Recent content by theharve01

i dont think you can say this is an easily preventable problem. If that was the case pest control products would not be sold in every store. I keep all my feed in large metal cobtainers on wheels. These containers are used to store tools on a building site. Pests cant access them. I feed my...

people introduced myxomatosis here to try get rid of them. what a stupid idea that was. rabbits were a staple part of the Irish diet, until the meat chicken came along. now its very rarely eaten. its a shame. why not eat both.

There is enough rabbits to keep me in sausages. i only eat meat that i have hunted or raised. so i dont mind the rabbits. and for some reason rabbits love hens. no mater where i put the hens, rabbits always appear. they will even creep past the dogs to get to the hens. the grass must be tasty...

hi miss Lydia, i live in Ireland. i was going to get a 22, at least it would be more multipurpose. i could get one for the same price as an air rifle. plus i still need to wait three months and pay the fees. but i could shoot rabbits. and other small game. but in my small acre plot the 22 might...

shooting them is an option for me. firearms in this country are not the easiest to get. i already have two but they are too big for shooting rats. well the shotgun would be fine, but it would scare the bejesus out of the hens and goats. even if i wanted an air rifle i need to apply for a license...

hi Howard E, thank you for that. the brand i used is called halt 50, the Active substance brodifacoum .005%. not sure if this helps. it would definitely be a good research project. but i would agree you would need time. ye, i was thinking the same, that is just the die that is passed and not the...

Hi, thank you all for your advice on this situation and sharing your experiences. as most of you i do only use the poison as a last resort. and sadly we dont have any snakes in my country, you can thank st Patrick for that. i also do not like to keep a cat on my homestead. as they not only...

I had a question related to rats that i cant get an asnwer on. I was wondering if anyone knows the answer for sure. I put poison out due to the high numbers in the field from when i had my xmas turkeys. Now ive started seeing the blue droppings in the field. My hens have access near the field...

Im in ireland. There are foxs and pine martins. But they stay off my property due to my dogs.

Hi. I know this is a chicken forum. But most of us that keep hens get the odd turkey. This is my second year raising turkeys for xmas dinners. I have 7 this year. 5 last year. Last year i built an elaborate perch for them to roost at night in. This year i built a nicer one. Plus i built them a...

@Ridgerunner thats a lot of great info. thank you very much for that. i contacted some show breeders last night. one of the guys thats been doing it for over 20 years was very nice. he said that he doesn't know of anyone selling the breeds i am looking for either. i also got the feeling that...

thank you both, thats great. i will get on that today. i did find the Irish poultry society. i have emailed them. they dont really have much of a website, but hopefully they can help with breeders too. thanks again

thank you all for the help and advice. @Ridgerunner i do understand your idea on strains. and i think selective breeding is good, as you say though "once you know what you are doing". i will only be butchering about 50 hens a year for the first few years. i will just be selling meat to work...

thanks egghead jr for that. i never even thought of selling on layers at the end of the year. i just planned on slaughtering all when they reach the correct weight. as you stated the sussex and dorkings are English breeds. i am in Ireland. i can get white sussex. but no one sells red sussex or...

hi, thats great info. thank you for that. i do like the leghorns myself. i think i might hatch out a few more of these to keep my egg sales satisfied. i think i need to read up more on the sexlinks. thanks very much