- Thread starter
- #11
Well nearly two summers down and only lost two chickens. One to coyote and one to neighbors dog. A little talk with neighbor explaining a dog is just a fancy coyote to me and practicing with my new rifle in the front yard has seemed to resolve that problem.
The girls have made one heck of a difference on my grasshopper issue. Grasshoppers and barely within a 100 foot radius of the house. They range into the pasture and about 50 yards to the barn. Can see cow manure flying from the house. Beetles and spiders are hard to find but petunias and marigolds don't last either. Flower beds are tilled daily but I need them to sweep the dirt back into the beds. They reduced the need for pesticides. Now I only treat fire ant beds.
They are beggars and sneaks I found out. I learned to even shut the shop doors when I leave. Too many things that could hurt or poisin them there but they could assist with the brown recluse spiders I found in there. They entertain my grand kids but are a pain when mowing. They don't understand the stopping reaction time needed to keep from running over them.
I have tried different foods from the kitchen with mixed success. The table found on this site was very helpful. Mine are cantaloupe and mealworm freaks. Last winter we made up plain hot oatmeal on cold icy days and they devoured it.
Gonna retire on Halloween and go hunting then I think I will have to give serious thought to expanding. Gonna have to have something fun to do. I'm thinking about getting some more varieties and see how they act differently. I noticed how these tend to hang in smaller groups almost by breeds but I'm not sure. I would like to get about 15-25 new chicks after I build a bigger better coop. If I get 5 speckled Sussex, 5 jersey giants, 5 silver laced wyandottes , 5 of the brahma variety, and 1 more breed I would have some grand diversity running around my place. No roosters though. Ain't ready for that. I reckon if I taken my time and build big enough coop the two flocks may merge at a later time. If that's successful I will use the current coop for something else.
Giving away eggs to friends has been fun. The 10 birds I have average 6-7 daily. A couple of times they dropped abruptly for about 3-4 days but resumed production. There is always family and friends who will take the eggs. My grand daughter took three dozen the other day and used them for a few weeks.
I didn't know these were going to be so much entertainment. I simply was trying to try assembling a grasshopper assassin squad to try to reduce damage and pesticides. With a little work, wary watch for predators this so far has been a resounding success. Thanks to some members posting ideas this is a very fun hobby ( or whatever you call it) . Some members stories are just simply great for a laugh. Keep the redneck technology going!
The girls have made one heck of a difference on my grasshopper issue. Grasshoppers and barely within a 100 foot radius of the house. They range into the pasture and about 50 yards to the barn. Can see cow manure flying from the house. Beetles and spiders are hard to find but petunias and marigolds don't last either. Flower beds are tilled daily but I need them to sweep the dirt back into the beds. They reduced the need for pesticides. Now I only treat fire ant beds.
They are beggars and sneaks I found out. I learned to even shut the shop doors when I leave. Too many things that could hurt or poisin them there but they could assist with the brown recluse spiders I found in there. They entertain my grand kids but are a pain when mowing. They don't understand the stopping reaction time needed to keep from running over them.
I have tried different foods from the kitchen with mixed success. The table found on this site was very helpful. Mine are cantaloupe and mealworm freaks. Last winter we made up plain hot oatmeal on cold icy days and they devoured it.
Gonna retire on Halloween and go hunting then I think I will have to give serious thought to expanding. Gonna have to have something fun to do. I'm thinking about getting some more varieties and see how they act differently. I noticed how these tend to hang in smaller groups almost by breeds but I'm not sure. I would like to get about 15-25 new chicks after I build a bigger better coop. If I get 5 speckled Sussex, 5 jersey giants, 5 silver laced wyandottes , 5 of the brahma variety, and 1 more breed I would have some grand diversity running around my place. No roosters though. Ain't ready for that. I reckon if I taken my time and build big enough coop the two flocks may merge at a later time. If that's successful I will use the current coop for something else.
Giving away eggs to friends has been fun. The 10 birds I have average 6-7 daily. A couple of times they dropped abruptly for about 3-4 days but resumed production. There is always family and friends who will take the eggs. My grand daughter took three dozen the other day and used them for a few weeks.
I didn't know these were going to be so much entertainment. I simply was trying to try assembling a grasshopper assassin squad to try to reduce damage and pesticides. With a little work, wary watch for predators this so far has been a resounding success. Thanks to some members posting ideas this is a very fun hobby ( or whatever you call it) . Some members stories are just simply great for a laugh. Keep the redneck technology going!
