2018 Newbie Chat!

[Cbarr00]

I'm glad to know someone that did this. I don't want to waste the netting, it has worked well. I really don't need much support, but enough so that the netting doesn't cave in. I thought about weaving it between the beams going indifferent direction but I don't think that is necessary.

What size wood did you use? Pressure treated? How big is the run?

Our run is 15x12. The wood I think is 1x6. It is pressure treated because we used the wood from our deck. Here's photos of our fame then the completed run.

 

[Cbarr00]

@ChooksNQuilts -
I've just been reading some forums on here and have found out a cat can kill a full grown chicken and can kill more than one - many on here say it depends on the cat, which I agree with, when I had 4 cats I know at least one of those cats could and would have killed a chicken no matter how big. Quite a few members on here tell of having fully grown adults killed by neighbours cats, one tells of chasing a cat who had one of his hens in its mouth and jumped over the fence, when he finally found it, it was half eaten. Cats very much kill for sport but also for chemicals found in a birds brain which is why they often only eat the head, I used to feed my cats food which contained this chemical ( can't remember it's name) and it cut down the amount of birds they killed to a bare minimum - rest was sport killings. Trouble is canned food and supermarket foods dont contain this chemical and foods that do are very expensive. Along with this is that people aren't aware of these facts, I only found out through a trained vet.
Doesn't help that Roo freezes on the spot, last time we had trouble with a cat in the garden the others ran in the other direction while Roo just stood there shaking. Really hoping you are right about it having been taught a lesson however, I'm doubtful as it was back in our garden minutes after my daughter disturbed it when opening the back door ( reason I can't catch it as it runs as soon as hears door open) Gonna try with the water gun and if no help will follow @llombardo suggestion of relocating it is rather that than to risk my girls - really hoping water will work though.

What about a motion activated sprinkler? PNW mentioning sprinklers made me think of it. It has the element of surprise and water to hopefully deter the cat. You don't even have to wait around for the cat to get a good shot.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

Well, here I sit with my head between my hands contemplating some of my decisions. After reading various posts, thought I had things figured things out with regards to having broody hens raise newly hatched chicks. Things only turned out somewhat true. My black cochin turned out to be a terrible mother. Seems she was too laid back for her to be a good mother. On the other hand, the silver laced Wyandotte turned out to be the complete opposite and aggressive. Out of about 23 chicks I received from Cackle, I lost 2 the same day and another 2 over the next couple of days. After slipping 2 chicks to each hen at night, things looked good the next day. Amusingly, saw that all 4 chicks were with the Wyandotte. After waiting a couple of more days, slipped the remaining chicks at night to the two broodies. I think we gave the Wyandotte around 8 new chicks and the Cochin about 6. This was Sunday night. Checking Monday morning, saw that the chicks were doing ok. However, following peeps of a chick which sounded like they were coming from outside the coop, saw that it had somehow managed to get into the pen where the adult non-broody chickens were and they were pecking at this poor little thing. Fortunately, there was no blood and the chick seemed ok. Brought the little guy inside and put her in the brooder thinking that she must have accidentally slipped through under the plastic netting I had put up to keep the broodies & non-broodies separate. That night, I slipped that chick next to the Wyandotte. Checking Tuesday morning, found 4 dead chicks in the coop. They were together but by themselves in a separate nesting box from the ones in which the two broodies had made home. This led me to think that the Cochin had neglected them and they died of the overnight cold temps. On Wednesday, I noticed two chicks hanging around with the Cochin outside in the run. From time to time she would go in and the black chick would follow. But the yellow one was staying outside. After a while, I saw the Wyandotte come out and attack this poor little chick. At first I thought this was just a little aggression to show dominance. But then a while late, I saw the Wyandotte come outside of the coop in a deliberate manner and attack the yellow chick while the Cochin turned a blind eye. Although in the Cochin's defense, I saw her getting pecked by the Wyandotte earlier. Right at that point I decided that I was not going to leave that chick stay there any longer. But I also knew that she did not like being alone either. So then I grabbed about 3 more chicks and brought them inside. Guess I'll be raising these 4 peeps myself. So much for things going by the book. Guess I'll have to get some hens of a breed that make good mammas for next year.

Any suggestions on how to care for the chicks inside? They're in a large cardboard box with a heat lamp slightly above it in a corner. The box itself is in a bedroom with a space heater so that the room stays nice & warm. The chicks spend most of their time under the area of the box which has a flap over it. I guess this makes them feel secure. They do come out to drink water & eat the food that I've place inside the box. And if they start feeling cold, they move closer to the lamp.

Be very very careful with a heat lamp and a cardboard box. I used a Mama Heating Pad inside a large clear storage bin. Or you can put the pad set-up right in the coop in a blocked off area where the girls can see the babies but not get at them. Here's a link to one of the how-to's.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...er-picture-heavy-update.956958/#post-14882145

I didn't actually make the cave-like shape, but used an old cookie rack and made an inclined top.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

@Anna Ranieri as much as you love your chickens I’d give the water gun a shot, plus you can have your grandson help and it may be fun for him. Try and remember the way you love your chickens is the way your neighbors might love their cat. I would never bring an animal I know has a home to a shelter, even if it saved me the hassle. Imagine the heartbreak you would feel if someone did that to your chickens without your knowledge. You can always get a sprinkler and have it going when you can’t watch your girls. If you make it hard enough to get your girls it should just give up. There are cat deterrents you can buy as well. I’m not sure on their effectiveness but it’s worth a shot.

@PNW_Peepers and @Cbarr00 Thank you for your great suggestions however we don't leave our girls out when we aren't home, they are locked in their run so cat can't get to them, could fit a paw through the wire fencing but I'm sure girls are smart enough not to sit against the fence while it's there. Having a sprinkler wouldn't work for two reasons, one is our garden is L shaped as we live on a corner, part of the L shape leads onto public footpath, so having a sprinkler there would wet anyone walking past so we wouldnt be able to have one on that part and all the cat would have to do is walk around the corner and enter the garden that way. Also having a sprinkler in the main part would mean every time we enter our garden we would get wet too.
@PNW_Peepers I understand your point about being someone's pet but this isn't about being a hassle this is about me not wanting my girls harmed. My daughter hadn't realised the cat was in the garden when she let them out of their run because it has good hiding skills however I've cut down a lot of bush and shrubbery so makes view clearer. The cat lives two doors away from us and I can often hear it coming so can chase it away but it is when I come indoors for lunch or to get warm, what ever, I have to rely on the girls to sound a warning which usually they do and do so a lot even when a little blackbird rustles in a bush but that day they hadn't realised the cat was there hiding.
I recognise your empathy toward my neighbours and their cat but they didn't consider us or our feelings when they made complaints which led to us having to be without our ducks which I am no where near healed from the loss of them, so I don't see why I should consider their feelings or wants.
The cat doesn't have a collar so I doubt they'd put a bell on it, plus we are on condition about having the girls as the housing authorities stipulated that they would only turn a blind eye to us having them as long as no one complains and I can't risk these neighbour making complaints about us having our girls so I dare not approach them to ask for the bell. It would probably be a case of me asking please could you put a bell collar on your cat so it can't sneak up on my chickens and them saying- you shouldn't have chickens here anyway.

 

[llombardo]

Our run is 15x12. The wood I think is 1x6. It is pressure treated because we used the wood from our deck. Here's photos of our fame then the completed run.
View attachment 1742272
View attachment 1742273

Very nice. It looks like everyone uses different size wood..lol

Did you put posts into the ground? If yes all the way around?

 

[llombardo]

@PNW_Peepers and @Cbarr00 Thank you for your great suggestions however we don't leave our girls out when we aren't home, they are locked in their run so cat can't get to them, could fit a paw through the wire fencing but I'm sure girls are smart enough not to sit against the fence while it's there. Having a sprinkler wouldn't work for two reasons, one is our garden is L shaped as we live on a corner, part of the L shape leads onto public footpath, so having a sprinkler there would wet anyone walking past so we wouldnt be able to have one on that part and all the cat would have to do is walk around the corner and enter the garden that way. Also having a sprinkler in the main part would mean every time we enter our garden we would get wet too.
@PNW_Peepers I understand your point about being someone's pet but this isn't about being a hassle this is about me not wanting my girls harmed. My daughter hadn't realised the cat was in the garden when she let them out of their run because it has good hiding skills however I've cut down a lot of bush and shrubbery so makes view clearer. The cat lives two doors away from us and I can often hear it coming so can chase it away but it is when I come indoors for lunch or to get warm, what ever, I have to rely on the girls to sound a warning which usually they do and do so a lot even when a little blackbird rustles in a bush but that day they hadn't realised the cat was there hiding.
I recognise your empathy toward my neighbours and their cat but they didn't consider us or our feelings when they made complaints which led to us having to be without our ducks which I am no where near healed from the loss of them, so I don't see why I should consider their feelings or wants.
The cat doesn't have a collar so I doubt they'd put a bell on it, plus we are on condition about having the girls as the housing authorities stipulated that they would only turn a blind eye to us having them as long as no one complains and I can't risk these neighbour making complaints about us having our girls so I dare not approach them to ask for the bell. It would probably be a case of me asking please could you put a bell collar on your cat so it can't sneak up on my chickens and them saying- you shouldn't have chickens here anyway.

I agree. I love all animals, been working with them for 40 years. As an owner of cats, dogs, and chickens, they are contained. This is for their safety and the safety of others. Laws should be stricter on cats--they shoud not be allowed to roam if they are pets. I get the feral thing, it's different. I do not want my neighbors dog or cat popping and peeing on my property and I sure don't want to witness them getting hit or finding them dead for any reason. IMO if you love your pet, then you take care of them and fo not burden the neighbors. It's not like this car got out on accident, that is also understandable. These owners choose to let the cat roam and that isn't right at all.

 

[PNW_Peepers]

@llombardo @Anna Ranieri I completely disagree. I have a chicken killing dog across the street. Do I bring it to the shelter when it comes after my birds? Hell No! The family across the street adores their dog. If you start a war with your neighbors by making their cat disappear, don’t be suprised if you end up being forced to rehome your chickens. If you talk more of taking this loved pet to a shelter where it could be killed please do so in private messages. I don’t mind leaving this forum if you don’t, I want stand witness to such a Haneous idea.

 

[Cbarr00]

Very nice. It looks like everyone uses different size wood..lol

Did you put posts into the ground? If yes all the way around?

We just put the corner posts at ground level since the frame is attached to the coop. We ran the hw cloth into the ground a couple inches to prevent anything digging under. Then we put pavers with plants along the bottom as extra border security.

 

[llombardo]

@llombardo @Anna Ranieri I completely disagree. I have a chicken killing dog across the street. Do I bring it to the shelter when it comes after my birds? Hell No! The family across the street adores their dog. If you start a war with your neighbors by making their cat disappear, don’t be suprised if you end up being forced to rehome your chickens. If you talk more of taking this loved pet to a shelter where it could be killed please do so in private messages. I don’t mind leaving this forum if you don’t, I want stand witness to such a Haneous idea.

It's way more awful when people start poisoning or shooting these animals, which happens quite often. They SSS which is a truly disgusting act. At least the shelter will notify owners if there is a chip.

I'm curious to know how you handle your birds getting killed by the dog in your neighborhood? To bad to sad for the chicken? Do you talk to the neighbor about the dog?

I have a yorkie down the road that is always roaming. What happens when it goes under my fence and my dogs kill it? Am I responsible? Is the safety of this dog not a concern? There are cars, coyotes and even Hawks that can take this dog. Sad part is they had another dog they was a roamed and guess whose house it was registered too? Yes mine and the police were knocking at my door and the fines were coming to me.

This is about the safety of all animals. All people will handle it different and most will just straight up kill them to protect their own.

 

[Cbarr00]

@PNW_Peepers and @Cbarr00 Thank you for your great suggestions however we don't leave our girls out when we aren't home, they are locked in their run so cat can't get to them, could fit a paw through the wire fencing but I'm sure girls are smart enough not to sit against the fence while it's there. Having a sprinkler wouldn't work for two reasons, one is our garden is L shaped as we live on a corner, part of the L shape leads onto public footpath, so having a sprinkler there would wet anyone walking past so we wouldnt be able to have one on that part and all the cat would have to do is walk around the corner and enter the garden that way. Also having a sprinkler in the main part would mean every time we enter our garden we would get wet too.
@PNW_Peepers I understand your point about being someone's pet but this isn't about being a hassle this is about me not wanting my girls harmed. My daughter hadn't realised the cat was in the garden when she let them out of their run because it has good hiding skills however I've cut down a lot of bush and shrubbery so makes view clearer. The cat lives two doors away from us and I can often hear it coming so can chase it away but it is when I come indoors for lunch or to get warm, what ever, I have to rely on the girls to sound a warning which usually they do and do so a lot even when a little blackbird rustles in a bush but that day they hadn't realised the cat was there hiding.
I recognise your empathy toward my neighbours and their cat but they didn't consider us or our feelings when they made complaints which led to us having to be without our ducks which I am no where near healed from the loss of them, so I don't see why I should consider their feelings or wants.
The cat doesn't have a collar so I doubt they'd put a bell on it, plus we are on condition about having the girls as the housing authorities stipulated that they would only turn a blind eye to us having them as long as no one complains and I can't risk these neighbour making complaints about us having our girls so I dare not approach them to ask for the bell. It would probably be a case of me asking please could you put a bell collar on your cat so it can't sneak up on my chickens and them saying- you shouldn't have chickens here anyway.

Well I was just thinking turn it on when the girls are locked up. I'm sure this cat is constantly lurking around. You can always turn it off when you'll be outside. Is there no way to not have it pointed toward where people may walk?
Honestly I can see how neighbors might not realize how attached you are to your birds before making the complaint and realizing how hurt you would be. I know you're worried about your chickens but the cats are allowed to be there and your chickens are not. I don't think it's worth it to start a fight and potentially lose the last of your flock.
Trust me I completely understand your frustration. We have dogs and cats running loose all over my town. I would just hate for this to escalate to an unnecessary point.