I am soooooo close to giving up.. Graphic story warning

[goldysgirl]

Luna, Your trying so hard. Without the support and help of your parent it will be neer impossible to have everything set just right. Your dad is correct in saying "back in his day they didnt need all that." BUT were not back in those days and maybe he was little and forgot some losses. We moved into the predators homes. We became many and things got tight. Predators are just doing what the do to survive. My whole flock was wiped out a couple weeks ago because of chicken wire and my stupidity . I had some very expensive chickens too. You remind me of myself a lot. I would do whatever it took to get to hold/raise those little fluff balls . They were the love of my life and I will never have any more but Maybe, I can help you. Dont buy/incubate any more chicks right now. Instead pick up a book or read here on building brooders and caring for chicks/chickens. Til you get/make (and it is possible) the things that are needed to safely care for the littles . Then there will be no worries of predator loss and you will be ahead of the game when something comes up that needs your attention.
And for the chicken wire, you can show him this.

I am so sorry. That breaks my heart. I said no more a while back and stopped naming my birds after having my favorite bird's head yanked through the fence and one decapitated roo on the same night and losing my other favorite bird to brutal mutilating cannabalism on a different day... she was still walking around when I found her with a large part of her body missing. I gradually got more and have very slowly started naming some of them...i am at 19 now. 1/2 of my flock free ranges during the day and the other 1/2, the potential breeder birds and favorites, are kept in my "fortress", which despite lots of fencing and electric is still not impenetrable. I have accepted that there will be losses and it doesn't seem to hurt as much now that I have a larger flock. I still have my favorites though, and losing them would break my heart...but I have also accepted that chickens are prey and predators and I try to not get too attached. I tell myself what a good life they have even if it is short. I can't imagine losing my whole flock at once though . I don't know if i could get any more either. Hugs to you.

 

[goldysgirl]

I am sorry to hear about your losses. I went through the same thing. Just the other day, my four remaining pullets got attacked and only one survived that to perish within 48 hours despite my best efforts to treat her wounds.

I also used more zip ties (neon like yours) than I thought I ever would by putting 1/2" hardware cloth over the dog crate I had used for the chicks. I have to say that my keets got moved into that crate and still something got the head of one of them. I would've put money on it being predator proof. There is only one small area where the door has a slight gap.

We put a have a heart trap out the other night and didn't catch anything but last night we got a coon. Gonna give it another try and see if we get another one.

There are a bunch of articles about predators on here.

Here are some links to just SOME of them:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/keeping-your-chickens-safe-from-predators.65420/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...how-to-protect-your-chickens-from-rats.47714/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ow-to-protect-your-chickens-from-crows.47683/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...how-to-protect-your-chickens-from-cats.47706/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-protect-your-chickens-from-snakes.47729/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-to-protect-your-chickens-from-possums.47711/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-protect-your-chickens-from-skunks.47722/


I wish you luck and I hope these articles work for you. I haven't read them yet but have them lined up to read in the next couple of days.

So sorry

 

[Granny Hatchet]

I am so sorry. That breaks my heart. I said no more a while back and stopped naming my birds after having my favorite bird's head yanked through the fence and one decapitated roo on the same night and losing my other favorite bird to brutal mutilating cannabalism on a different day... she was still walking around when I found her with a large part of her body missing. I gradually got more and have very slowly started naming some of them...i am at 19 now. 1/2 of my flock free ranges during the day and the other 1/2, the potential breeder birds and favorites, are kept in my "fortress", which despite lots of fencing and electric is still not impenetrable. I have accepted that there will be losses and it doesn't seem to hurt as much now that I have a larger flock. I still have my favorites though, and losing them would break my heart...but I have also accepted that chickens are prey and predators and I try to not get too attached. I tell myself what a good life they have even if it is short. I can't imagine losing my whole flock at once though . I don't know if i could get any more either. Hugs to you.

Thank you. I had 2 coops. Large fowl and my little seramas. I had to hire someone to come dig a pit for me and rake the "parts" up. Nice coops dog kennel runs and chicken wire skirts that extended 2 ft. out.

 

[goldysgirl]

Thank you. I had 2 coops. Large fowl and my little seramas. I had to hire someone to come dig a pit for me and rake the "parts" up. Nice coops dog kennel runs and chicken wire skirts that extended 2 ft. out.

So awful. More hugs.

 

[Acre4Me]

As far as the broody hens, I only had one and she only hatched 2 chicks out of the 3 times she sat on eggs, then the chicks were quickly eaten by something as she took them outside.

Good luck and sorry for your losses!

We give hatched chicks to our broody at night, she wakes up to bring a momma! We put her in a brooder box to mother her babies. It is 6’x3’x2’ tall, so momma can stand up and walk around comfortably. The sides and bottom are solid, and the top is 2hinged wire lids (in wood frames). We built this out of wood shelves we removed from a bedroom that a previous owner had installed (so only cost was wire for lid, and 6x3 scrap sheet of linoleum floor for ease of cleaning).

After a few days to a couple of weeks (weather dependent), we let momma take chicks out into the wider world, which is fenced off area of the run. This way chicks are in less prone to harm. But, they need a cover by 2 or 3 weeks old bc the adventuresome ones can fly out. Usually around 3-4 weeks (weather dependent), they can get some flock time. Depending on their reception with the flock determines how much time they spend with the flock, and when the go to the main coop. Integration tends to go easier when a momma hen is involved. A lot more pecking order stuff happens when no momma hen to introduce/protect them at first.

My spouse also grew up in the south and they kept chickens with little thought to protection or feed, so it was an adjustment to advance thoughts to coop/feed/etc. there are many ways to improvise, so good luck to you!

 

[cmom]

I made a brooder out of a styrofoam cooler and put a incandescent bulb in for warmth. A large melon box would work too if your dad would let you. These are Pheasant chicks. The waterer is for quail. It's small but the chicks can't get in and drown. I raised it up a little so the chicks wouldn't get so much shavings in it. I bought a lamp kit and put a reptile bulb in for heat. I put the lid on only a little bit because I didn't want to cook the chicks. The watermelon box I got from the grocery store. I went in and asked if I could have one when I saw the melons in the store. The nice person went in back and got it for me. I put wire over the top and a lamp with an incandescent bulb in it for warmth. During the night I would turn it on and had a wire sticking up so the sheet wouldn't touch the lamp to keep more of the warmth in the box for the chicks. I put plastic in the bottom with shavings over the plastic. Good luck and have fun...

n't want to cook the chicks.

 

[LunaMarieWolf]

Another chick died last night.

It was having difficulty pooping (I thought pasty butt) but the poop was filled with blood and when I removed the poop, blood was kinda just.. dribbling out..

I guess some sort of internal bleeding?

Now I only have one from the chick shipment I bought, plus 3 new babies to snuggle her that I hatched out!

Plus I have 1 drying off in the incubator and 2 hatching. Plus one whos hopefully about to start hatching soon!

 

[BreanneRN]

Another chick died last night.

It was having difficulty pooping (I thought pasty butt) but the poop was filled with blood and when I removed the poop, blood was kinda just.. dribbling out..

I guess some sort of internal bleeding?

Now I only have one from the chick shipment I bought, plus 3 new babies to snuggle her that I hatched out!

Plus I have 1 drying off in the incubator and 2 hatching. Plus one whos hopefully about to start hatching soon!

How big an age difference is there between the hatchlings and your older chick? Usually, age difference in chicks means different needs and doesn't work out well. Bigger ones trample little ones, keep them from feeding, little ones need more warmth, bigger ones less, little ones eat a little bit at a time and need a full feeder, big ones can empty it, leaving none for the smaller ones. It may be ok since you just have one that is older, but you will have to watch carefully that she doesn't pick on the smaller ones, and that those other things don't happen. Older chicks can actually eat your new ones.

 

[goldysgirl]

Thank you. I had 2 coops. Large fowl and my little seramas. I had to hire someone to come dig a pit for me and rake the "parts" up. Nice coops dog kennel runs and chicken wire skirts that extended 2 ft. out.

Came home to a dog with one of my elderly hens in his mouth. He dropped her when I screamed. I went and talked to the neighbor, who was very kind. The dog and I have been friends for a long time, so I still love him. When I came back to check on everyone, i realized my other elderly gal was missing. When I went out to the coop looking for her, there was a 6 foot black snake climbing up the coop wall. I took it about 100 yds away from the coop and let it go....i realize it will just come back and I realize they eat chickens and eggs. I was going to put it in a trash can and call the warden and see if it was ok to release at the game lands, but the big guy was getting angry. Geesh . The snake did not eat the chicken, or i would have noticed a giant large fowl sized lump...i don't think it could have swallowed her....but the dog is guilty for sure.

 

[Elsveta641]

I feel your pain dude, we've had a similar issue lately with large predators. Just gruesome massacres, pens looked like that scene from Bravehart after the battle.
In the past for small predators the best defense we had was a small cat army. But then a cat or two turned on the chickens. So while it's the easiest and most effective method I've used, it can backfire. When I went from 3 cats to 12 my small predators practically disappeared and we had 0 losses. Until a few cats went rogue :/
I heard owl decoys work, but it didn't for us. So I made a more realistic owl decoy myself (out of a dead rooster, epoxy and stuffed animal eyes). That helped a lot in the rabbit building, that and motion activated solar powered lights. Something eventually took the fake owl and I found parts of it all over the yard, so not sure I'd use real feathers again haha.
If I were you I'd invest some time and money into better cages for babies. Simple A frames are easy to build and fairly cheap. Use welded 1/4 mesh heavy duty wire and green treated lumber. Use steel flashing for the floor. Hinge one side to open and fit that with a padlock. Easy to clean and predators haven't violated mine yet. Anything in that cage always survives.