Joining from Texas!

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HanksDogTreats

HanksDogTreats

In the Brooder
Aug 15, 2015
12
3
24
Howdy, fellow chicken folks! I am from central Texas and my family raises laying hens on pasture. We have over 300 hens, but all our ladies are on pasture and are totally free-ranged. In fact, we don't even pen them at night, since our livestock guardian dogs keep predators away while the hens rest in their roosting sheds. Our family has always had backyard hens, but after 4 years of using our pastured system, this is by far the best way we've ever found to keep our hens healthy and happy and laying well.

Our current breeds are Black Australorp, Ameraucana, Buff Orpington, White Leghorn, Production Reds, and Cuckoo Maran. We've found it interesting to see what the different breeds are best at, and how individual hens learn to take full advantage of their ability to roam and hunt down goodies to eat. It's hot right now in Texas, so our lovely ladies are enjoying lots of deep shade and water, water, water.

We've had hens for many years, but we learn something new every day. I look forward to learning from you all!
 
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300 chickens is a whole lot of flock! How do you know where to gather their eggs, do they usually go some place in particular or is it like an egg hunt every day?

Cute dog in your avatar.

Nice to have you here!
 
Yes, NorthFLChick! It is a lot of hens. We start them out as chicks and pullets learning where home base is, so when they begin laying they already know to come back home to lay. We have awesome roll-out nest boxes, so they mostly hop in to lay then hop back out quickly to forage some more. The nests are so awesome and make it so much easier to keep the eggs clean and easy to handle. Best investment we've made so far, aside from our amazing Pyrenees.
Thanks for the welcome, everyone. Hank is the doggie in the picture. He is my best buddy and mascot and chief taste-tester for my dog treat business. He tolerates our chickens, but it takes all his willpower to do it :)
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. My wife and I were both raised in the great state of Texas. Also, the largest hatchery in the USA is located in Texas; Ideal Poultry in Cameron, TX. I've ordered chicks from then on a number of occasions and have been happy with their birds and service. If you haven't done so already, definitely our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is loads of useful information there. 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.
 
How many Gr.Pyrenees do you keep to watch over such large flocks? I know they are amazing dogs. Welcome to Backyard chickens
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Thank you, Michael! Yes, Texas is a great state! Will check out the Learning Center here ~ thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Yes, we get our chicks from Ideal. We are close enough to drive down and pick them up, which gives us a great survival rate with gentle handling all the way to the brooder. We really appreciate hard-working local businesses!
 
Hi drumstick diva,
We have 2 Great Pyrs that guard all our hens now, plus some goats and hogs and cattle on the property. The hens' pasture can be expanded or changed up as we need to, by opening/closing gates. We also use jump gates to let our dogs access places we don't want the other animals to travel. Our predator load is fairly heavy, since we live near the river and get lots of wildlife, including avian predators. The dogs are SO amazing. We wouldn't be in business right now if it weren't for their beautiful instincts and desire to protect and please. We think of them as a our partners, and we do everything we can to help them do their jobs well.
 

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