- Oct 13, 2013
- 114
- 29
- 159
New member from Northeastern Ohio... got 6 red sex link peeps at TSC this spring as they were irresistibly cute. Have wanted to take a small stand against factory farmed eggs for a while and figured this was a fun way to be proactive. I live in an older (1850) farm house that has 2 acres remaining to it and has had suburbia grow up all around it. It took me this long and 4 sacrificed girls to get my predator security issues ironed out. My hens now live in a fortress, complete w/ wire moat, and outer bailey wall. If I was a better carpenter I would of added a turret or two. I worried that my remaining 2 survivor hens would not be able to keep my moderately sized (recycled large dog house) warm enough this winter, so I found an ad on Craigslist and expanded my flock of 2 rsl's to include a barred rock, a partridge rock and an easter egger. They are all named from the Little House book/tv series. My 2 rsl's are very different colors; the lighter one is Nellie Olsen, the darker is Laura Ingalls. They were named for their personalities. My easter egger is jet black so she is Mary Ingalls, the barred rock is Harriet Olsen, and the partridge rock is Carrie Ingalls. They free range my property during the day and are locked away in the castle by night. So far so good. Am thinking of tenting the 20'x32' chicken enclosure for winter to keep snow and winter hungry hawks off them but am still scrounging recycled material for this project. Anyone w/ advice on how to do this can feel free to offer it up. My current plan involves pvc pipe frame and vis-queen, steeply sloped and anchored to the top rail of surrounding chain link fence. Will probably drape vis-queen down outside of fence as well for a wind break. Have been reading backyard chickens for a while, glad to finally be a member.
