Regrouping after predator wipe-out...

[carcar80]

Went out to open the coop earlier and take some fruit to the girls.. Rosa was in the laying box when I got there but jumped off to come for food. As I closed up the run behind me I looked back and saw an egg plopped down right at the treat box, lol. I grabbed it up- it had cracked the shell but not the membrane, whew! So I came in and added it to my broccoli casserole for Turkey Day.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

 

[karibare]

Went out to open the coop earlier and take some fruit to the girls.. Rosa was in the laying box when I got there but jumped off to come for food. As I closed up the run behind me I looked back and saw an egg plopped down right at the treat box, lol. I grabbed it up- it had cracked the shell but not the membrane, whew! So I came in and added it to my broccoli casserole for Turkey Day.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

She must have been super excited for the treats!

Happy Thanksgiving

 

[carcar80]

Ok. New "crazy idea" . I'm thinking, I really miss being able to free-range (I'm already seeing the color diff between eggs from my old flock and these new girls ).. So what if I piece together two "mirror flocks", separate my coop and run in half and alternate free-ranging days?? It may be an old practice but i felt like a genius when I thought of it lol!

That way, if something were to happen, I'm not out ALL my birds again.

I'm also considering breeds: as bad of luck as I had with a nasty RIR roo in the past, I really would love to have at least one.. Then a RIR hen, a barred rock hen, maybe SLW.. That way I could hatch some sex-link chicks when I need more chickens? I would also like to have another SLW roo.. Hmmm..

Just random ponderings. Anyone ever had a nice RIR roo?

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Ok. New "crazy idea"

. I'm thinking, I really miss being able to free-range (I'm already seeing the color diff between eggs from my old flock and these new girls

).. So what if I piece together two "mirror flocks", separate my coop and run in half and alternate free-ranging days?? It may be an old practice but i felt like a genius when I thought of it lol!

That way, if something were to happen, I'm not out ALL my birds again.

I'm also considering breeds: as bad of luck as I had with a nasty RIR roo in the past, I really would love to have at least one.. Then a RIR hen, a barred rock hen, maybe SLW.. That way I could hatch some sex-link chicks when I need more chickens? I would also like to have another SLW roo.. Hmmm..

Just random ponderings. Anyone ever had a nice RIR roo?

If you could find a breeder that has some true RIR's you might have better luck. I would love to find some real heritage RIR's eventually! I have had great luck with my Brahma roo he is friendly to my kids and very protective of his girls, plus he is big enough to deter many predators! I JG might be a good roo too as they are HUGE, but I had aggression problems with my hatchery JG.

 

[aart]

Great Idea! Not new, no, but still...new to you!
Go For It!!...and you can build things too!

My Dark Brahma Mix mutt rooster is a sweetie...I have his cockerel too, who is the spitting image of dad...wish you were close, I'd give him to you.

 

[deacons]

I think you mentioned somewhere in this thread that you had a horse or other livestock- could a compromise be "supervised free range" time? i.e., when you're out doing chores (stalls, feeding, etc.) or otherwise out in the yard (gardening, cleaning, etc.)- the chickens can get out. But, when you can't be there for general oversight, they're in?

That's essentially what I do. In the summer, I will often bring a lawnchair outside in the evening and catch up on work emails, review documents, etc. so that I can keep half an eye on what's happening with the chickens out. I also let them out when I'm gardening or puttering around with other outside chores. On nice days, this might mean the girls get 3-4 hours outside to free range. This doesn't mean I'm out there watching them every single minute, but I'm generally in and out of the house and within earshot if something was really going wrong.

On cold winter days, I let them out to range in the morning while I clean the coop and run, and may put them in my dogs' fenced in side yard for awhile when I'm in the kitchen and can glance out the window that overlooks the yard- this might get them 1-2 hours over the course of a day.

When they're not free ranging, they have a 15x20 run with hardware cloth sides and roof (8 chickens total).

Some days I feel pangs of guilt for making them live in the "prison," when I know they'd be happier out all day even if that meant eventually I'd lose most of them. But, I guess for now, the compromise is the best solution I have to balance my guilt with my worry about protecting them.

 

[aart]

deacons.......I am curious to know how you get the chickens back in the run when YOU want them there....isn't it almost as bad as herding cats?

 

[deacons]

deacons.......I am curious to know how you get the chickens back in the run when YOU want them there....isn't it almost as bad as herding cats?

Aart, they're actually pretty well "trained" to come running at the sound of scratch shaking in a big plastic cup. They're not 100% perfect- some days, the bugs or sunshine are just too good!- but 9 times out of 10, I shake that cup and they come running. Now, I only have 8 chickens, so I'm sure it would be a lot harder with more (for awhile I was down to just 2 chickens, and when I went back up to 8, I was reminded how much harder things are with more birds!). Just from watching them, I've also learned which individuals are likely to be most tempted by the scratch, and try to approach them first, because once they come running, they typically get the whole flock on the move.

I do have a couple of rebels who can put up a fight, but if they're being stubborn, I just concentrate on everyone else first and go for the holdouts after the rest are in- on those rare days, that's when my always-patient husband comes out with a broom to help me with the cat herding

This is the biggest sucker, she'd probably come running from 1/2 mile away if she heard that cup shake:



And this is the worst of the renegades- I had been chasing her for about 30 minutes before I finally just gave up and sat down with her on an unusually warm fall day to enjoy the sunshine:

 

[carcar80]

Aww haha bless her heart! "Mama I don't WANNA come back inside!!" <3

Yeah, I'm the same way.. I just "ain't got time" for all that herding. I do have a horse but no mess to clean from him as he NEVER soils his open stall. Strange bird he is, lol. And although I could sit outside with them, I just don't know, we seem to be so sporadic with our comings/goings, it's hard to set aside a time where I could guarantee we'd be home long enough to give them a true outing..

 

[deacons]

Aww haha bless her heart! "Mama I don't WANNA come back inside!!" <3

Yeah, I'm the same way.. I just "ain't got time" for all that herding.

I do have a horse but no mess to clean from him as he NEVER soils his open stall. Strange bird he is, lol. And although I could sit outside with them, I just don't know, we seem to be so sporadic with our comings/goings, it's hard to set aside a time where I could guarantee we'd be home long enough to give them a true outing..

Yep, totally understand. I'm fully willing to admit I'm a bit neurotic about finding time for them to be outside- though it has done wonders for the neatness of our barn because I'm always looking for little chores to occupy myself

Lucky you that your horse is such a neat freak- my mare is a PIG in her stall!