Coop Project: Maken the Plunge & Getting Chickens
- Thread starter Rock Home Isle
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #542
My son graduated, with honors, from high school today.
Congrats!
Rockvillian
In the Brooder
What a happy day! Congratulations!!
- Thread starter
- #546
Thank you all very much...it is greatly appreciated. It's a special time when your child finishes their primary education and begins their journey in life.
We planted the garden today. It was a fun day, I really enjoyed picking out the plants and spending quality time with my wife.
Before we started
The birds on the other hand, cannot understand WHY they are no longer allowed in the garden. They are being rather...stubborn. It could be a long summer.
Had a little visitor
After planting...towards evening
Once fall comes and harvest is over, I'll post a photo series showing how fast a group of chickens can turn a garden into a picked over patch of ground. And they will continue to work that patch of ground all winter.
Little feathered roto-tillers.
We planted the garden today. It was a fun day, I really enjoyed picking out the plants and spending quality time with my wife.
The birds on the other hand, cannot understand WHY they are no longer allowed in the garden. They are being rather...stubborn. It could be a long summer.
Had a little visitor
After planting...towards evening
Once fall comes and harvest is over, I'll post a photo series showing how fast a group of chickens can turn a garden into a picked over patch of ground. And they will continue to work that patch of ground all winter.
Little feathered roto-tillers.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #547
Chickenology: Promoting Biological Rodent Control
If you have poultry you are going to be seeing this:
And if you provide whole grain rations to your birds, it's a given that you'll see this as well.
Poultry are messy animals...they scatter food everywhere. I have tried and failed to control this mess. The whole grain rations get shared with the local wild bird populations, and I'm good with that.
However, I draw the line at rats and mice. I actually have never had a rat problem, and I have not ever heard of anyone in my area with rat problems, but I have had mouse problems. I have tried drowning them out. I have tried poisoning them out. I've even spent a few memorable evenings with a pellet rifle mounted with a home made night scope, sniping away at the little furry bandits; which by the way, was soooo much fun.
My final solution is absolutely not for everyone, but wow is it effective.
I have not only a fondness for living creatures, but I have a fondness for solutions. This has been a huge solution for me.
A couple years ago, I was out hunting during the fall dove hunt, and I came across a Garter Snake with 3 large lumps in its body. I picked it up and it spit out 3 mice. Light bulb went off. Garter Snakes are fairly small as snakes go...they are voracious predators and they are too small to bother chickens. I knew where to get a few.
I started with a big pregnant female that I caught, less than a block from my home. Her name is "BITER". She has now been around our home for 4 years and has had several batches of babies. Over the years I have seen Biter and her companions (she does attract males each spring) sunning in the Tiger Lillies in the front of the house. They also like the railroad ties along the east side of the front yard. When they get hungry and the night crawlers haven't been coming up at night, I'll see them working their way along the side of the house towards the coop, or if I EVER see a mouse scurry across the back patio in the evening, I'll go catch Biter and let her go under the coop...she doesn't try to bite anymore, or spray musk...but the name has stuck.
I have a trampoline in my backyard, you can see it in the above photo. It is sunk into the ground and is lined with concrete blocks. The snakes hibernate inside the hollows of the concrete blocks. They come out each spring, and within a few weeks I'll start to see the next batch of Biter's babies hunting night crawlers in the garden or sunning themselves in the Tiger Lillies in the front yard.
The chickens will make a very specific sound when they see a snake in the yard, I've heard this sound only when a snake is present...and all the girls are alert. So...when I'm in the house and hear this sound coming from my girls out in the yard, I know that Biter and her crew are at work.
The snake in the picture that I posted above is one of Biter's daughters. She was sunning herself on a railroad tie in the front yard and I picked her up for the photo. She was a bit put out by the experience, but was soon back to sunning herself again.
Biter and her progeny are great mousers, better than any cat I have ever owned. I have not had a mouse problem in 3 years.
It's an "Outside the Box" solution and it works great. But yeah...not for everybody.
If you have poultry you are going to be seeing this:
And if you provide whole grain rations to your birds, it's a given that you'll see this as well.
Poultry are messy animals...they scatter food everywhere. I have tried and failed to control this mess. The whole grain rations get shared with the local wild bird populations, and I'm good with that.
However, I draw the line at rats and mice. I actually have never had a rat problem, and I have not ever heard of anyone in my area with rat problems, but I have had mouse problems. I have tried drowning them out. I have tried poisoning them out. I've even spent a few memorable evenings with a pellet rifle mounted with a home made night scope, sniping away at the little furry bandits; which by the way, was soooo much fun.
My final solution is absolutely not for everyone, but wow is it effective.
I have not only a fondness for living creatures, but I have a fondness for solutions. This has been a huge solution for me.
A couple years ago, I was out hunting during the fall dove hunt, and I came across a Garter Snake with 3 large lumps in its body. I picked it up and it spit out 3 mice. Light bulb went off. Garter Snakes are fairly small as snakes go...they are voracious predators and they are too small to bother chickens. I knew where to get a few.
I started with a big pregnant female that I caught, less than a block from my home. Her name is "BITER". She has now been around our home for 4 years and has had several batches of babies. Over the years I have seen Biter and her companions (she does attract males each spring) sunning in the Tiger Lillies in the front of the house. They also like the railroad ties along the east side of the front yard. When they get hungry and the night crawlers haven't been coming up at night, I'll see them working their way along the side of the house towards the coop, or if I EVER see a mouse scurry across the back patio in the evening, I'll go catch Biter and let her go under the coop...she doesn't try to bite anymore, or spray musk...but the name has stuck.
I have a trampoline in my backyard, you can see it in the above photo. It is sunk into the ground and is lined with concrete blocks. The snakes hibernate inside the hollows of the concrete blocks. They come out each spring, and within a few weeks I'll start to see the next batch of Biter's babies hunting night crawlers in the garden or sunning themselves in the Tiger Lillies in the front yard.
The chickens will make a very specific sound when they see a snake in the yard, I've heard this sound only when a snake is present...and all the girls are alert. So...when I'm in the house and hear this sound coming from my girls out in the yard, I know that Biter and her crew are at work.
The snake in the picture that I posted above is one of Biter's daughters. She was sunning herself on a railroad tie in the front yard and I picked her up for the photo. She was a bit put out by the experience, but was soon back to sunning herself again.
Biter and her progeny are great mousers, better than any cat I have ever owned. I have not had a mouse problem in 3 years.
It's an "Outside the Box" solution and it works great. But yeah...not for everybody.
Last edited:
That is awesome! I used to have garter and black snakes in my yard, but they've all but disappeared. I think it may be related to the neighbors dumping chemicals on their lawns. My house even backs up to the woods! Now this year I've seen 2 black snakes so far, so I'm hopeful. Admittedly they may end up in my girls' nest boxes once they start laying. Black snakes aren't as chicken-friendly as garter snakes. I also occasionally see brown water snakes, since I live near the water
I solved that wasting feed problem..https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/aarts-almost-waste-free-funnel-bucket-feeder
- Thread starter
- #550
Not all snakes work for this type of work. Bull Snakes, Black Snakes and the Brown Water Snakes are notorious egg eaters and will take chicks and young pullets.
Garter Snakes are small enough that they don't pose a threat to any, but the smallest birds. Chicks would be on Biter's menu, she's a big girl.
My chickens don't seem to mind the snakes, they let everyone know when they find one in the yard, but for the most part it's a none issue. Biter's babies on the other hand, yeah the chickens will tear them apart, so when I find a newborn Garter Snake, I'll catch it and put it out front, or toss it over the fence into my neighbor's yard....he likes snake too.
It's a balancing act for sure, but it works soooo well.
Garter Snakes are small enough that they don't pose a threat to any, but the smallest birds. Chicks would be on Biter's menu, she's a big girl.
My chickens don't seem to mind the snakes, they let everyone know when they find one in the yard, but for the most part it's a none issue. Biter's babies on the other hand, yeah the chickens will tear them apart, so when I find a newborn Garter Snake, I'll catch it and put it out front, or toss it over the fence into my neighbor's yard....he likes snake too.
It's a balancing act for sure, but it works soooo well.
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