Any other hawaiians out there?

[TropicalBabies]

Aloha I moved to Kona 3 years ago. Just now back into byc. I’m a bit rusty. I have 5 hens.They are about 2 months old. I have awhile to wait. Question! Will they eat lizards and geckos? I ve seen chickens eat mice. Just wondering.

Aloha @DebbieDee ,
Chickens don't seem to be able to see the Day Gecko's but love the Morning Gecko's that are quickly dropping in numbers and that are the most native to our islands. I always try to find and feed my gals the super speedy dinosaur ones. I've gotten pretty good at catching them It is a great source of entertainment... ah er for them. I'd blame it on the "shelter in place" but not so much. Never had any bad reactions from them eating gecko's but I know cats can get sick with too steady of a diet per the vet. Never asked about chickens...

 

[The Farmers' Daughter]

Hi everyone!
Greetings from Canada!

I'm working on a new directory for BYC Breeders. If you sell eggs, chicks or birds and would like to be added, feel free to send me a PM. Right now I don't have anyone from Hawaii listed.

Feel free to take a look at what I have so far. BYC Breeders' Directory

 

[Chrismp]

I just got a stray hen and bought a bantam so she’d have a friend. My husband just built a coop and run for them, but now I’m wondering if it will keep mongooses out. It’s got 1” chicken wire on sides and top, but the bottom is open so they can scratch around. Can a mongoose fit through the 1” wire? Do I need to put wire on the bottom so a mongoose won’t dig under? Will an electric wire around the bottom work to keep them out?

 

[TropicalBabies]

I just got a stray hen and bought a bantam so she’d have a friend. My husband just built a coop and run for them, but now I’m wondering if it will keep mongooses out. It’s got 1” chicken wire on sides and top, but the bottom is open so they can scratch around. Can a mongoose fit through the 1” wire? Do I need to put wire on the bottom so a mongoose won’t dig under? Will an electric wire around the bottom work to keep them out?

Aloha from Kauai (where we do not have mongoose but I come from Maui so I am semi qualified to respond lol)
First, congratulations and welcome to chicken world, you are brilliant an thoughtful to purchase a bantam friend.
Second, can you send us a photo of what you got going? By the sounds of things... I don't think a mongoose will make it through 1" welded wire but not sure what you got. Many people just trench down and bury wire so predators can not dig through. You can always attach wire to bottom and then fill with soil. I don't like a wire bottom for their feet either.
Anywho, send us a photo so we can better answer your question.

 

[Chrismp]

Here’s the run part. The top also has 1” chicken wire across it.

 

[TropicalBabies]

That is a very cute run and normally probably perfect for 2 little chickens to play in. Chicken wire is very good at keeping chickens in but lousy at keeping what wants to eat them out, unless it is a bird of prey. Maybe consider 1/2" welded wire or hardware cloth instead and yes, secure the bottom especially if you see mongoose in your neighborhood.
I can see somebody is pretty handy with tools. Nice job! Check out the coop builds on BYC just to see what others have done and maybe see somethings that you can incorporate since you are so handy.
I see you have 6yrs on you avatar. Have you recently moved or switched islands. Where are you at now?
As I said b4 I do not have Mongoose on my island but wish i would have spent the extra $$ for the welded wire on my coop. When my chickens were 5 months old my neighbors hunting dogs got out and dented the heck out of my coop. If i did not have my own dogs and was not just feet away it would have been ugly. Also my chickens like to dig and often make their own hole under their big coop and run fence. We ended up spending the time and money on the property line fence but still... things that want to kill chickens are good and persistent.
You can always flip it over and add ply to the top for sun protection and take your chances on the chicken wire, especially if you don't see many mongoose in you neighborhood. Any ways, like i said, good job, super cute. love it if you shared more. Aloha

 

[Chrismp]

We’ve had chickens for 12 years now. We just moved from NC, so my mom inherited my flock (one of my girls, a crested polish, turned 12 in February. She was from our first group). But we had no mongooses in NC, so this is new territory for me. We just had a privacy fence around our yard and that kept the girls in and predators out. The rest of our yard here is fenced, so I’m not worried about dogs. I haven’t seen mongooses in my neighborhood, but don’t really want to take a chance, so I’ll figure out something more secure than what we’ve got now. Thanks!

 

[LMat]

Hey @LMat, neighbor, I know this is an old post from you but i'm hoping you are still checking into BYC. I'm about 9mos into my byc and diggin' it but always looking for local knowledge. K den.

Hi @TropicalBabies!!! Wow, I haven't jumped on the forum in a while (like, years!!)!! Interesting to see another peep from Kekaha on here, I'm on Elepaio Rd. Stalked your recent posts a little and looks like you just hatched some new babies recently...?!! So did I!! I have seven currently running amuck, just a few weeks old. I usually keep a couple and rehome the rest. They are all silkie hybrids, as my only mature roo is a silkie. I'd be interested in knowing if you ever have any chicks for sale, I'm looking to add some new blood to my flock. I post lots of pics of my birds (and cactus!) on Instagram, so if you're on, follow me there (rettamattos)!!!

 

[TropicalBabies]

Hi @TropicalBabies!!! Wow, I haven't jumped on the forum in a while (like, years!!)!! Interesting to see another peep from Kekaha on here, I'm on Elepaio Rd. Stalked your recent posts a little and looks like you just hatched some new babies recently...?!! So did I!! I have seven currently running amuck, just a few weeks old. I usually keep a couple and rehome the rest. They are all silkie hybrids, as my only mature roo is a silkie. I'd be interested in knowing if you ever have any chicks for sale, I'm looking to add some new blood to my flock. I post lots of pics of my birds (and cactus!) on Instagram, so if you're on, follow me there (rettamattos)!!!

Hey @LMat ! You are so close... somewhere on Elepaio ... Awesome!! Don't do instagram or fb. Can't handle it. Yes, always have chicks rolling around. Just hatched 10 barnyards and have more coming next week. I'll PM you and we can def talk chicken!!! Glad you checked back into BYC after your haitus and mahalo for stalking!

 

[TropicalBabies]

Aloha @Orpingtonsarecool ,

Welcome to BYC! and glad you found this thread. I like your movie star chicken avatarlove Orps. The Scarlett Johansson of chickens. I had a few but gave them up, it is just too hot in my area and I did not want them to suffer. Also, mine were SUPER vocal, I knew when they wanted feed or water or a cat was spotted or they needed snacks.. and ESPECIALLY when someone was in THEIR nest box. One even crowed... I miss them and their beautiful and friendly faces.
Kailua, BI or Oahu? How many and what kine chickens you get? You raising for eggs, fun, breeding, all the above?!