Old chest freezers work great and you can get them for free, in various sizes. If you paint them (e.g. brown) they don't even look like freezers any more, just fabulous pest-free storage containers.
Don't worry about the eggs. Nature has designed them to sit for a looong time before they go bad. They'll be just fine to eat unless you chop them up and mix them with mayonnaise and *then* leave them in a hot coop all day!
Y'know, although many of the dogs are really thin, I only once saw one menace chickens. I wonder if it might be because these are tough, capable birds and I imagine puppies learn to steer clear of them (plus, there are people around all the time). That one time, I heard the sound of half-grown...
I recently spent some time on vacation in Laos (it's between Vietnam and Thailand, one of the least developed third world countries on the planet, like a slice of old Asia) and there were semi-feral chickens everywhere! I thought you folks might enjoy these photos:
Thank you for your thoughtful replies! You've given me lots to think about ... I didn't store the eggs as cool as I might have, so that could explain the early hatchers, at least in part. And I think I've figured out what went wrong overall - you know the 1588 has a fan, right? Well I found...
Up until now, my hatches (Genesis 1588) have been pretty predictable. I have always used the egg carton method. The early birds hatch on day 20, the bulk of them pop out like popcorn on day 21 and the stragglers hatch on day 22. By day 23 any unhatched chicks have always been dead. But this...
Yes, you will *need* to get into the run - to pick up a dead chicken or deal with a sick one, to collect an egg that got dropped in the run, any number of reasons. You will also want to clean it from time to time as the chicken poop just keeps building up.
Oh, and remember that chicken wire...
I think it's selection pressure from humans. Up until very recently (and currently in many parts of the world), chickens free ranged and partly fended for themselves. When you wanted chicken for dinner, you would catch one and process it (no fridges or freezers, right?). Typically this would...
Ridgerunner is right about the possible hazard, but I've always had good success letting two broodies raise their babies together. Mine are initially separated from the flock by wire mesh, and I integrate at 1-2 weeks. My girls typically share the babies between the two hens, which works out...
What is Charlie's problem? Well, Charlie's problem is he has a brain the size of a peanut, and testosterone poisoning to boot. I don't think Charlie's story is going to end well for him no matter what you do. I know what it's like to feel conflicted about a rooster, so I sympathize, but I...
As I understand it, there's nothing wrong with utilizing hardware cloth or anything else usual to the ownership and maintenance of a property. However, it is against the law to set a trap of any kind for a burglar.