I made the spraddle leg hobbles with vet wrap. But the chick won't walk yet with the hobbles. Any other ideas? It just finished hatching this morning

 

[Pyxis]

I had a silkie hatch after pipping the wrong end and one leg is stuck backwards behind it and it won't stay underneath the chick. I don't think it's slipped tendon. The leg is complete stretched straight back and not bent.

I made the spraddle leg hobbles with vet wrap. But the chick won't walk yet with the hobbles. Any other ideas? It just finished hatching this morning

It could be things like a malformation, the joints being fused, etc. Can the leg bend at the joint at all?

You can check here to see if anything matches up:

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/poultry-podiatry

 

[Lapeerian]

Thanks for the information. it is definitely helpful. I'll contact the house owners to see if they will allow chickens. Yeah, I do not plan to live in Skaneateles area, which is expensive. I searched the surround areas. Haven't find a farm house for rent yet. Those regular rental houses have a very small chance to let me have chickens . 

Maybe something in the Preble, Homer, Scott area? Those are the towns on the Cortland County side, all very rural and lots of farmland.

 

[TillyPeeps]

Maybe something in the Preble, Homer, Scott area? Those are the towns on the Cortland County side, all very rural and lots of farmland.

Thanks, I'll check there. Now I consider to just rent a piece of ground from a dairy farm near my company and go visit the birds every day. This should be much easier.

 

[rancher hicks]

Thanks, I'll check there. Now I consider to just rent a piece of ground from a dairy farm near my company and go visit the birds every day. This should be much easier.

I never considered renting space to keep chickens because it's too easy for folks to not show up to tend to them. Meaning my renting out a coop or two or all of them if I give up chickens all together.


Right now I have to water then everyday in this heat. Plus for me it's a visit at least twice a day. Once in the morning to open them up and once in the evening to close them up.

Had a lady ask me today if I'd let her drop her chickens off here while they went on vacation for three weeks. I said no of course, but gave her BYC address and my card.

I never considered vacation sitting when I started with chickens. I did hire a couple of friends once. The first time she let her boys come down to tend to them and they weren't well tended. Another time a friend came and did it for a week and that worked out okay.

The past couple of times I had my daughters stay here and do it. Even then I lost two birds.

DW tended to them once for five weeks and in that time squirrels got into the coop and the birds moved to the coop in the way back to lay. They wouldn't stay in the coop all day and I lost a lot of feed and eggs. When I got back I was trapping squirrels and it took some time to get the birds back to using the coop to lay in. Now any sign of a squirrel means setting traps.

I suggest you talk to folks who have tried this set up and see how it worked out. Paying someone to tend to them adds to the cost of keeping chickens.

In other news. Looks like one of the chicks is a Frizzle. Not sure the sex but the feathers are curling. DD's fiancee has named the last frizzle. Cotton candy. Like they need names. He's referring to them as "our" chickens. Well that's all well and good but he has to start taking care of them before they become "theirs" .

How do I get rid of these ground hornets? They're still there and I need them gone. I sprayed them with Sevin and last night with a hornet spray. They are nastier than an ex wife and nearly as hard to kill. Though their sting doesn't hurt as bad.

I saw the ground hog outside the fencing so I quickly covered the hole in from of the coop. I hope it doesn't come back.

TTFN,

 

[Pyxis]

I sold an old coop today! And I'm going to use the money to, well, build more coops. I don't have a problem, I swear! I also took a bunch of pictures of Finn and Jasmine. They're so friendly, and Lacie and Willow have pretty much accepted them now, although they still travel as two separate 'flocks' sometimes.

Finn:

Jasmine:

 

[PhoredaBurds]

I sold an old coop today! And I'm going to use the money to, well, build more coops. I don't have a problem, I swear! I also took a bunch of pictures of Finn and Jasmine. They're so friendly, and Lacie and Willow have pretty much accepted them now, although they still travel as two separate 'flocks' sometimes.

Finn:

Jasmine:

They're adorable! Love their head fluff!