calling any one from missouri

[jthornton]

I'm down to 9 hens and while chicks are fun I'm done adding to my flock. I want to make sure I can take care of them (spoil) properly and I'm not getting any younger. The remaining Cinnamon Queens are 2 years old and the three Rhode Island Reds are almost 6 years old. I started out with 12 CQ's and I'm down to 6 in just 2 years. I started out with 9 RR's and after 6 years I still have 3. That tells me that the CQ's are not as sturdy as the RR's.

JT

 

[1cock2hens]

No coop? Where do your chickens sleep at night? And, er ... when you gather eggs, how do you know if they are fresh?

Some sleep in the trees above the tiny goat barn, some sleep in the rafters, some sleep in or around big brush piles. A couple of my hens consistently lay in an old rabbit nesting box and those are the eggs we keep to use, my broody found a baby's carseat under the house to go broody in lol . My chickens are primarily for yard decoration and bug control so I'm not to concerned with eggs honestly, I would rather have chicks and more roosters to eat later on

 

[chiknGeek]

I love a broody and her chicks. Their fierce nature is charming.

 

[SueT]

Some sleep in the trees above the tiny goat barn, some sleep in the rafters, some sleep in or around big brush piles. A couple of my hens consistently lay in an old rabbit nesting box and those are the eggs we keep to use, my broody found a baby's carseat under the house to go broody in lol . My chickens are primarily for yard decoration and bug control so I'm not to concerned with eggs honestly, I would rather have chicks and more roosters to eat later on

Do the chickens make a difference in bugs especially ticks? We have a lot of ticks here this year….

 

[jthornton]

Do the chickens make a difference in bugs especially ticks? We have a lot of ticks here this year….

I've heard guineas really go after ticks...

JT

 

[SueT]

I've heard guineas really go after ticks...

JT

Yeah they do, we had some for a few years. They roosted in the trees and ranged around about a 3 acre area. They also got up on or above our vehicles and pooped! A lot! But they don’t dig things up like chickens do. Every year we’d lose a couple to some nighttime predator and raise a few more…

 

[jthornton]

My neighbor has some and they can be a handful for sure...

JT

 

[SueT]

At the time we also had donkeys...the guineas loved the donkeys and vice versa

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I had guineas years ago but will not have them again. They are too noisy and greedy. When we finally butchered them I was amazed at how much of the horses' sweet feed they had in their crops!

When I moved here to MO I was dismayed to learn that MO has ticks. I LOATHE ticks! I almost packed my bags and returned to NM. But I decided to get chickens instead. For our 3 acres that we mostly use (out of 10 that are more wooded), I've found that having about 20 - 25 chickens keeps that amount of property reasonably tick-free. I still wear tall boots when I go out in the grass and I don't cuddle my dogs, though I do treat them for ticks and other nasties.

 

[jthornton]

Trudy a 6 year old RIR died yesterday so down to 8 hens.

JT