Just happened upon this forum by accident. Sure glad I did.
We're in Midwest Georgia. We have seven chickens, currently, which are one Rhode Island Red rooster, one Rhode Island Red hen, two Barred Plymouth Rock hens, one Buff Plymouth Rock hen, and two Golden Comet hens. They are free-range chickens, roaming wherever they so please. They generally stay within two to three acres of the house. They get "chicken" if they get too far from the house. LOL. They get along fine with our cat, dog, and goat. They follow us around, which I love. When my husband walks through the field all the animals are in tow. Such a funny sight. It looks like they're all playing Follow the Leader. Of course, though, they all know that he's the one that feeds them, and they're all hoping for a mid-afternoon snack.
They all have their own unique personalities. And I love to watch their communication!!! It's absolutely fascinating. I've always loved chickens!!!
We've had other chickens in the past. We had a pair of Silkies, which would always nest in the woods where we could never find their nest, and wound up with 35 other Silkies. The hawks, foxes, and raccoons got every single one of them. Hawks seem to be the main culprit, though. We also had the little Bantam show chickens. Hawks got them too. So we opted for the larger chickens, of which we now have, so that the hawks would feel a little intimidated. It's worked so far. Haven't lost a larger chicken to a wild animal in years.
I've been online today looking at Jersey Giants. Boy, would I love to have one of those hosses!!! They'd whip up on a hawk, sure enough!
I definitely want more chickens. I'd like to have around 20. No more than 20, though. That would be too much chicken poop in the yard, on the driveway, on the porch, etc. I love the variety of color roaming around the yard, and would like a wider variety of color. It's going to be fun investigating the varieties, once I get ready to start shopping for them.
I need to build some type of coop, also. They currently nest in a dog kennel, laying their eggs on the hay on the floor of the kennel. Our dog loves fresh eggs, and will usually sneak in and get to the eggs before we can get them in the frig. But there's plenty of room for the current seven chickens, but we'll need to build a coop before we get additional chickens.
Glad to be a part of this forum, and look forward to participating.
We're in Midwest Georgia. We have seven chickens, currently, which are one Rhode Island Red rooster, one Rhode Island Red hen, two Barred Plymouth Rock hens, one Buff Plymouth Rock hen, and two Golden Comet hens. They are free-range chickens, roaming wherever they so please. They generally stay within two to three acres of the house. They get "chicken" if they get too far from the house. LOL. They get along fine with our cat, dog, and goat. They follow us around, which I love. When my husband walks through the field all the animals are in tow. Such a funny sight. It looks like they're all playing Follow the Leader. Of course, though, they all know that he's the one that feeds them, and they're all hoping for a mid-afternoon snack.
They all have their own unique personalities. And I love to watch their communication!!! It's absolutely fascinating. I've always loved chickens!!!
We've had other chickens in the past. We had a pair of Silkies, which would always nest in the woods where we could never find their nest, and wound up with 35 other Silkies. The hawks, foxes, and raccoons got every single one of them. Hawks seem to be the main culprit, though. We also had the little Bantam show chickens. Hawks got them too. So we opted for the larger chickens, of which we now have, so that the hawks would feel a little intimidated. It's worked so far. Haven't lost a larger chicken to a wild animal in years.
I've been online today looking at Jersey Giants. Boy, would I love to have one of those hosses!!! They'd whip up on a hawk, sure enough!
I definitely want more chickens. I'd like to have around 20. No more than 20, though. That would be too much chicken poop in the yard, on the driveway, on the porch, etc. I love the variety of color roaming around the yard, and would like a wider variety of color. It's going to be fun investigating the varieties, once I get ready to start shopping for them.
I need to build some type of coop, also. They currently nest in a dog kennel, laying their eggs on the hay on the floor of the kennel. Our dog loves fresh eggs, and will usually sneak in and get to the eggs before we can get them in the frig. But there's plenty of room for the current seven chickens, but we'll need to build a coop before we get additional chickens.
Glad to be a part of this forum, and look forward to participating.
