Recent content by Mark

  1. Mark

    Wild peacock visiting us

    Thanks for the comments on peacock interest in fish! In my own experience here, raccoons account for fish loss.
  2. Mark

    Garden cart with hen house on top

    The hen house had two doors. One for us, and one for the chickens. The 'human door' was never breached. The 'chicken door' was about 9 inches by 9 inches, and was located at the top of a stair inside the run. The door was based on an automatic door design, but only used gravity and human...
  3. Mark

    Garden cart with hen house on top

    Another update. All the chickens are gone. Back in May, a raccoon killed every chicken in the hen house. There were two surviving chickens that had moved out. They were roosting in trees and nothing happened to them. I guess we could have forced them back into the empty hen house, but it...
  4. Mark

    Wild peacock visiting us

    Just a follow up... The peacock lived with us for over a year. It lived in a big tree next to the house. It was a real joy to have around. He was beautiful, if messy. A neighbor was less enchanted. He said the peacock had eaten every fish in his fish pond. This spring, he started...
  5. Mark

    Starting over...

    Hokum Coco wrote: >You do not have to do much research on this site to accomplish that as you probably already know. Actually, there are too many ideas... It is always tough, and some what a lifestyle issue. One night, there will be a door left half open, or a fence will be breached, and...
  6. Mark

    Starting over...

    We have been raising chickens here for 6 years, and they have always been free range. We have had as many as 16 chicken roaming around, but now they are all gone. I'm tired of losing chickens to predators. Losing a chicken is no fun. Back in May, a raccoon killed every chicken in the hen...
  7. Mark

    Automatic feeder attached to the coop

    Very cool!
  8. Mark

    Getting free-range peacock off the porch

    Half a mile in pursuit of a critter? Is this to catch it or just scare it off?
  9. Mark

    Free range chicken feeders

    HEChicken, I'm pretty sure we have the mice problem you mention. The mice are probably joined by rats, too. We don't use electronic doors. To be honest, we are hit and miss about locking the chickens up. An electronic door would solve this. We have lost chickens at dusk, though. It is my...
  10. Mark

    Getting free-range peacock off the porch

    Our friendly peacock disappeared a week or two ago. Before he disappeared, he seemed to start roaming more. We had heard reports from neighbors seeing him a half a mile up the river, in the direction of his original home. If we were to raise a peacock ourselves (free range, of course), would...
  11. Mark

    Free range chicken feeders

    When trying to feed our free-range chickens without feeding our dogs, the raccoons, the rats, the squirrels and opossums, I'm reminded of the old riddle about a man who has to get a fox, a chicken, and a sack of corn across a river. As it stands, we have a hen-house with a small enclosed pen...
  12. Mark

    Getting free-range peacock off the porch

    >If you make him think that the sky will fall if he is on the porch.. I read this to my DW. She replied, "I don't want him to leave forever!" >Build him a giant bird house.. OK. 4 feet by 4 feet? Up in a tree? How do we get Mr. Peacock to move in? Thanks! Mark
  13. Mark

    Getting free-range peacock off the porch

    A peacock adopted us this fall. We have 7 to 10 free range chickens, so he is just one more bird on the hobby-farm. The dogs have gotten adjusted to it, just as they adjusted to the chickens. Several years ago, we had trouble with the chickens settling in on our porch to get out of the heat...
  14. Mark

    Wild peacock visiting us

    >Your male will seek shade during the hottest part of the day, probably on the ground. True. He has been hanging out on our covered porch during the afternoons. That's not particularly welcome. Our free-range chickens were doing that last year and made a big mess. This year, we have been...
  15. Mark

    The rooster must go!

    I thought I'd update this story. In mid-April we took a week long trip and had a friend care for our chickens, goats, etc. We warned our friend about the rooster. At first, things when well. On the 3rd night, the rooster attacked our friend. She called on her teen age boys who were helping...
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