Anyone have luck catching a feral chicken?? UPDATE: Rooster caught, no hen

[Suzi18]

My bantams are beyond stubborn about being broody. I think you will NEED a wire bottom cage. A solid bottom allows them to still sit.
I gave up trying to break my Bitty and gave her chicks the last couple years.

Thats what I was afraid of. I'll give her a couple days in the crate and if that doesn't work I'll get a crate. I'm at my limit of # of chickens so no egg sitting for me.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

@apryl29 I started using sand and love it. I'm going to try it for the winter this year too. I don't have a way to use a poop board so I make the sand a little deeper under where they roost and add PDZ in those areas too.
I put treats in trays and they promptly pull them out and throw them in the sand. It does act like grit. I put grit out just in case and they don't touch it.

@Suzi18 How does sand work for you in the winter? My coop is raised so I was going to stuff some straw bales under it as a wind break. Thought that would keep the floor a little warmer too.
What's been your experience?

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Thats what I was afraid of. I'll give her a couple days in the crate and if that doesn't work I'll get a crate. I'm at my limit of # of chickens so no egg sitting for me.

Could you put a baking cooling sheet in the crate under her? A faux wire bottom.

 

[Suzi18]

Could you put a baking cooling sheet in the crate under her? A faux wire bottom.
View attachment 1158493

That's a great idea! This is what I love about this sight. So many great ideas from great people. I will try that

 

[theuglychick]

What is PDZ?

I'm trying to figure out flooring options for my breeding pens and runs. They're covered, but open.

Keep in mind it gets NASTY here with sometimes weeks of rain. Fungus is just as bad of a problem as mud. I have shell and pea gravel in my original run but apparently shell is no longer available. It drains beautifully and stays clean. My birds eat the little pieces.

Im considering sand but I'm afraid the sand will be contaminated with bacteria as it is local river sand/silt. A friend of mine uses sand and her birds are constantly sick. Idk if it's because of the sand but I don't want to risk it. (She keeps offering me her birds and I'm running out of excuses as to why I can't take them )

Pea gravel Seems like the best option so far. The rain pretty much washes it clean. Looks like it will be easy to pick poop from on the parts where it's covered. I could even bleach it and rinse it if I wanted to!

Any other suggestions or recommendations?

That's a great idea. Unfortunately our run is pretty big & flat and I wouldn't be able to cover it in plastic.. snow. I feel like we're constantly modifying the coop so maybe one day I'll have the $$ to do a better design of the run. I saw photos where they used the wire to make a domed run, but it was after I finished my original run. I just added on with snow fence which has worked well for me so far. Now my leghorn cockerel is in the original run b/c the girls won't leave his tail feathers alone.. plus he's getting big scary spurs so it makes me think it's better to keep him separated from now on.



I recently started thinking about adding sand to my run, but I'm not sure how good of an idea it would be b/c that's where I toss in their treats, like watermelon, grass, etc. I am going to adjust their roosts/ poop board this weekend so I can put some trays under them and thought about using sand there since it'd be way easier to clean, but I saw most people use PDZ.. but I wonder if the chickens might eat that stuff.

 

[Rubysword]

I have a suggestion...

CATCH THE SQUATCH!!!!

 

[theuglychick]

I've resorted to just letting them hatch them out as well.

The problem is that I have to hold on to them for 8 weeks till their "weaned". But it's fine, I think it's worth seeing how happy mom and chicks are.

I'm switching from strictly layers to dual-purpose heritage breeds and got some Faverolle chicks in yesterday and they are apparently well-known to go broody.

We shall see how this goes!

My bantams are beyond stubborn about being broody. I think you will NEED a wire bottom cage. A solid bottom allows them to still sit.
I gave up trying to break my Bitty and gave her chicks the last couple years.

 

[Suzi18]

@apryl29 I started using sand and love it. I'm going to try it for the winter this year too. I don't have a way to use a poop board so I make the sand a little deeper under where they roost and add PDZ in those areas too.
I put treats in trays and they promptly pull them out and throw them in the sand. It does act like grit. I put grit out just in case and they don't touch it.

@Suzi18 How does sand work for you in the winter? My coop is raised so I was going to stuff some straw bales under it as a wind break. Thought that would keep the floor a little warmer too.
What's been your experience?

This will be my first winter with sand but I also have a raised coop and plan on covering the area under my coop with clear acrylic. Actually I am going to put up clear acrylic sheets around my entire run except for the the top 6 inches on the east and west sides. I have read that sand retains the sun and heat of the day for hours and doesn't freeze or get hard. I guess this winter will be a learning experience. But...i am hopeful after all I have read from others that I will be as happy with the sand this winter as I have been all summer. We'll have to compare notes

 

[Sassysouth]

Google Sweet PDZ, it is a horse stall refresher. I use it on my poop board and scoop like kitty litter and it absorbs the amonia (from what I understand).

I have MUCH to learn about broody bantams!!

 

[Sassysouth]

I have an elevated coop to and i worried about the wind last year, but worries more about it in the run. I won’t block the wind this winter because the run the stinky without air flow. I will underpin the coop this year.