California - Northern

[sewandgrow]

I use Premier's electric fencing. My pastures have 4 strands of electric rope, which keeps dogs out but doesn't contain chickens. I have their multipurpose netting, which many people use for chickens. The roll is heavy, I can't set it up myself. It would work for dogs etc. It contains most chickens. Some fly over it and youngsters either go through it or sometimes get their head stuck in it. I had a steer get his horns caught in it and rolled himself up in it, so I don't use it in the pasture any more. I'm thinking about getting it out again and using it as a grow out pen for cockerels, though. I also have their pig QuickFence, which is awesome for pigs and also keeps dogs out. All these electric fences work for dogs.

In addition to the electric fences, my dogs patrol the property and have fought off other dogs and predators. I did training with my dogs so that they know and respect my property lines. I LOVE dogs but can't allow my animals to be hurt. A couple people have called animal control on me when their dogs came onto my property and were either chased off or injured by my dogs. AC is very supportive of my working farm dogs and has always says that I should just shoot the wandering dogs, which I could never do.

Other people in this area have major predator problems, and I have not. So the combination of electric fence and farm dogs works for me.
Probably TMI

Kim

Good for you Kim. I have not the patience to train dogs that well but I bet your quiet spirit is great at it. I can be such a spastic sometimes. My mind is always racing.......LOL. My husband has a Border Collie that we have had some training done on but I know know who is trained more, my husband or the dig......LOL. My huband build his run right down the middle of the pasture so no one from outside could mess with him. He is a sweet dog but kind of spastic like me........LOL

 

[ronott1]

I have Marans eggs from Linda Hammid hatching today. They are beautiful eggs--Linda said they were at the end of laying season, so were lighter but they are very dark.

These guys will drive me crazy though. They did not have their first pip until last night, well into day 21. Out of 13 set I had 6 pips this morning with one zipping when I left for work. Someone posted on the marans thread(3600 something posts? I will never read all of those) that they were like clock work: pips on day 21 and hatching done by day 23. Crazy!

I hope I don't have to wait until day 27

Hatching update: EO Basque hens, 13 of 15 look good. 1 clear and 1 looks like an early quitter. Cream Legbars, 5 of 6 look good. One is questionable but may be clear.

 

[Tressa27884]

You need a LGD - that will keep the dogs away..

I wish I could free range mine but it is not just the hawks that nest in the pasture I worry about but more so the free ranging neighboring dogs that have in the past gotten my others chickens. The sheriff said to shoot them but that didn't save the chickens they already got & I am not going to shoot a dog even as upsetting as it was.

 

[ronott1]

Last month I went to Kim's place to pick up hatching eggs. While I was there I took a tour of the place and it is a nice setup. the Electric fencing looks very nice and white. I could see it being run off of car batteries. The coop is great and big, based off of a utility trailer. When I drove up, one of her cull dorking Roosters was on top of it--I had to take a couple of looks to decide if it was a decoration or a real bird.

We talked about the predator situation while I was there. The Farm is in a place that should be bad for predators. Kim said a neighbor could not keep chickens because something killed them. I really do think it is the electric fence and the dogs. The place I grew up was like this too. It was between two creeks 7 miles from the nearest city. I regularly saw red foxes, raccoons, Skunks and other beasties but we never had a chicken killed by anything other than one of our own dogs

. We did not have electric fences and the chickens did not have a secure coop. It was a California Coop, with a completely open front that faced to the north. The chicken wire was 9 feet tall, but did not have a top or netting. It wan't buried under ground either.

You don't really need a LGD. We mostly had bird dogs. They were barely trained too. Get a bigger dog or maybe some of those scare eyes.

Ron

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[HighNDryFarm]

Where are pictures? I'd love to see and read how the meeting went!

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[PetRock]

The pics of the poultry class can be seen on this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/632591/poultry-breeding-showing-class-in-sonoma-county-ca/110

Here it is several days later and I have questions for Walt or anyone else who wants to chime in! I was able to see Cheryl's breeding pens at the ranch yesterday. I was very impressed with them. Her birds live well!!! I am just dreaming about breeding in the future so I'm gathering all the info I can at this planning stage. I was wondering what the ideal size is for a breeding pen? Is it determined by how much room you have or is a large pen not good for breeding? Do you keep your breeding birds in separate pens all year long or do you only breed them for a set period of time each year? Do any of you allow your breeders some free ranging or do you supplement their diet with greens? Now I have questions after the poultry class is over!

 

[HighNDryFarm]

The pics of the poultry class can be seen on this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/632591/poultry-breeding-showing-class-in-sonoma-county-ca/110

Here it is several days later and I have a question for Walt or anyone else who wants to chime in! I was able to see Cheryl's breeding pens at the ranch yesterday. I was very impressed with them. Her birds live well!!! I am just dreaming about breeding in the future so I'm gathering all the info I can at this planning stage. I was wondering what the ideal size is for a breeding pen? Is it determined by how much room you have or is a large pen not good for breeding? Do you keep your breeding birds in separate pens all year long or do you only breed them for a set period of time each year? Do any of you allow your breeders some free ranging or do you supplement their diet with greens? Now I have questions after the poultry class is over!

Good questions! I have all my Polish in a separate coop and run but I wondered if I wanted to make sure certain birds bred, how long would you have to separate them out.

 

[Martha Jensen]

If there is a group that meets in our area, I would love to know about it. I have the books, magazines and this forum . . . and they tend to contradict each other! Would love to actually meet people with chickens to find out what they are doing.

 

[mendocinosunris]

How on earth can I keep the chickens' water clean when the dingdang freakin' geese keep jumping in it??!?

Good thing a watering system is next on the to-do list...

 

[sewandgrow]

Cheryl is planning a Chickenfest in Lafayette in June for BYCer. There is a Delta Poultry Meetup Group that meets every couple of months in the Stockton/Galt/Lodi/Linden area. Tomorrow's BBQ for them is in Concord. One of the new ladies that attended Walt's cllass last week end that lives in Modesto is interested in starting a group to get together on a regular basis. It just seems we are all so spaced apart. There are several regular member around your area though.