Search results for query: *

This decision is completely yours. If you are attacheched to them like a pet, then you cannot let them free range. Sooner or later one or all WILL be killed. If you can accept the occasional loss then free ranging is ok. As Yoda like as this sounds, the answer lies within you.

Your charger should have a pulsing indicator light showing normal system operation. Unhook the the positive and ground leads to the fence and turn the charger back on. Does the indicator flash? If yes the problem is with the fence or ground. If no the charger is bad.

I am considering doing some prescribed burns late this winter. I have never done this before. What is your method? I have burned plenty of large brush piles before, understand waiting for just the right weather conditions (no wind, humidity, preferably just after rain etc.). What process do you...

Had a possum go through my original chain link run. He wasn't after my chickens that night, instead crawled into the tube of my gravity fed feeder. Got trapped in it and died. Didn't know till the smell kicked up several days later. He appeared much larger than I thought could get through chain...

Does your electric also surround the coop itself?

Didn't read whole thread, but skimmed it. No true fort Knox coup is complete until you surround with electric. Its cheap, easy to install and works like nothing else in my opinion.

Get a regular snap hook (like is on the end of a dog leash). Break off the thumb tab. You can still easily open, but coons can not.

350 is pretty darn good in material costs for a coop and run that size. Its the time that's the killer. I understand your retired and doing this for the enjoyment of building and being productive. I bet using all those pickets are the main bottle neck. 4 x 8 sheets of l.p. smartside at Lowe's...

Liner really will be your best option. Get the thickest one you can afford. Make sure there are no rocks or sharp objects before you lay it. Bentonite is not really meant for small backyard ponds. Your other options would be concrete or gunite, which would require rebar and or forms.

Really nothing better than a dog. My neighbor has 60 acres. He has an underground inviisible fence that just goes around his house and barn. He has one dog in it that barks and alerts when anyone gets within 500 feet.

Yes, a coyote will jump a 4 foot fence like it is not even there. I lost a pygmy goat this way a year ago. My yard was also 1 acre. I built an internal safe area for them to spend the night. 25x25 6 foot horse fence with an apron to prevent digging. A coyote can still go over a 6 foot fence, but...

The short answer is any dog that you are willing to spend the time and resources training. And dogs are expensive to keep. If opposums were my problem, I would surround my coop and run with 3 strand electric offset 20". First wire 6" high, next 6" above that and third 12" above that. This can...

Good point about layering your defenses. After seeing my dogs chew through heavy gauge chain link to get out of their dog run, I know hardware cloth would be only effective in keeping the small critters out. In your case, your best first defense is your dogs, but for others reading this thread...

Just killed another. Wife heard them squaking. He had his head parked at the rear end of a broody hen who hadn't gone to roost. Like he was waiting for the pez dispenser to drop another candy! He measured out to 6 foot. Biggest I have seen

A month ago I caught a similar sized rat snake in the nesting box. He had 2 eggs in his stomach and mouth wrapped around another. I think they can go through a lot of eggs as they probably are not as "filling" as an animal with muscle,bones,fur etc. My guess is you have a combination of rats...

Look up "duke" dog proof raccoon traps. As Josiah said, be ready to shoot.

Both the north and south. I have lived in both and heard the term used this way. Don't know what else to tell you. Not saying it's right or wrong. Again just a human label.

Yes, I know the now recognized breeds of "curs" are great dogs. I was pointing out the term has been used for a long time for both positive and negative conotations. Long before they were given a "official" name. The term cur is still used today (specially by old timers) to refer to a dog that...

A cur can also mean in certain circles a dog who does not perform the task he was bred to perform. Not really relevant to this conversation, but interesting how we label dogs.

Fact is if you free range your birds unsupervised sooner or later you will loose some. You may go a year or more with no issue then out of the blue it happens. Or it could be tomorrow. Even the best laid plans with gaurdian dogs, shelters, roosters etc it will happen. If you treat them as pets...