2018 Newbie Chat!

[ketojenn]

@ketojenn, Hey what are your faverolle babies looking like now? Asking because mine is a flipping giant.

Not too big yet. They are about 2 1/2 weeks now.

 

[CourtKnee]

Not too big yet. They are about 2 1/2 weeks now.
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Oh my gosh they are the cutest!!

 

[CourtKnee]

Trying to beat the heat today. These ladies are troopers. I can’t wait for Fall! This high desert heat is no joke =(

 

[ketojenn]

My SL Cochin babies are nearly 7 weeks old now and starting to look like chickens

 

[ketojenn]

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Trying to beat the heat today. These ladies are troopers. I can’t wait for Fall! This high desert heat is no joke =(

It's chilly here. Woke up to 50* and breezy.

 

[BBZZZZTT]

Well this morning shortly after I got up I heard the chickens making a lot of noise. I looked out the window and there was a fox jumping around and harassing Belle and Moana on the outdoor roosts in the run!
Everyone else had the sense to run inside the coop. I ran out with my dog right away to chase him away. By the time we got to the backyard he was already over the fence and two houses away.
There was an egg on the ground in the run, he must have scared an egg out of Moana. XD

I guess it was only a matter of time until one of the foxes realized they were back there! We have a few in the parks around here.
I left my dog out there for a while but now I need to get to work
Hopefully it doesn't try coming back today.

 

[BBZZZZTT]

Definitely wishing I made the hardware cloth skirting around the base of the run longer now

 

[ketojenn]

Definitely wishing I made the hardware cloth skirting around the base of the run longer now

Crafty little animals.
My son noticed paw prints on a board outside of our coop yesterday and asked me if it was a cat print. Nope, racoon. I'm confident in the security of my coop, but the outside run is not predator proof, it's far too large. I just hope we don't have any daytime issues. They are locked in at night.

 

[BBZZZZTT]

Crafty little animals.
My son noticed paw prints on a board outside of our coop yesterday and asked me if it was a cat print. Nope, racoon. I'm confident in the security of my coop, but the outside run is not predator proof, it's far too large. I just hope we don't have any daytime issues. They are locked in at night.

My run is [hopefully] predator proof. It's all hardware cloth and covered, dug hardware cloth into the ground around the perimeter.
If a fox had enough time I bet it could tunnel far enough under the hardware cloth, but its also very sharp so maybe it would get hurt in the process and give up.
Do you think the ground would be too frozen in winter to dig?? I would think so but then I've heard rats still get in during the winter, so they must still dig through it.

 

[ketojenn]

My run is [hopefully] predator proof. It's all hardware cloth and covered, dug hardware cloth into the ground around the perimeter.
If a fox had enough time I bet it could tunnel far enough under the hardware cloth, but its also very sharp so maybe it would get hurt in the process and give up.
Do you think the ground would be too frozen in winter to dig?? I would think so but then I've heard rats still get in during the winter, so they must still dig through it.

I should think frozen ground would be safe. Plus, with snow and ice any tracks or evidence of a predator would be obvious, so you could see any problem areas right away.