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  1. papajoesfarm

    8 Week Old Barred Rock

    Well, "Taz" is definitely a rooster. But he is the most laid back one I ever owned. Not a daily crower, and when he does it sounds like a goat. At 16 weeks, he hasn't really figured out how to harness his diaphram. He will attempt to eat eveything he finds, and I've caught him trying to...
  2. papajoesfarm

    Official BYC Poll: How Do You Keep Rodents Away From Your Coop?

    Hi Maizie - "Barn Cats" is just a label for stray cats that start hanging around your place. If you want to get them interested in helping you out i rodent control, provide a water dish, some dried cat food, and a shelter. You can buy shelters on Amazon, but in our case we have a barn that they...
  3. papajoesfarm

    Noisy chick!

    I ran into this often until I started leaving the lights on for them in the form of a red light LED bulb. Here in the US you can get one at any Walmart, but there are many other sources. It's a 7.5W LED, equivalent of a 60W incandescent. It's eliminated the trauma the chicks experience when...
  4. papajoesfarm

    Official BYC Poll: How Do You Keep Rodents Away From Your Coop?

    Your best bet for long term rodent control is cats. The old timers I learned from always had a "cat crew" around, and I'm no different. There are three "outside cats", and one inside cat that keeps our home free of any small criterrs, be it mice, roaches, or frogs. With so many cats being...
  5. papajoesfarm

    Expanding coop suggestions?

    You could build your own second structure quickly if you go with a simple 8x8 box structure using 2x4's for the frame and 2 4x8 plywood panels on each side. Prices on dimensional lumber have finally come down, and if you have a salvage yard in the area, the cost is basically half of the "Big...
  6. papajoesfarm

    Chicken Noise from 100 Ft Away

    Eeessh! Nothing like modern life. Someone complains about an 8lb bird, then gets at Oh-dark-hundred to vacuum their window frames. What have we come to? If you are on good terms with your neighbor, and friendly, they never complain about your chickens. That always seems to be the key...
  7. papajoesfarm

    Rat snake

    I have two options when dealing with snakes or large lizards. We have both here in Florida Option #1: You can catch snakes using the large glue traps that are sold in any Hardware store. Large snakes can be best caught using a wood box trap. Here are directions for making one: Making Snake...
  8. papajoesfarm

    Topic of the Week - Feeding mealworms, bugs etc.

    Our Wyandotte flock gets meal worms in the late Morning, around 1000 hrs, and then live Black Soldier Fly grubs that we raise specifically for our chicken flocks, in the afternoon. The young Barred Rocks are OK with them, but they always get excited when I bring them fresh weeds we have pulled...
  9. papajoesfarm

    Sight Sexing Barred Plymouth Rock Chicks at Hatch

    I would say Macaroni is a Roo, the others look like pullets. You will probably know for sure in 4 more weeks. I just raised a flock of Barred Rocks this spring, and have one terrific Roo. I picked him out as a chick at the hatchery, because I wanted, and needed, a Rooster. Here is a photo of...
  10. papajoesfarm

    Preventing flies from even coming?

    Yes! - these are far better than the bags. They don't smell like a dozen dead animals. If you are in the suburbs and have close neighbors, stay away from the bags. You can smell them 100 feet away when they start to fill up. I'm coming to the conclusion that they attract more flies than you...
  11. papajoesfarm

    Preventing flies from even coming?

    Flies happen every year here in Central Florida once the Rainy season starts. It's part of the annual cycle. The best way we found to deal with it is to put up fly traps as soon as the first flies show up. That was right after Hurricane Elsa this year. We clean off the poop boards and perches...
  12. papajoesfarm

    8 Week Old Barred Rock

    Today my little guy turned 11 weeks old, and he celebrated by announcing it with his first crows. Hopped up on the pasture shelter, lifted his head up, and let go with a one note baritone. Then tried it four more times. It sounded like a buzzer. I had just let them out for the day. Not very...
  13. papajoesfarm

    Official BYC Poll: How Is Your Run Covered?

    After I built the first run, we had a rainy summer, and the run was a muddy mess. Flies soon followed, and I learned a hard lesson about the Florida summer climate. After that, the first run, as well as subsequent runs and coops, had a metal roof installed. I use Gibralter Corrugated Steel...
  14. papajoesfarm

    'Sweetest' / most human friendly chicken breeds

    SIlver Laced Wyandottes are very friendly, will eat out of your hand, and follow you around. I have a flock of 10 this year, all hens. They do not like to be touched, but will learn to let you pick them up. I also have a flock of Barred Plymouth Rocks, and would recommend them to any one who...
  15. papajoesfarm

    Sand vs Pine Shavings

    I have coops with wood floors, and use pine shavings from one of the feed stores or Tractor Supply. The runs are dirt floors. There are poop boards under the roosts in the coops. Every day the poop boards are cleaned off, and the harvest goes into compost bins, or straight to the field if I am...
  16. papajoesfarm

    7 week old chicks...help sexing please!!

    Barred Plymouth Rock roosters usually turn out to be very laid back birds. Depending upon their environment, and how they are treated, of course. I have a young one, and he is already very considerate and constantly looks out for his hens. A good one is a big help in taking care of your flocks...
  17. papajoesfarm

    8 Week Old Barred Rock

    I agree. Never had one that was out and out nasty for no reason. You cannot hit them to discipline them - that just teaches them to distrust you, and react in kind. The ones some folks might describe as aggressive or mean, were just doing their job - protecting the flock. I want that in a...
  18. papajoesfarm

    8 Week Old Barred Rock

    My Rocks just turned 9 weeks old today. And my little guy - now he has a name, Mosely - is starting to grow his sickle feathers and saddle feathers: Hard to see from this photo, but the ridge in front of his tail feathers consists of pointed feathers, that are starting to grow out to the...
  19. papajoesfarm

    8 Week Old Barred Rock

    Barred Rocks are one of the "purebred" breeds that you can feather sex reliably when they are young. Here is a description of the genetics from poultry.extension.org: "The Barred Plymouth Rock breed carries a gene for barring (B) that is carried on the Z chromosome (see Figure 2). This gene...
  20. papajoesfarm

    What are square foot the calculations again? I have to build a run, which I don't like.

    Consider surrounding your whole setup with an electric fence - either poultry netting, or a 3 - wire fence. This will protect your flock from the terrestrial predators. If you build your run out of hardware cloth, both sides, top, and skirts, then you will have a good solid structure that will...
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