My mom got talked into one of these to protect her cats from Coyotes. Was raised from a pup, but now that dog is mostly grown she is roaming around a bit farther than is liked, but has developed another curious habit. She is bringing in dead coons. As many as 4 to 5 per week.
Is she likely out...
Neighbors are taking a short road trip and asked me to look in on their birds. Found 4 of 5 with missing feathers around and in front of tail, and entire vent area.
Is this from parasites or something else? None of mine have ever done that.
For those considering the installation of an electric fence, or not sure of how they work, consider this to be a basic tutorial.
So all electric fence setups will be similar to this on, differing only in scale......meaning where you put your hot wires and how large of an area you encompass...
For those who think it's only coons and foxes who are smart.......
Plus what you are up against with a determined neighbor's god.....errrr......dog. You still think chicken wire is going stop that guy?
If they can get out.......they can get in. Solution? Better latches, sturdy aprons and an...
Posted this an a thread or two, but decided it might make a good thread to it's own.
http://www.cyclopselectricfence.com/most-common-electric-fence-grounding-issues/
Don't know a whole lot about Cyclops fencers, but their instructions for setting up a fence and ground rod system are excellent...
Since the update, it seems the library of images I've uploaded over the years is missing. They still show up in my old posts, but I can no longer find them to include in new posts.
So they aren't gone, but where are they?
Anyone know of a source of this in the US? Said to be far better poultry litter than wood chips.
http://www.miscanthusbedding.co.uk/
I have a row of it myself.....serves as a windbreak and cover for the birds....... but I have no good way of chopping it.
Guy I work with has several acres...
For snuffing varmints in traps....captured animals at nearly point blank range......what are the weapons of choice?
At the farm, then and now.......we always use a .22, single shot, bolt action Rifle and .22 shorts. Remington 510 targetmaster if it matters. You could even shoot CB caps with it...
Can't edit the original, so consider this series of videos to be an updated companion to a previous rat control thread...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rat-control-101.1283827/
Rat control always comes down to three things.....(1) sanitation.....(2) exclusion and if those two fail...
Never faced this predicament before. We had to be gone for 5 days, with nobody around to gather the eggs. Birds did OK confined to the Woods house, so no harm to them. Except when I let them out this evening, I gathered 7 dozen eggs, which they left over a 5 day period. Temps the first two days...
This thread is a condensed summary of information found in numerous other threads, and all of it designed to help concerned BYC growers deal with rat their infestations. It is divided into three parts:
1. Know your rat
2. Rat Proofing
3. Elimination
Each of these sections will also include...
When dealing with rats, a concern of some over the use of poison bait blocks is the risk of secondary poisoning by pets and other if they find and then eat a rat that died from the poison.
Does anyone have actual experience where this has happened? A confirmed case where a dog, cat, chicken or...
In case anyone hadn't noticed, youtube has been cracking down on what they deem to be offensive videos, and that includes a number of really helpful trapping videos. I have made numerous links to them, including this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coons-believe-it.1170361/...
Was watching a program on what the US citizens did leading up to and through WW II, and with everything in short supply, how urban folks were pressed into planting gardens, etc. for food. They were the Victory gardens (and Victory just about everything else). An extension of that was the need...
If you are contemplating a chicken house that you intend to be more or less permanent, and of any size at all....say large enough to house a dozen birds, know that the A#1 recommended floor to put under it is concrete. That has been the gold standard of chicken house floors for at least 100...
Fascinating video on how the Army dealt with rats. Not sure who one.
But informative, and most of it as true today as it was back then.
Lots to learn here. About rat behavior, baits used and why, and tracking powder.
A hammer? Really?
Thought I would throw this out for someone else to help test and perfect.
This is an improved (maybe) version of what we used to use for freeze proof livestock water. Basic idea is to bury the water tank well below either soil or inside insulation, so the source tank does not freeze. This one...
Posted this in another thread, but thought it might have merit to discuss on it's own.
For you rat trappers, this is something you might try.....and further modify it by hanging a mini snicker's bar from a piece of string from the center of the lid so rat has to go to the edge of the plank to...
My pet name for a young Jack Russell terrier we are dog sitting for a few weeks. What a curious dog.
Generally mild mannered and well behaved, a bit needy, craves attention, but otherwise, is not a problem.
Found out last night this dog is a killer. Took him out for his final walk of the...