Been so busy lately that I haven't checked the thread and finally got caught up with all the posts. Seems like Coyotes have been an issue lately and I am sorry to all those that have lost birds. I went through that so many times which prompted me to build the fort knox chicken run which at the time of building it I thought I will never fill this puppy up and now I am trying to figure out how to break it to my DH that I need another one built. It is such a relief that when the coyotes start going crazy like they do every night that I don't have to run out with my flashlight hoping they hadn't broken into my makeshift coop or run. This might be an old wives tale but they say if you pee around a perimeter that it deters coyotes as they don't like the smell. My sister did that in Colorado and they never lost a single bird to a coyote, of course she had 2 boys more than happy to do the deed and lived on land with no neighbors close by which makes it easier. I find it was hard to break my son of peeing outside that if I allowed him now all my hard work would be for moot.
My hatch did not go as well as fuzzybird...I ended up with 1 little chick that is suppose to be a lemon orpington but I don't think it is. Either way that lonely little chick is with the 1 Icelandic chick I hatched from Mahorni. I am hopeful my luck has changed though because I candled tonight and i have 3 Sex Link Marans, 11 BBS Orpingtons, 3 White Leghorns, 2 Lakenvelders, 2 Icelandic, 4 Golden Campines, 22 Blue Marans, and 4 Barred rock eggs growing that go into the hatcher on Saturday just in time for me to set eggs for the NYD hatch along. Plus I am going to brood some chicks for Pastrymama that are due to hatch Saturday so I will have little fuzzy's coming out of my ears! If anyone is interested in dayold chicks PM me as I was not expecting that many eggs or breeds...Oh and I had a hen go broody that should also be hatching on Tuesday and she is on 14 eggs (I wonder if she would notice if I put 50 day old chicks with her to brood
)....which brings me to my next funny story about chickens....
I got 3 Black Copper Marans hens from desertmarcy and they got to go with the big girls and out of quarantine. They are the sweetest birds and had been in a pen with 2 month olds. So today I come out and my broody hen is making her business in the run but I don't see the BCM's so I look in the coop and 1 is in the special nesting box on the ground (apparently the 4 raised nesting boxes where to much work to get to) so mamabroody comes into the coop and sees her in HER box and goes crazy clucking at her and chases her out of the box and climbs back in complaining the whole time that not only did I bring in new girls but the new girls had the audacity to sit in HER box while looking at me with I WANT TO KILL YOU FACE (which I totally understand as I am PMSing and just ask my husband I have had that face all week). So I give her space and go back out later to check on her and sitting on the ground next to the box are all three BCM's just sitting there on active guard, as soon as me or any other bird comes in that coop they start giving the warning clucks. They are officially mamabroody's watch hens.
My hatch did not go as well as fuzzybird...I ended up with 1 little chick that is suppose to be a lemon orpington but I don't think it is. Either way that lonely little chick is with the 1 Icelandic chick I hatched from Mahorni. I am hopeful my luck has changed though because I candled tonight and i have 3 Sex Link Marans, 11 BBS Orpingtons, 3 White Leghorns, 2 Lakenvelders, 2 Icelandic, 4 Golden Campines, 22 Blue Marans, and 4 Barred rock eggs growing that go into the hatcher on Saturday just in time for me to set eggs for the NYD hatch along. Plus I am going to brood some chicks for Pastrymama that are due to hatch Saturday so I will have little fuzzy's coming out of my ears! If anyone is interested in dayold chicks PM me as I was not expecting that many eggs or breeds...Oh and I had a hen go broody that should also be hatching on Tuesday and she is on 14 eggs (I wonder if she would notice if I put 50 day old chicks with her to brood
I got 3 Black Copper Marans hens from desertmarcy and they got to go with the big girls and out of quarantine. They are the sweetest birds and had been in a pen with 2 month olds. So today I come out and my broody hen is making her business in the run but I don't see the BCM's so I look in the coop and 1 is in the special nesting box on the ground (apparently the 4 raised nesting boxes where to much work to get to) so mamabroody comes into the coop and sees her in HER box and goes crazy clucking at her and chases her out of the box and climbs back in complaining the whole time that not only did I bring in new girls but the new girls had the audacity to sit in HER box while looking at me with I WANT TO KILL YOU FACE (which I totally understand as I am PMSing and just ask my husband I have had that face all week). So I give her space and go back out later to check on her and sitting on the ground next to the box are all three BCM's just sitting there on active guard, as soon as me or any other bird comes in that coop they start giving the warning clucks. They are officially mamabroody's watch hens.
