We got six buff Orpington chicks for my wife, for Mother's Day 2015. A cat got one when it was five weeks old. I applied an effective cat discouragement protocol (Gamon Talon 1250 .177 pellet rifle with a Walther barrel and a 3X9 scope). The cat was none the worse for wear, but he definitely steered clear of our yard and ME, thereafter.
A short time later, we found out one of our buffys was a rooster and gave him to a rancher that lost his coop to coyotes and was in rebuild mode. Two months later, our daughter, son-in-law and their family moved to Mesquite, Nevada and couldn't keep their chickens. So, we inherited seven, year and a half old Americana hens. That gave us 11 chickens, two coops, two feeders and two waterers in the "Chicken Kingdom."
Later that year, my wife's client told us about a pair of chickens running loose in her neighborhood, laying eggs everywhere. By the time we got to the neighborhood, there was only one chicken left, a silver phoenix. A little pile of meal worms and a cardboard box later, and we rounded out to an even, dozen chickens.
So, we've had chickens for a little over two years and they're fat and sassy! Our son-in-law put us onto Backyard Chickens when we first got our buffys. How did anyone successfully raise chickens without it?!
A short time later, we found out one of our buffys was a rooster and gave him to a rancher that lost his coop to coyotes and was in rebuild mode. Two months later, our daughter, son-in-law and their family moved to Mesquite, Nevada and couldn't keep their chickens. So, we inherited seven, year and a half old Americana hens. That gave us 11 chickens, two coops, two feeders and two waterers in the "Chicken Kingdom."
Later that year, my wife's client told us about a pair of chickens running loose in her neighborhood, laying eggs everywhere. By the time we got to the neighborhood, there was only one chicken left, a silver phoenix. A little pile of meal worms and a cardboard box later, and we rounded out to an even, dozen chickens.
So, we've had chickens for a little over two years and they're fat and sassy! Our son-in-law put us onto Backyard Chickens when we first got our buffys. How did anyone successfully raise chickens without it?!
