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  1. andysforrest

    New to hatching...help!

    When you moved the babies after hatching, how difficult was it? Did you put them in a box on the ground?
  2. andysforrest

    New to hatching...help!

    Hello all, I'm new to the hatching world. I have two black australorp hens who have started brooding. They've been sitting on eggs for about two weeks. For the most part, they've been constant, other than the short times that they get up and eat/stretch/etc. Being the newbie to hatching...
  3. andysforrest

    (Im)patiently waiting for eggs

    Hey y'all, My hens are 22 weeks and I'm not seeing any eggs! We have a combination of buff orpington, black australorp, patridge rocks, delawares and columbian wyandottes. Our weather is changing a little, but hasn't had any drastic changes and I know that the shorter days can make a...
  4. andysforrest

    Why are so many coop designs elevated?

    Ours is elevated on concrete building blocks because we didn't want to have to purchase a building permit. Our coop is 12 x 10 with a walk-in feed storage area. Then there's another door to enter the actual coop. We have hardware cloth around the bottom to prevent chickens from going under...
  5. andysforrest

    Lost our flock

    We had a problem with rats last winter, hence the reason we built the new coop. I know I've said it before, but I go back to my original comment, Why haven't we had a problem before now? When the chickens had been in that same coop all summer long... Thanks for the ideas of the flashlight -...
  6. andysforrest

    Lost our flock

    Thanks for the pic of the hardware cloth - I'm assuming I can pick that up at the local farm supply store? Although we've looked and couldn't find any holes, I'll go back and check again to make sure. If a weasel can get through a 1/2 inch hole - what's the best method to seal them up so I...
  7. andysforrest

    Lost our flock

    When you mention hardward cloth - are you talking about a metal fence? It was just regular window screen. I guess we thought that being up toward the top, nothing would get in. Our mistake! Has anyone ever used electric wiring around the base? I'm wondering if that would help as well. As...
  8. andysforrest

    Lost our flock

    Well, I took pics of the tracks yesterday, but couldn't get a good one. I'm going to try the new tracks tonight, after the sun goes down - maybe I'll get a better outline??? The tracks this morning were definite cat-like, small, round in nature. The tracks yesterday appeared to have a drag of...
  9. andysforrest

    Lost our flock

    C&C Chickens Today 1:38 pm I think the 2-legged predator being referred to is a human, which is what I wondered when you said the chickens had their necks cut open but the bodies were otherwise intact. I'm curious about the weasel suggestion - does any animal really kill and then only drink the...
  10. andysforrest

    Lost our flock

    Oh! Nope, not human. We found tracks in the fresh snow, something cat-like and one other that we can't identify. And our cat is indoors - she'd never go outside in the weather.
  11. andysforrest

    Lost our flock

    sharol Today 12:46 pm Have you considered at 2 legged predator? A 2-legged predator??? Like, a hawk or something? Again, I can't figure out how they would get in to a coop that is completely shut up. My husband wondered if the weasel could have been hiding inside the coop, like it came...
  12. andysforrest

    Lost our flock

    ducklover1 Today 10:40 am I live in central IL if you need more hens just pm me and you need to have them closed uo ever night so the predators dont get in and yes sounds like raccoon -----The flock was closed up at night. If we weren't going to be home prior to dark, they...
  13. andysforrest

    Lost our flock

    Hi everyone, Well, over the last two nights, we lost our entire flock of 18 birds. We've had these chickens since last year. In the spring, we built a wood coop raised off the ground. We've had no extreme predator problems. We lost one chicken to a hawk during the late summer and one...
  14. andysforrest

    Culling Roosters - how many roosters should I keep?

    Thanks for the thoughts everyone. We definitely have two roosters picked out, they're the bottom two and chase the hens everywhere - which is highly annoying (both to us and the hens). Of the other two roosters, the top rooster is the older one, just over a year old and he is very protective...
  15. andysforrest

    Winter's light

    Hello, I have a question to post to others regarding winter's light: How do you manage the lack of sunlight/daylight hours? I've thought of getting a timer or some such other thing to keep light going, but have heard that white light can encourage pecking and I don't want to create any bad...
  16. andysforrest

    A couple of winter questions

    Angie, I've made it through one winter with some devasting losses to our first chickens. We had a weasel and couldn't figure out how he was getting into the coop. After conversation with the DNR here (central IL), we found that weasels are a prominent winter predator and can get through...
  17. andysforrest

    Culling Roosters - how many roosters should I keep?

    Hi everyone, We have a small flock of Buff Orpingtons, mostly 26 weeks old. We found out through growth that we were "blessed" with three roosters (and already had one in the older flock). We are going to cull roosters this weekend and I can't decide whether I should cull two or three. We...
  18. andysforrest

    I am soooo done....

    I have 18 pullets at 22 weeks, still no eggs either. I also have some older Buff hens that I get up to 3 eggs a day, so they should have good behavior to follow. The wait is hard...we can be patient together!
  19. andysforrest

    The longest wait...???

    Trying again...computer glitches! Ugh! Question - how long have you had to wait for your first egg. I have 22 week old Buff Orpingtons in Central IL. They have started squating (at least a couple of them), but I'm hating the waiting game. So, what's the longest you've had to wait for eggs...
  20. andysforrest

    The longest wait...???

    Hi everyone,
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