Illinois...

[Chickadee McGee]

Have any of my fellow Illini crossed over?
I am here in east central Illinois.
Christie

Hi I'm from Crescent City area. Always looking to interact with other chicken enthusiasts. I just recently joined the site. Was wondering how the winters are for chickens around here? Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[NotAFarm]

and to the Illinois thread!
I'm in rural Lee County, East of I-39, North of I-80 and South of I-88.

 

[Faraday40]

@Chickadee McGee

Winters can be rough. At this time, you'll need to figure out how your daily maintenance routine will change once you shut off the hose. (So easy to hose things off & fill up waterers when a hose can be used.) When the water begins to freeze, will you use a heated waterer? or refill rubber water dishes 2-3xs per day? Refill in the house or carry a bucket of water outside with you? Will you continue to free range or lock your birds up for their own safety? Heating the coop is another controversial idea. I personally don't heat my coop, but I do have a 5 gal bucket with horiz chicken nipples & a heater/deicer made for buckets. It kept the water liquid during the coldest arctic blasts. (-30'F nights)

@cavemanrich
OK. I'll admit that it took me a couple min to get "Iris" ( "I.R.S." ) Yes, that would be a cute name, but the kids took over & already named them.

DD calls the silkie: Xansie (Thought it was male so "Zander" then she decided to make it sound cute & give it a crazy spelling. It's a very spoiled chicken

DS then decided to rename my Spitzie = "Poof Poof"

Now that I think about it, Iris makes a lot more sense!

 

[cavemanrich]

Hi I'm from Crescent City area. Always looking to interact with other chicken enthusiasts. I just recently joined the site. Was wondering how the winters are for chickens around here? Thanks in advance for any info.

Welcome.... The winters are tolerable. How many chickens do you have and type? It helps to have cold tolerant breeds. Is your coop already set up.? Ventilation extremely important winter and summer.
What climate was your previous residence?

 

[Faraday40]

So now for the bad news...

The fox came back yesterday around 6pm. Still very light outside.
It terrorized the chickens & was going hard after Cookie's chicks (my laced orps) in the tractor. (He/she was digging & clawing at their enclosure.) My kids caught the fox in the act. Two pullets were lost for a while, but were found squeezed under the big coop. Thankfully OK, just scared and stuck under there for a while until we could maneuver them out.

Three of the 11 wk olds inside the tractor got a few comb abrasions, and the 4th got hurt. The fox somehow scalped her. I feel sick. There's a flap of skin & feathers. Strangely not as much blood as I would think. I disinfected the wound & am keeping her inside for observation. @Junibutt Did your scalped chicken live?

For now, my dog gets to spend the whole day outside, and I moved the chicken tractor closer to the house. (I think the fox is hitting the tractor because it's farther away from activity & not in line of sight from the house & garage.) At night I have talk radio, blinky lights, motion sensor spot light, a very secure coop and a hardware cloth run fastened to a perimeter of buried cinder blocks. I did not expect the fox to hit so early.

I'm obviously glad that no chickens got eaten, but I feel so bad for my sweet blue buff colombian orpington. I really can't afford a $100-300 vet bill, so all I can do is keep her clean & comfortable. Now that the fox got a taste of blood, I'm very, very scared.

The roosters were crowing & the dog was barking like crazy at something in the neighbor's yard this morning. I really hope this fox is deterred by our dog.

 

[Faraday40]

BTW- I'm very open to recommendations for electric fencing. I would need something inexpensive & moveable / easy to install.

(I guess I should also say safe around curious little boys. My son's very interested in electric fences & circuits as we discovered when visiting @chickendreams24 . LOL )

 

[cavemanrich]

@Faraday40
I read here on some thread that fox do like to cover a large terrain and often do not return for a week or more. Raccoons and opossums obviously stay in area close by.
Do you know the entry point where fox comes in???
I sustained nasty losses to my pigeons to point that right now I have none. . I will be getting more soon since I solved the predator entrance issue. Chicken coop was not raided. Got an ELECTRIC ENERGIZER. I use it as a HOT WIRE.

Cost me $30. Plus wire.
Here is a link to interesting reading about electric fencing.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/simplest-electric-fence-ever-cheep.1099772/
Then I get a notification that they may cause fire. It only occurs if using the nylon type fencing. Here is a link to the article so you can study it.
https://www.premier1supplies.com/sheep-guide/2016/08/fire-using-continuous-current-fence-chargers/
I am using solid wire so nylon string will not short out and catch potential flame. Article is also put out by a company that does sell their own and other much more pricey energizers.
I intend to do some testing of my own to see if I could get a fire started. I need to get some of that nylon cord they are using in their video. I will also test using different variables to leave no stone unturned.
And here is another thing I forgot to brag about.

Yes..... it took $218 out of my wallet ....... but I could not be more happy and satisfied.

 

[cavemanrich]

BTW- I'm very open to recommendations for electric fencing. I would need something inexpensive & moveable / easy to install.

(I guess I should also say safe around curious little boys. My son's very interested in electric fences & circuits as we discovered when visiting @chickendreams24 . LOL )

UNPLUG WHEN CHILDREN AROUND.

 

[Molpet]

as a kid we had electric fence for the horses.. I learned that when my parents told me not to touch something.. DON"T TOUCH IT!!! valuable life lesson

another thread on e fence https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-treatise-on-electric-fencing.1117877/

also menards has some posts that could be used on straight run ( they bend at corners) clearance for 99cents and then rebate
https://www.menards.com/main/buildi...50-c-5768.htm?tid=-2753204047162349948&ipos=1

 

[Molpet]

@Faraday40
I read here on some thread that fox do like to cover a large terrain and often do not return for a week or more. Raccoons and opossums obviously stay in area close by.
Do you know the entry point where fox comes in???
I sustained nasty losses to my pigeons to point that right now I have none. . I will be getting more soon since I solved the predator entrance issue. Chicken coop was not raided. Got an ELECTRIC ENERGIZER. I use it as a HOT WIRE.
View attachment 1130211
Cost me $30. Plus wire.
Here is a link to interesting reading about electric fencing.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/simplest-electric-fence-ever-cheep.1099772/
Then I get a notification that they may cause fire. It only occurs if using the nylon type fencing. Here is a link to the article so you can study it.
https://www.premier1supplies.com/sheep-guide/2016/08/fire-using-continuous-current-fence-chargers/
I am using solid wire so nylon string will not short out and catch potential flame. Article is also put out by a company that does sell their own and other much more pricey energizers.
I intend to do some testing of my own to see if I could get a fire started. I need to get some of that nylon cord they are using in their video. I will also test using different variables to leave no stone unturned.
And here is another thing I forgot to brag about.
View attachment 1130239
View attachment 1130242
Yes..... it took $218 out of my wallet ....... but I could not be more happy and satisfied.

very nice door.. I thought about one, but price and a hen turkey that likes to go in after dusk (8:05 last night) stopped me.. and I have 3 coops LOL