Hello.
Aww I'm sorry about your bro/carpenter I hope he gets better, cancer doesn't sound good.
Yeah I'm sorta at the same problem. We are renting where we're at and its an old beautiful farmhouse with 170 acres of woods and creek so there is also a corncrib that we turned into our coop and run so now I have the bad feeling that it is too small for our 10/11 hens and roo. I think the main problem is that we made the little trench in the floor our roost. I never really thought that it matter even though I know chickens like to roost in high places. Do any of you think this could be a problem? If it is I can try to find a way to fix it come spring. Out of my eleven usually just my two Black girls as I call them and the two EEscor the RIR roost in the nestboxes but its getting to be a problem because now they are full of poop and its really bad. Any help is much appreciated
Sand is what a lot of members use, whats the sq ft of the roost area?
Oh um we had some trouble with predators and hawks around our place last fall and my mom said something about how turkey hens are supposed to be good protectors of flocks. Can anyone verify this or is it just like roosters? That it just depends on genetics or personality? I was wondering because our roo isn't going to be around come spring so I'm looking for replacements but If a turkey hen helps id be willing to try one. Thanks too for any advice and help.
If I haven't said it yet
and our thread
Haven't read ahead yet on this topic, but turkeys aren't flock guardians. A hen will sure try, and especially if she has poults/other babies to protect.
Be sure to call county extension to see if you have "blackhead" in your county, if so, keep turkey and chicken separate.
Hen turkeys are a huge value to me, I have heard stories about peafowl as flock guardians also. Its really up to each of us to make that choice.
Honestly, a LGD (Livestock Guardian Dog) is truly your safest bet, or at least a secure run. If you free range, you need a dog or expect some losses.
That's a dog that lives outside, with your animals. I don't have one yet, and have had some painful losses from fox and raccoon the last 2 years.
Ha ha! I have FINALLY caught up with you chatterers! This has to be the fastest flying thread on BYC! I believe it is the most interesting one, too. The long, boring lectures and squabbles on the other threads put me to sleep.
WELCOME to all our new Indiana BYC members! It is good to have you here! Don't be afraid to pipe up and share. We love to read your stories. And, if you have questions, we are full of answers.
I have enjoyed admiring all the photos of the beautiful chooks our IN BYCers are caring for. It makes me all the more impatient for chickens of my own!
I never did get my coop built this fall. With the sort of winter we have been having, it may be just as well since I am a beginner. My brother-the-carpenter has been sick off and on. It may well be a return of his cancer, but he has no medical insurance to get it checked out. (He is trying to get on to Obamacare, but may not make enough income. Indiana's governor has decided not to use the available federal funding to expand Medicare, which leaves a number of low income Hoosiers with too much income for IN medicare and too little for Obamacare.) He has been working inside our house and has turned out some beautiful wainscoting, but hasn't been able to do outdoor work on the coop. Maybe I can line someone up to build my coop this spring. I have plans drawn up with all the little bells and whistles I want that ready-made coops don't include. I did have LF heirloom pullets lined up, too, but will have to start over. Meanwhile. I am soaking up chicken knowledge from fellow BYCers, other websites, and magazines.
I received a very nice gift of a chicken teakettle for Christmas to add to my chicken collectibles. I have been collecting chicken paraphernalia and longing for a flock for many years, so I have quite a few items around the house. My great-grandparents were the last in a line of Steckleys who ran a mill and hatchery in Kendallville. I can remember visiting the hatchery as a little girl and watching chicks hatch. Guess that got me started.
I am so sorry to hear of your brothers health
my thoughts are with your family. Many are struggling now with this healthcare reform
It will come together. Even if you start with a small coop and a few girls, its a wonderful start!
Think of it this way, it can be a quarantine, grow out or broody coop for later! Depending on your long term plans, and chicken math
I started with 6 chicks (GLW, 5 hens and a roo), 4 ducklings (scovies 3 ducks, 1 drake) and 6 goslings (chinese 1 gander 5 goose) .
Yup, I have "hen luck". Which was not good trying to hatch last year. Even that seemed like a lot
The scovies were "new" to me but ducks aren't.
That was 2 years ago in April. I honestly do not have an exact count on my chickens.
I process the extra adult roos monthly.
I love all my birds, but they are all here for a purpose. My peafowl, guinea and geese are alarms & chicks/eggs. My geese are my pets also.
I only paid for the geese, the rest were mothers day gifts from my youngest DD and future SIL.
A 29 year old shed, chain link fencing and excitement of having chickens again after 28 years!
I am glad I jumped in and did it, but you have to be happy with what your final goal is also.
Hello, its surprising how much snow is gone, from 1 foot to now none is some patches. All my chickens were out in the run though crowding around wanting to be let out.
I'm pumped for spring and I hope it gets here soon. I've got a big long list of things I've gotta do.
Does anybody else?
Oh my.. It will take me years to do everything I have planned
The have to's I am so ready to start!
Breeding pens is #1. Tearing down my old coop and replacing the egg coop with a newer shed #2.
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LOL my pullets name is Fluff for that very reason
[COLOR=8B4513] I hope that when you order those numbered leg bands for your chicks that you were discussing, you make sure the #s go up into the thousands considering how many you have! Haha [/COLOR]
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