This is my first year raising ducks. I had always heard that ducks roost on the ground but my Muscovy ducks like to roost up high. Examples: the roof of my car, the back steps, my husband's work trailer, and even the garage roof.:barnieUnfortunately, for that reason, I can't let them free range...
Must have been that or she was tag-teaming with another hen.. although we never saw another hen in there. At night when we shut the chicken house up, my husband always counts the chickens on the roost and all of them were up there except Broody. I don't know how she did it. And I think, if I...
I have never heard of this but my broody hen was apparently taking care of 2 nests simultaneously! She made her first nest between 2 bales and was sitting on 10 eggs. 7 hatched. The next day when I went to check on her she had moved her little family to the other side of the bale. It seemed odd...
The best thing about chickens is watching them scratch around the yard during the day. I'll miss that if we decide to keep them in the chicken yard full time.
My survivors, 2 roos and 4 pullets had been roosting in the high rafters of the barn. Tonight , however, I found 1 Roo back in the chicken house and the older roo frantically trying to roost on a window ledge of our house, He then relocated to the top of a 10 ft tree. I rescued him and put him...
Thanks for all the input everyone. I think we've decided to end the daytime free ranging and add a cover to the top of the yard. The coop itself is fairly secure but I did spend a couple hours this morning building a better door for the back portion of the coop where we keep the broodies and...
Yeah, I forgot about owls and climbers. Well if can at least get them in the fenced area it will be easier to catch them if they won't go in the coop by themselves. Do you think, since we've found no bodies, that it's a fox or a coyote? Does any other predator carry the carcass off?
We were thinking of luring them back into the chicken yard with a treat block and closing the gate behind them. Hopefully they will go into the hen house from there and not try to roost in the trees. But I guess, either way, they would be within some sort of confined area. By all accounts given...
Well, after 3 years of no predators we have become complacent and not been real consistent about closing up the chicken house each night. So in one night 6 hens disappeared! Just feathers and blood in the hen house. Now my 4 remaing pullets and 2 roosters refuse to go back in the chicken house...
Yes, owls are my concern as well, although I haven't seen or head any around our place, I'm sure if they ever happened along and saw 5 juicy turkeys roosting....
They are pretty big now.. I don't know how big is "too big" for raccoons or opposums. I think we'll leave them to their ways for now. If we start loosing them, we'll have to do something else. Thanks to everyone for your help!