Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Beekissed]

Time for a covered run...this is like shooting fish in a barrel!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Time for a covered run...this is like shooting fish in a barrel!

I couldn't watch

 

[Beekissed]

And this setup and owner is why "chicken mommies" shouldn't be raising chickens...this is just sad, even before you know a raccoon got into it. How can anyone even think about raising chickens in this pen?

 

[HiddenChicken]

I couldn't watch 

I shouldn't have watched. Made me tear up... So sad. I hope to never hear one of my hen make that horrible cry...dear God. Just glad I couldn't see it.

If I were that owner, I most certainly would've laid in wait with a gun for that hawk...

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

200 pages in, and I have finally resigned myself to the fact I will never catch up.
I wish all my favorite books kept writing themselves.
Learning so much, am never bothered by the occasional drama and hope this "book" never ends.
Thanks again to the OTs, the MiddleTimers and the newbies for all the questions and answers. Also to the mods whose work is also never, ever done.

 

[armorfirelady]

Quote: If they have a game camera set up they obviously knew they have a problem so why didnt they cover the run instead of waiting for the camera to catch the hawk in the act??

 

[Beekissed]

I couldn't watch

I thought it was very interesting that this hawk cased the place first from the ground...looked at the pop door and everything, flew to the top of the coop and figured it out, then dropped right down and walked into the coop and got himself a bird. Very clever! I think maybe they set up the camera because they were wanting to see what kind of predator they had killing birds and never really expected a hawk to be able to nab a bird right inside the coop. Smart hawk!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I thought it was very interesting that this hawk cased the place first from the ground...looked at the pop door and everything, flew to the top of the coop and figured it out, then dropped right down and walked into the coop and got himself a bird. Very clever! I think maybe they set up the camera because they were wanting to see what kind of predator they had killing birds and never really expected a hawk to be able to nab a bird right inside the coop. Smart hawk!

I got as far as the hawk going down into the run then I got out fast. I'm with you HiddenChicken I hope I never have to ever hear my chickens screaming because a pred has grabbed them. I once heard a rabbit get caught by something,that really got to me.

 

[Beekissed]

Keep in mind there are a whole faction of folks on this forum who actually expect to lose birds to predators and old age, regardless of how brutal a death that really is. They think that is the natural conclusion to a natural life of a retired laying hen. I've talked to people who cannot bear to kill a chicken but will say, "Well, I'm just letting nature take care of them and eventually they will all be gone without me having to actually kill them myself."

Yeah...sounds like a great plan for humane retirement for old hens.

One recent quote stated that they heard it was "expected" to lose 10 chickens a year to attrition caused by illness or predation. What in the world???? Who comes up with these things???? And like there isn't a thing that can be done about it because it's going to happen anyway and that we should all just "expect" it! Who is telling these newbies this hooey?

 

[bruceh]

i figure it like this. chickens are a food source they have predators including humans. we eat them and the eggs they produce. believe it or not chickens are wild animals. humans have made chickens rely on us for food and shelter not so they have companionship. we as humans made chickens our companions. to believe that chickens need us is a big misconception. in nature chickens are smart animals. they learn how to avoid predators, find their own food , shelter and reproduce. those who don't are food. for other creatures. in nature there are no cages, which by the way is your coop , no incubators and no protection. chickens have been around forever with absolutely no intervention from mankind.

just my 2 cents