Hello all

[Theurbanhomestead]

I have been raising chickens in Baltimore City for about 5 years now. It has been a bit of a struggle because there are far more things that kill chickens in the city than I would have first thought. We have lost chickens to foxes, Rats (they are huge), snakes, and raccoons. The learning curve has been pretty steep, especially when it comes to chicks, everything wants to eat them and it is tough to keep things rat proof.

We currently have 8 chickens and hope to incubate a few more eggs. I am raising the chickens both for meat and eggs and try to provide both to people in the community that need them. We also have a small greenhouse with an aquatics system and tank raised tilapia that are harvested for people that want/need fresh fish. I have been experimenting with feeding the fish chicken waste and it seems to be working or at least the fish are not dead.

I found this community when I was looking for info on an incubator to get. I'm hoping to exchange ideas and things with people on here because more and more I am learning that exchange of ideas is extremely important.

 

[BoundlessLove]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens!
Happy to have you here!

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Hello & Welcome to BYC, it's great to have you here! That's awesome that you are giving to the community

 

[GodLovesU]

 

[N F C]

Hi, thanks for joining us! You might find some helpful tips in this Learning Center article for dealing with predators: Top 10 Chicken Predators Best wishes, it's nice to have you here!

 

[swampfox440]

Welcome to BYC! It's a p.easure to meet you!

 

[sourland]

Good morning, and welcome to BYC.

 

[Bigdumogre]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!

That would be tough knowing everything wants at your chickens like that, especially rats, ugh! 1/2" hardware cloth keeps all those out, so if you don't have that, I'd try dig some down around your coop and run so diggers can't get in. It's great for covering windows and holes. We made 5'x10' breeding pens entirely out of 2x4's and 1/2" HWC. Other than bear, nothing can get them. If the bear ever try, we'll hot wire it, but they mostly pass through because we're in their neighborhood I guess.

We're glad you're here!