Hello from Illinois!

[chick-ity]

Just got 11 orphingtons yesterday. I'm not real new to raising chickens but I've had 2 flocks before that a raccoon thought was his dinner buffet. Any suggestions on how to keep critters out. Plus what feed does everyone use? In the past I just used scratch but I bought a egg makers this time but I'm not sure it has what my rooster needs. Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[ninjawesome]

Hey there and

! We are glad you could join us

Oh no! Stinkin' coons...if the animals around your area like to dig, line the entire perimeter of your coop/run with a foot or two of harware cloth underground, so when they try to dig under the run to get inside, they'll be blocked by an underground fence. Also be sure you have latches if not locks on all the doors and hardware cloth/chicken wire strongly secured to the windows. These small things may save your chickens bacon. Hope this helps!

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under chick-ity

Welcome!

Sorry to hear about your losses. You might want to check out the Predators Forum: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/13/predators-and-pests and may be post some pics of your set up. You may get some good tips and advice on how to reinforce it.

Feeding chickens was a Topic of the Week and you may also find this thread helpful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1138895/topic-of-the-week-feeding-chickens-what-to-feed-and-when

I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC - you have some great links already so I'll just say hello!

All the best
CT

 

[drumstick diva]

Egg layers mix sounds like something that would ONLY be fed to laying hens. They need extra calcium etc. roosters never lay eggs so shouldn't eat that. It can cause kidney problem with them.