Hello from Belize Central America

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I vacationed in Belize and Costa Rica a few of times; I wanted to see the wildlife and rain forests. Loved it, and could easily imagine living there.

Your cats are not likely to bother the chickens when the chickens are up a bit in size (I'm assuming they are babies.) Mine does not even bother the new babies.

Dogs are a different matter. They might kill them, or they might protect them, or they might ignore them. I have 4 dogs who move freely with my chickens and ignore them; this took very little training, a few verbal instructions only. When they figured out that the chickens were permitted here, or also our pets, or not their toys, or something, that was the end of their interest. Safest way to see if they will accept this sort of relationship is with them on a leash, of course, while you teach "leave it" or whatever.

Thing is, if your dogs will leave the chickens alone (some even guard them,) they will provide about the best predator protection for the chickens that you could ask for. I promise you, your predators will love chicken as well as ours do. Everyone loves chicken.

Your chickens will probably be able to fly over a 4' tall run very quickly. If you find you cannot let them out of the run safely, a top for it is in order soon. Wing clipping will not stop predators and will only limit their flying to a point, especially while they are young, when they can fly better than after they are mature. As adults, the average height chickens can fly is probably 5' without clipping. Hard to say when you have no idea of breed, of course, but I doubt this varies a lot.

They could start laying before 5 months, sometimes around 16-18 weeks; my current bunch started at 19 weeks. I would play that by when the feed runs out. It's not a bad idea to mix the feeds a while, anyway. For example, at 16 weeks, you might get some layer and mix a bit into the starter for a week or so, then mix more of the layer into the starter next week, and so forth.

I agree, treats any time, just not in large quantities. A bit of live culture yogurt per day is always a great thing to give brooded chicks, as it builds good gut flora. Mix it in a bit of feed to get them used to it. A cooked egg is also a nice nutritional boost.

How do your neighbors deal with chicken housing and predators? Do they lose chickens?

Really looking forward to future posts from you, to see how this works out for you. And hope you thoroughly enjoy your new locale.
 
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I'm trying to imagine the predators that there would be in Belize...I imagine that there are hawks there, so I'd probably make a taller fence and cover it!

Closest I've been to Belize is near the Belize-Mexican border. (I was in Mexico at the time)... very hot, humid and lots of jungle.... but if you are close to the ocean you get those cool breezes from time to time.

I had an entire family from Belize that came to me as patients for years... (Pipersburg) I think they've all moved back there now.

Welcome to BYC!!!

Would love to see some pics of your chooks!... and see what 'layers' look like there.
 
Thanks to all for your welcome and replies, I will take on board the advice given and let you have some pictures soon.

With regard to Belize, Patchakan, Corozal District, is just about 9 miles from the Mexican border, and yes we do have lots of predators, hawks, vultures, snakes, armadillo just to mention but a few.

We have 28 acres of bush when we bought our land, and have selectively cleared about 3 acres, and will keep the rest as natural as possible.

Maybe clear a little more when we get into goats and pigs etc.

With regard to the way the neighbours keep their chicks, they appear to just let them roam.

How do baby chicks cope in the rain, we had a little this morning, and I rushed around getting them all back into the coop, thinking if they got wet they may catch cold. Am I being overprotective. We are into our rainy season at the moment, although the heavy rains won't arrive for maybe another 6 weeks or so.

I am sure some of the question I have asked and no doubt will ask, will probably seem a lilttle silly to you experts, but eventually I will learn.
 
There is a saying often repeated on here, that the only silly question is the one you don't ask. None of us started as experts, and most of us still aren't!

If you get some skill at using the two search functions on here, you may find the answers to many questions. They can be frustrating to use, we know, so there is usually someone around who will jump in. Posts move fast, though, so you might also ask a question that no one answers; it happens.

Chickens in the rain: All they need is a place to go if they wish. You would be surprised how wet they will get and be perfectly happy, especially in a warmer climate like yours (and mine, much of the year.) For chicks, I might be a bit nervous, too, about the rain, but I'll bet they would be under cover on their own if they were chilled. Chickens do need to be able to get somewhere where they can get their feet dry.

Chickens don't get colds. They do sometimes get respiratory illnesses, and many of them are viral, but not from being wet; these diseases are contagious, carried by other birds. Actually, people don't catch colds from getting wet, either.

Armadillo will not bother your birds, and usually vultures will not, either. Hawks are more likely to take a young bird than an adult. Our snakes will also not usually take mature birds, but will steal eggs. Of course, there is always the chance of a startled poisonous snake striking, and we don't have large constrictors, except in places people have released them. You might have more trouble with the mammals -- and maybe rodents, I can't even remember the names of those larger ones you have, much less whether they take live prey or just eat vegetation. Nutrea?

You might find it educational to talk to some others there who let their chickens roam, and see how many losses they have, and what animals seem to be the culprits. (Do monkeys take chickens?) You should have less problem with the local critters overpopulating their range, causing them to encroach on people, than we have, or I hope you will. There are plenty of predators where I live that will take a chicken, but most seem to have enough prey in wilder areas to keep them satisfied. You might find yourself considering a fence for your cleared area, in time, maybe an electric one.

And you might find you don't have to do much clearing to have goats and pigs. As a rule, snakes tend to vacate when goats are around, I have heard, at least around here.

Lots of info here in the learning center (top of page) and the FAQ section.

Looking forward to pics!
 
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