Hello from southwestern Oregon

[vsherwood]

My husband and I bought 40 acres of farm/forest land in the hills between Coos Bay and Roseburg. We currently have Easter Eggers, Black Australorp, Salmon Faverolle, Polish X, Porcelain D'uccle, and my favorite Silkies. Our biggest problem has been bobcats and raccoons! We have given up on turkeys, guineas, ducks, and geese and just have concentrated on trying to keep our chickens safe. I am looking forward to reading posts about these breeds and also interested in more natural food sources. We try to free range our birds when we are home and they are kept in runs off of the coop when we leave the property. Our dogs and llamas help with the predators but when we leave for town the predators seem to know and strike. So for the times the girls are locked up I would like a better alternative to the processed feed.

 

[sumi]

Welcome to BYC

Glad you joined us! Sorry to hear to about your predator problems. Raccoons are a nightmare and about the only thing that stops them is hardware cloth. There are some articles on them and bobcats and how to protect your flock in the Learning Center sub-section, Chicken Predators & Pests. You will find discussions on the breeds you've got in the Breeds, Genetics, & Showing section and discussions on alternative feed stuffs in the Feeding & Watering Your Flock section. You may also enjoy this discussion: The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

Enjoy the site!

 

[drumstick diva]

if you want more about silkies - put "Silkie thread," in the search box - several dedicated silkie threads , some by color, but these posters KNOW their silkies

 

[write2caroline]

Welcome to the forum

Check out the feeding tab and you will find lots of feed discussions

Caroline from Florida

 

[liz9910]

Welcome to BYC!