tstarks
In the Brooder
I am new here. I have spent all of my life around large livestock, cows, horses, donkeys, a few goats and sheep and one ostrich at the winery. I am from a 45 acre farm in Ohio so we don't see many predators other than raccoons, housecats, and coyotes. I moved to Montana when I married my husband so we live way up in the very top west part of Montana. After seeing real hen houses and realizing that 3 year old hens don't lay much in the winter and not wanting to disrupt their natural laying pattern I decided to get a few more hens so we bought 7 2 year old rhode island reds and a cuckoo maran roo named Levi. He does a much better job teaching me about chickens, as well as this wonderful website. I have done a lot of research after our two tragedies. My husband and I built our hen house last year for our first 4 hens. We had a buff orpington, a rhode island red, a welsummer, and a double laced barnevelder named Gabby for obvious reasons. Right off the bat we lost a hen from my sister in law because a bobcat was able to reach its paw in and literally rip her through the 2 inch play in the hen house door. We wrapped the inside of the henhouse with chicken wire until the weather was good enough to build a barn on a concrete pad this summer. Getting through the spring before last we did ok until the buff went broody. Everyone was laying on her and while we were marking them, eggs were getting broken. I tried to moved her during daylight before I found this site and learned to move her at night to keep her from running back to the hen house. Eventually after finding this site I was able to get her into a heavy duty doghouse that I thought was going to be wonderful for her. I couldn't flip it but another bobcat dug under and killed her and at 11 of the 12 two day old chicks. We were heartbroken. My son came in the house after we learned what had happened, screaming for me to tell him what a baby chick sounded like. When he told me what he heard, all of us went running to the coop to catch the last chick. We raised this little fellow in my living room in a dog crate, with a blanket under it and wrapped up the sides and secured with clothes pins. He is now a beautiful roo that I gave to my friend just after she lost her roo to a coyote. Then I bought 7 hens and a super cool roo named Levi, ( you know the good morning world, Levi jeans song?) The dog house since it was built so heavy, my husband got it flipped over and added an inch thick piece of plywood to the bottom. It now is secured to a tree with a heavy chain wrapped around it as well as a heavy door. Nothing short of a grizzly is going to get to another chicken if it is broody or raising a family in there. I have really fallen for my chickens and ordered 24 more chicks, partially because I will be culling the flock each year for the freezer. This part I know how to do. So now I have 12 more buff orpingtons, 6 more rhode island reds and 6 last minute black australorps. They just moved from the garage into the horse trailer and are zipping all over the place. I hope one or two are roos but I bought sexed chicks so we'll see. If they wind up all hens I'm going to have to get a couple of roos. I live on 12 acres and they have their run of the property. I know I am going to lose chickens eventually to hawks or eagles and maybe the roo I have is spoiling me because he is so protective of his ladies.
Well, I guess I have talked your ears off. If you have any questions feel free.
Well, I guess I have talked your ears off. If you have any questions feel free.
Welcome!
