Search results for query: *

  1. greytgrey

    Super free range hens — help!

    Thanks, everyone, for the ideas!
  2. greytgrey

    Super free range hens — help!

    We have a small flock of five hens, who are getting more and more brave with exploring our neighborhood. We have 1 acre, and a 4 to 6 foot fence that surrounds about 1/3 acre in the backyard. When we first moved here, ours was the newest house in the neighborhood, built in 2007. Since we got...
  3. greytgrey

    Do I Need to Set Up a Nest for My Free-Ranging Chickens?

    They aren't. They sleep out on the "flight deck" we had for the pigeons; it's about 4 feet off of the ground. It's "outside" and cooler, so great for Austin summer but I think they'll likely move inside during the winter. And, actually, before it got really hot, two of them did sleep in a couple...
  4. greytgrey

    Do I Need to Set Up a Nest for My Free-Ranging Chickens?

    They do return to the coop at night. We have eight 12 x 12 nesting boxes, stacked (like 4 boxes on top of 4 other boxes) about 5 feet in the air, because the "coop" was initially a pigeon loft. I've added a ramp (that they've used) and a kind of "running board" since I don't know whether they...
  5. greytgrey

    Do I Need to Set Up a Nest for My Free-Ranging Chickens?

    They do! And I have several nesting boxes up high and on the ground in there. They just never spend time in there during the day, so I wasn't sure whether they'd lay in there or not. Will definitely get some "eggs" out there ASAP. :) Thanks!
  6. greytgrey

    Do I Need to Set Up a Nest for My Free-Ranging Chickens?

    Our chickens could start laying soon, and they've started ranging out in our very forested, unkempt, past-the-fence back yard. If they lay their eggs out there, we'll never find them because we'd need to bushwhack almost an entire acre, and there's no way we'll do that every day. So. Do we...
  7. greytgrey

    Tree birds

    Oh no! I'm so sorry!
  8. greytgrey

    Tree birds

    Actually, I have the doors zip-tied and bungied shut, so they don't. One time, I was cleaning the coop with a new cleaner and it freaked a couple of them out, so they kind of holed up in the flight deck rather than running out like the rest of them did, so I opened it up and they jumped down...
  9. greytgrey

    Tree birds

    Suuure. :rolleyes: I'm like, "I don't care if you dry poop up here, but is there any way you can save the runs for the grass, please, ladies?!" :D
  10. greytgrey

    Tree birds

    Thank you for noting that. It's helpful for future reference. Fortunately, for now, at least, our flock very dutifully climbs into their repurposed pigeon loft every night, right at sunset! They just spend their days in the trees and stuff. :) At night, they get a very secure flight deck...
  11. greytgrey

    Tree birds

    Ha. I feel that. I now preface any visit to our back patio with, “You night not believe it, but I clean out here twice a day.” :)
  12. greytgrey

    Tree birds

    Anyone else have birds who like to be up high? Mine will perch in the trees (we had all 6 in this tree tonight), on top of the fence, up in my kid's playhouse, on the backs of patio chairs, etc.
  13. greytgrey

    Sex question (pretty sure they're all "mutts")

    I'm going to contact her and let her know. :)
  14. greytgrey

    Sex question (pretty sure they're all "mutts")

    Thanks, everybody!
  15. greytgrey

    Sex question (pretty sure they're all "mutts")

    These two... pullets or cockerels? If they're pullets, then it'll mean the lady who sold them to me hit 100% at 7.5 weeks, which is pretty impressive. :) The auburn one is just stunning; I think the prettiest of the lot, and is always the last one in the coop at night. The black one is getting...
  16. greytgrey

    Adapting to a Repurposed Pigeon Loft

    Just have to brag on my ladies. We've had them about 7 weeks, and are housing them in a loft we had built for pigeons. In other words, it's way more vertical than if we'd built expecting to get chickens. I did modify it slightly, by affixing some branch bits to a couple of 2 x 4s to make long...
  17. greytgrey

    Mystery of the Freaked Out Chickens

    Thanks! We think so. :) When I got these 6 chickens, I just asked the lady to make them different-looking enough that my children could tell them apart, so we have 6 random birds, and I think the grey one is definitely the most interesting. Reminds me of Buckbeak in Harry Potter.
  18. greytgrey

    Mystery of the Freaked Out Chickens

    My 17-year-old watched the video and said, "Oh, poor babies!" Here are the bumpers. I don't think the white and brown one has a particularly "rooster-y" appearance, but is HUGE (I call it Monstro) and seems to be trying to crow, making these whistling/humming sounds at times. Also acts very...
  19. greytgrey

    Mystery of the Freaked Out Chickens

    This morning, I'm sitting outside with them for an hour or so before my little kid wakes up. They emerged very tentatively and are keeping more under cover than usual, but are foraging. They're also doing something they've never done before: CHEST-BUMPING! The primary bumpers are two I've...
  20. greytgrey

    Mystery of the Freaked Out Chickens

    Fortunately, we're fairly confident that the coop is secured. It's a modified pigeon loft that we learned the hard way was NOT previously secure. However, because it IS a 6 x 4 pigeon loft with a flight deck but no access to grass/the ground outside of any kind, I worry that the birds might get...
Back
Top Bottom