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In regards to the poison, did you have to keep your chickens away from it till the rats ate it or will the chickens not eat it? I've got rats in my coop right now. The cat is doing his job, but not quickly enough, I fear, and I just want to get rid of them without hurting the chickens!

I just saw this - sorry Pele! I know, it was irresponsible of me. But see what just the threat of punishment did? Embarrassed me, made me think of the consequences, made me change my actions. I, however, think it is cruel and unreasonable to remove a dog from its owner when there is no obvious...

Yep, in NJ, we can't shoot out of season, regardless of livestock attacks. Maybe that's not the case for farmers, but I'm not technically a farmer by the state's rules.

Well, that's not going to happen! My brother tells me it's a $10k fine and jail time to kill bears out of season. I am going to get a paintball gun and scare the **** out of it, though :)

Thanks everyone! I haven't had a chance to reply this week, but Monday morning when I woke, it had come back, torn the door of my coop and got another one of my flock. The muddy footprints it left all over the side of the coop indicate it was definitely a bear. We have a brief black bear hunting...

Thank you for the condolences. I feel so bad, but glad we unknowingly scared it off for the time being. I'm worried about tomorrow. No one will be home all day. It is so disappointing when you put all your time and energy into caring for something to have it killed so swiftly! I have lost 4...

Yes, I've lost 1 full grown chicken this year to a hawk. I have even had a smaller hawk, like a cooper's or sharp-shinned swoop down at my full grown hens twice - once even in front of me. Last year I lost two full grown hens to a hawk, so yes. Definitely, yes!

Here's what I know: They were all in their coop before sundown. I didn't shut the door to their coop because I was out to dinner when it got dark. I got home, did a little cleaning and my mom came over to drop something off. When I ran out to grab the item, I heard my ladies squawking like...

Thanks thekid and Gotta Love the Drake. Good alternatives to murder! I've live trapped rats before and the trap release can sometimes be so loud and traumatic that they die anyway, so all I'd really need is some way to ensure he's out, then reinforce the wire. Ole rooster, I can't speak for...

I live in Northwest NJ. It's one of those fat, friendly guys that eat everything green in their way. I have to admit, when he attacked my garden last year I was tempted to kill him, but I'm a lover, not a fighter (most of the time) so I couldn't bring myself to do it. Good idea about searching...

I say call the cops. Being honest here: my dogs went through a period where they would run to my neighbors yard and take advantage of the fact that they were afraid of them. They'd stare at them through their windows and bark at them while eating the bread they'd thrown out for the birds. I...

I have a home-made coop, that sort of looks like a shed. It's raised on cinder blocks, so not a whole lotta room for the girls to go under. This year, I noticed a couple of holes on the two sides of the coop, where the run is not attached - so the outer sides of the coop. I believe it's a...

What a story! Glad it all worked out!

I finally got to check her out today, because I leave too early and get home too late for work during the week, and she was all clear on the mites front! Her eye also looks fine. It looks like she just has more skin/folds than the others on the one eye. I will continue to keep an eye on it...

Thank you for the warm welcome!

Thank you! I will check her out for mites or lice. Is the Sevin dust safe to inhale? I was looking up this weekend and noticed some people say that dogs have died from inhaling. Not that I would have my dogs around when I'm dusting, but if inhaling is bad for dogs, is it bad for chickens as well?

I just joined the other day to ask a question about one of my chickens that's molting. It looks like a great group of chicken farmers here so I thought I'd say hi, officially Hi! I'm Nicole. I've had chickens for about 3 years now. I got my first flock in Jun 2009. Mostly Rhode Island Reds...

My Rooster Paul was a female light brahma for the first 7 months of her life. She laid eggs and all. The flock never had a rooster and grew up all together. I had always heard that one of them would step up and be the rooster, but when she actually grew larger, and started crowing, I did a...