Eastern Tennessee Thread

[tnchickenut]

tennessee....

Well, unfortunately Elvis gets a sky view of everything from chicken heaven, so he already knows. uh oh! lol

Yeah, Gus struts. He likes blue girls best, btw... I have a blue cochin he won't leave alone!! lol

Yes, Sussex - good ones - are huge birds. If you like Orps, you'd like Sussex. I got Light Sussex and Coronations now. Just as big as the Orp. The one lonely Orp.

 

[ilvmychickens]

I woke up early this am and got an early start, and I let out the chickens to early, bad move. I went to pick up feed and candle eggs came back to find several missing, feathers everywhere, two injured but in hiding, four carcasses, they were cleaned out pretty good), pullets escaped deep in the woods bless there hearts. Fence was pried back and pulled from frame. Part torn away and down. WHAT in the world could do that. Dumb question I guess, we have everything, foxes, large dogs, racoons, and even recently spotted a small black bear. My own dog I looked over to look for blood,(none found). I lost my broody hen, she stayed with her eggs, best momma hen I have ever had the pleasure of having a part of the family. Days like this are hard, I get so attatched. Sometimes I wonder if I can handel the heart break, but I know it is just life and the way things are. It does not help console the initial shock post clean up, or the shame one feels, as though we should have done something better, stronger, or knowing one hour later may have been the answer. Off to mend the fence and continue to tend for the two injured. Looks like one broken wing and a limp on the other. I wonder if any internal injuries were sustained.
We have been working on settleing down to a few specific breeds, letting some go here and there and trading out, but this is not what anyone wants I know. The layer pen was the one that was attacked, lost my Ameracauna's and easter eggers. All the little silkies made it, amazing little guys hid in the brooder box in their own pen. Well thanks for hearing the woes of a chicken lover guys, good luck to everyone and have a great day.

 

[ajacskr]

Quote:
So sorry to hear about the attack. Makes you want to hang with the chickens ALL day with a 12 gauge, don't it? If whatever it was comes back, and it will now that it has eaten, FEED it a few of those round things filled with lead and gun powder.

Good luck with the repairs and recoveries.

 

[laughingdog]

now im even more freaked about the dog pack that is roaming around, and hope theyre satisfied eating my neighbor's game cocks, that ive seen them defending their kills. must move new bunnies, and the pair of guinea pigs to my balcony sooner than later i guess.. theyve been getting run off by my rough collie, and roosters so far, but hunger might drive them to take drastic action if they run out of easy prey from neighbor's pets. my new brooding chicks with their mamas are awfully noisy at early and late hours. maybe some should invest in talking to cops to get confiscated cockfighting gear to out fit sentinels with, so they can defend flocks (ive thought of this myself, crazy as it sounds, but pray it never is even needed for desperate predators)? on a plus side, if snakes and rodents are main issues, i have alot of shed king snake skins from my pets, i give away to people to keep snakes out of gardens etc, that might work if rubbed around, and hung somewhere, or cut up around chicken areas too.

 

[tnchickenut]

Preditors seem to be worse this year... at least to me. Pests and preditors.

I, for one, take a "we are in their backyard" approach... but I do understand the emotions behind losing alot or losing your favorite. I'm not going to lie... I have broke down and balled completely unable to stand over bantams, non the less. You do feel guilty and sickened, but it's natures way. Eat and be eatten.

I have to admit, losing a bird to a hungery owl or hawk or fox or whatnot is TOTALLY different than losing a bunch to a dog. Nothing is worse... because they died for nothing. It wasn't survival of a beautiful and magestic fox or a endangered bald eagle (which we have here)... it was a free ranging dog who was bored. I'm afraid to tell you, ilvmychickens.... sounds dogish. Wild things take their kill and eat it. Dogs toss and leave them.

My thoughts are with you... I know there are things getting my chickens here and there and even a kitten, but I truely ask people to think before burning down the forest with napalm in revenge. Sure up the coop(s) and keep a close eye out... rub snake skin, have your dogs pee on the coops at night... have your husband pee on the coops at night even!!! Put out "night eyes" or even electric fencing if you feel the need. Live traps before guns.

That is all I ask.

I'm sorry for your loss. I really am.

 

[ilvmychickens]

Quote:
. Thank you for the words of kindness, and I agree, dogish, like I said, I even checked my own dog! Yes, I went and got some electric fence today right after I found someone to take the eggs the broody hen was on. We have been sharing an incubator with a friend and it is full. Easy to do. Well re enforce to protect what we have, and found a broody hen already. But I always can't help but worry, is it or when is it going to happen again. Thanks guys,

 

[Imker]

The predator pulled the fence back? Could you describe that in more detail? How high off the ground, how much strength required?

 

[laughingdog]

well.. yup! my little lav bantam cochin is a pullet and not a cockerel it is seeming, her comb and waddles suddenly seeming to deflate, and curl slightly, while the one i know is cockerel is just getting bigger thicker, redder comb and waddles, and has started riding the lav and theyre segregating and he is chasing others off from her when the other cockerels try to bring her food and court her etc. so her being lav, will him being a cuckoo looking or barred, possibly being related maybe make lav babies, or just black? or should i maybe try to get some more bantam hens and another roo to make pretty colors besides mottled, cuckoo, barred, black and white?

will be downsizing my dutch bantams as soon as they finish feathering in, hopefully soon, and if anyone interested i'll warn you that they are needy and will dance around in front of you (and fly up on/to you as well) and chirp for attention trying to follow you everywhere, as well as investigate anything and everything you are doing (they also follow my collie around and he seems amused by this oddly). other than that, they free range, or confine easy, and usually just go back in cage for dinner and to nestle in a lump of feathers, unless im gone, then sometimes they roost up with the game pullets and assorted mutt game bantam pullets and cockerels, but will come to me when i come home to put them up and put out some dinner and early breakfast, if food and water more than half empty or soiled, so nothing gobbles them down (hopefully them roosting under the huge in comparison game pullets, would save them, as the games are protective usually of the rest of flock (except for today when the new neighbors dog pestered then decided to chase the game pullets). other than that they are pure delight. lol

bought trio of white totally dressing out in white fluff, silkies, though id prefer bantam, and black or other colors maybe, as these letting out briefly are huge, and half maybe of the other pens the fellow had, but they were great quality and figured was just all fluff, till i put out briefly with mine, and noticed in comparison, they are definitely not bantams. these though have the black skin, blue earlobes, walnut comb, five toes, booties, beards, muffs, and crests already (they were fed some high grade food to i forget what it was). trying to decide if i want to try to just sell and/or try to do some swapping if i see anything i like in bantam without all the head gear..

 

[tnchickenut]

Howdy folks!

Ok. Here is the deal... I got a ton of birds for sale (actually if weighed it would be just a couple hundred pounds) and at this point I can be easily talked out of things because my hours are getting cut at work and there is talk of layoffs. So... be on the lookout. I'll be putting birds on craigslist and also attending (if I can make the early morning deadline) some chicken trades (Madisonville and Greenback are in mind).

Some of ya'll kinda have a idea of what I have and if you have been just waiting for the day I say they are for sale... PM me. I know without a doubt right now that there are some Delaware mated pairs for sale. (Don't worry tennesseeckn... not your two girls!!! I'm keeping them!)

I have a flock of 5 bantams I call "cracker jacks" for sale. All go together, four girls and a roo... you got to see them to appriciate them. And on and on and on... so just keep a eye out. I put "Monroe/McMinn" as my location on craigslist.... FYI

 

[ilvmychickens]

Quote:
Sorry took so long, in detail, try not to rambel... Our coop is built onto our workshop, so the back wall is the wall of the workshop. Supports (4x4) are set up to hold the roof, and then the (2x4) are set up making the studs for the wall. Inside we have a coop with nesting boxes, a brooder box and another brooder box we rotate out the broody silkies. The coop is fenced in what I am guessing a 10 x 12 area, fenced to the top. Around the coop up to about four feet we have screwed in plastic sheets, of reminants of a sun room one of our freinds removed from his house. Makes a pretty good fortress. We also have one inch wire fencing that surrounds the enclosed portion of the coop as described. Until the recent predator, I am giving it too much credit I beleive more now then ever it was a dog or several, we had the plastic on everything up to four feet, wire atop allowing air flow, covered with the sheet plastic roofing, except the doors. We have two doors to the enclosed coop, one is access from the outside, the other is access to the run. You can not access the run without first going through the coop. The bottom of the coop we have actually dug into the hill/ground and imbedded 2 x 10. Then secured these to the studs finishing the frame.
That having been said, the wire at the doors was secured with industrial automatic fence staples/staple gun, and it was secured to the inside portion of the door. When as I described the fence was pulled back, it was pulled through the door frame, from the inside portion of the door out. The run is constructed from just metal fence poles, four footers, and one inch wire, the wire is secured to the poles by a notch in the poles, and the notch was bent, standard coop poles. I am sure they have a specific name, but I am not sure what it is. This portion of the fence was also pulled off the poles and outwards. As if something walked up and just pulled the wire towards itself. The portion of the door damaged was two inches up to three feet maybe, and when I walked out to test it myself, with a moderate amount of force and one hand I pulled back and out on it and popped staples. So with that I am saying dogs, and bad chicken mommy.
Repairs inculde, plastic roofing was placed all the way to the top on all sides except the top of the doors which are about four foot high, fencing secured this time with hammered large heavy duty staples. The run I am going to make the sides taller and frame it in. Of the chickens lost, all but one had a clipped wing. This makes me feel even more utterly horrible. I have decided to fully frame in the run and place even a roof of wire, they cant get out, and nothing else can get in. On the other hand, this could have very well could have been my Alaskan Malamute too. I put her on a run outside since this happened, and I have had not one visitor to the chicken coop. But I did find a dead robin with my dog, she was very proud of it, carried it around for a while. I have never seen her kill a bird but apparently she does. So another fence to build I guess. I cant stand the though of loosing my dog, she is as much a part of the family as the chickens. I just have to be dillagent to keep her away from them as whether or not she made the attack or it was another, she does kill birds obviously. That having been said. Repairs are made FINALLY, today my kids and I got out in the coop and made some awesome changes. I have found some brody hens and they are in the coop, adjusting of course, non are setting on eggs right now. I put some ping pong balls in there to see if they would start laying where they were maybe sit, but no luck. Any suggestions? Thanx for the help everyone, and any suggestions are welcomed!