Introducing myself, from Ocean County, New Jersey

[JamesE1943]

Been raising backyard chickens for over ten years. Now have 25, various breeds (White Leghorns, Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, a Sultana rooster, a Buff Orpington, an Araucana, etc. Had more Buffs and Araucanas, but hawk incursions have been devastating.

Also have a Chinese White goose I adopted over ten years ago. Healthy and nasty tempered.

Last summer I bought six duckings from a local Agway -- straight run. Four survived the perils of growing up next to a forest. The lone female hatched a clutch of four in late Spring, but I lost them to long-tailed weasels before I knew such varmints even existed. Later, she hatched twelve, which I have raised in more secure quarters. They all appear to be healthy juveniles, about eight weeks old.

Looking forward to meeting many on this forum.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and feel free to say, "Hi."
Giacomo

 

[McCluckles]

Welcome to BYC!
Thats quite a sizable flock you have!
Hope you can find some helpful information on this website!

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Sorry for all your troubles! But sounds like you have a great flock of happy birds!

You may want to check out this hawk link. It helps with how to prevent hawks.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...ators-how-to-protect-your-chickens-from-hawks

Feel free to ask questions and glad you joined!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC, Giacomo. Glad you decided to join our flock. Sorry about your losses to hawks. You have a nice mixed flock. I also have 25 chickens (all hens, no roosters) in my flock. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

We're glad to have you. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Sorry to hear about the hawk losses!

 

[BantamLover21]

Glad you joined us!

Feel free to ask lots of questions! We're all here to help.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

So sorry for all your losses. But it sounds like you have a lovely flock!

Enjoy all your adventures with them and welcome to our roost!

 

[JamesE1943]

Thanks to all for the warm welcome.

I didn't mention that my father was a backyard chicken wrangler. This was from the early fifties to about 1990. He had even less property to house his birds than I do, about 3/4 of an acre. But it was in Beltsville, Maryland, where the USDA had a an incredible amount of research farms and offices. No one gave it a second thought.

My job was to clean the coop, which I hated. In the fitties no one seemed to have heard of dust masks back then, so after I was finished I'd be spitting up black phlegm for a couple of days.

I took up the "hobby" after my father had passed. In part in memory of him, plus I had the opportunity to rescue some chickens (and the goose). I had the property (2-1/4 acres), but no coop. A couple of friends helped me build one -- 8' x 8' with a secure outdoor enclosure the same size. Then I added on a 4' x 16' secure run.

A couple of years later, i had a 6' high fence (combination of boards and farm fence) built. It was 64' x 84' so that the birds had plenty of free range. But with the free range space came the hawks. And the foxes. And the opossum. Now I lock them down each night, thereby foiling the night marauders.

The hawks continue to be a problem. My wife scared one off this past week while I was at work.

Peace and healthy flocks to all,
Giacomo