First time owner of 2 hens, Oakland, CA.

[Otownchicks]

Hello. I am new to the site and to chickens. I have 2 6 week old (possibly) Ameracauna hens and one has cross beak. I live in Oakland and would love to meet people in the area for support and guidance. Beginning transition to the coop during the daytime, still in house at night. Could use feedback on keeping coop predator safe (already dealing w/rats), tips on cross beak (beyond using deep dish for feeding), etc. Everything is new to me!

 

[Amigo]

 

[greymane]

from the Finger Lakes of New York! I have a neighbor that has an EE with a severely crossed beak. Glad to have you here! I would look in the "Where are you? Where am I?" section for a thread on your area. (There is a "sticky" with information on how to find your local thread.)

 

[10 point]

from NY

 

[SuttonHeritageFarm]

First of all, welcome to the BYC family and congrats on getting your first chickens! I had a bantam roo one time that had cross beak. He did just fine with a deep dish and he LOVED watermellon! We lay concreate on the edges of the pens that are on the ground and use hardware cloth or like fencing for good ventilation and protection on windows and vents. So far we have not had any problems with predators getting in.

 

[babymakes6]

from Ohio! I have not had any predators (besides my own dog

) so I can't help with that. I do know this: crossbeak usually gets worse the older the bird gets, so you may need to prepare yourself to lose your bird sometime in the future. Until then, give her the best life a chicken could wish for!

 

[Backyard Hencam]

Too bad about your cross-beak. I've heard of them living normal lives so do your best and let nature take its course. We dug down around the outdoor area of our chicken run and put in 12" of hardware wire. We have foxes and raccoons so really wanted the "girls" to be safe. No problems in 2 1/2 years. But...... I wouldn't trust my two labradoodles with my hens, no way!

 

[kidcody]

from WA. glad you joined us

 

[dawg53]

Welcome to BYC.

 

[TigerLilly]