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  1. DoozyWombat

    Half My Flock Is Missing

    I think the predator theory has to be the right one, based on the things said here. Good news and bad news--but the really bad news is that I'm feeding those SOBs who are raising more SOBs, making my problem worse. Really tired of that. I got the timber under the gate the foxes were using, but...
  2. DoozyWombat

    Half My Flock Is Missing

    Good advice, thanks very much. I'm not glad to hear it's likely predators, but maybe some more will come back. The pasture/barnyard has pretty good fencing around it which was electrified, but the e-fencing broke down due to vegetation. Foxes can apparently get under one of the gates, and...
  3. DoozyWombat

    Half My Flock Is Missing

    We've certainly had issues with both foxes and coyotes. Three years ago, I realized that the CX couldn't be bothered to go into the coop at night, and became a daily feast for coyotes. I lost 17 birds over the course of a week before I caught on to what was happening. I wondered if a weasel...
  4. DoozyWombat

    Half My Flock Is Missing

    It's been a while since I've been on here, but I've just lost more than half my flock and I don't know why. This is my fifth year with chickens, but it's by far the most difficult. I had 33 chicks (27 CX and six Leghorns) that will be four weeks old tomorrow. No other birds. My last adults were...
  5. DoozyWombat

    Best Free Range Bird for Meat

    I'm not sure if you mis-typed there, but raised CX are absurdly cheaper than store-bought chicken. In my area (Shenandoah Valley, VA) chicken in the grocery store runs $3-$5 per lb. Organic free-range chicken is $6 and up per lb. Even with losses to predators, my chicken costs with CX are almost...
  6. DoozyWombat

    Maintaining my Cornish crosses til I can process them

    That's amazing. My first year, I was plucking by hand and could not get to the CX fast enough. The processing was spread out over many weeks. My largest was 13.7 lbs dressed. I think the bird was 12.5 weeks at that point. I had several over twelve pounds. Every bit as tender and juicy as the 8lb...
  7. DoozyWombat

    Dog / Human Conflict

    Everyone chooses their own actions, based on what is most important to them. They can also swear out a legal complaint or warrant. There is probably no fee for doing that, and law enforcement might be sympathetic. MO laws might hold that anyone can destroy another's property without...
  8. DoozyWombat

    Dog / Human Conflict

    So call the sheriff's department and ask them what your options are. I'd be willing to bet that the owner is responsible for what their animal does on other people's property; I think that's one of those fundamentals. The deputy I talked to said, "If it were me, I'd just shoot him when he comes...
  9. DoozyWombat

    Another "What killed my [neighbor's] chickens?" thread

    I see you're in NH, and that is in the range for wolverines. That hole looked too small for even a young bear, but a wolverine could easily rip through wood like that and get in and out. The hair also fits. You might look at the wood for claw marks, and show them to someone who knows the...
  10. DoozyWombat

    Dog / Human Conflict

    I'm guessing what you can do depends on the state, but in Virginia, a Sheriff's Deputy explained to me (after a dog came onto my property and killed some of my chickens) that (1) an owner absolutely has the right to shoot a dog that comes onto the owner's property and kills, attacks, or pursues...
  11. DoozyWombat

    Stopped laying... Ugh

    Could well be. She actually fell over on her side without moving her wings, like she was a stuffed animal. She didn't revive until I dipped her beak in the water a few times and fed her some mealworms and cracked corn. She's still a young bird--only about 14.5 months, so I've been hoping she'll...
  12. DoozyWombat

    Stopped laying... Ugh

    I'm glad I found this thread. I have a white Leghorn who stopped laying, after being the most active and prolific layer in the flock for six months. She's only fourteen months old, and she kept laying right through the winter solstice. But about April, she started hiding her eggs under an...
  13. DoozyWombat

    Comment by 'DoozyWombat' in article 'Reasons for Tossing Out Your Indoor Brooder and Start Raising Your Chicks Outdoors'

    I'm going to try a variant on this, this year (2021). My CX chicks are coming around May 1, so in the next few days (around April 1), I'm going to stop collecting eggs, and see if I can get one of my Brahmas to go broody. (They did last Fall, unsuccessfully.) The idea is that I'll have chicks...
  14. DoozyWombat

    Are white chickens less afraid of the snow?

    Yep, I think that's what 2009 means in 2021. Don't think chickens have changed that much, though.
  15. DoozyWombat

    Anyone else's chickens afraid of snow.

    Follow-up. After several days of tempting with treats, I now have all the flock foraging out on the snow. The White Leghorn was the leader, but after a couple of days, the others have followed.
  16. DoozyWombat

    Are white chickens less afraid of the snow?

    I have seven Dark Brahmas and one White Leghorn. The Leghorn is by far the most curious and daring of the flock, and she has also been the most willing to go out on the snow. After several days of tempting them to go out onto the snow with cracked corn and mealworms, I've finally gotten the...
  17. DoozyWombat

    Anyone else's chickens afraid of snow.

    My Dark Brahmas are terrified of the snow. I got them to get a little bit onto the snow by trampling, then scattering pine shavings so only half the ground was snow, then scattering cracked corn. My one Leghorn got almost all the cracked corn the first day. Another odd thing is that they have...
  18. DoozyWombat

    Anyone else's chickens afraid of snow.

    Just don't mix them up. :D
  19. DoozyWombat

    Hen is Getting Eggs from the Whole Flock--what to do?

    The hen finally abandoned the nest. Three eggs started hatching overall. None got very far, and all died. I finally took all the eggs and tossed them. As of last night, the hen was back on the roost with the flock. I don't plan to let anyone try to hatch anything again before spring. Thanks to...
  20. DoozyWombat

    Hen is Getting Eggs from the Whole Flock--what to do?

    Great information, @Ridgerunner ! Thanks.
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