Keebler box truck run.

[3KillerBs]

There probably isnt enough space, I will remove the back bar and move it over so its one singular bar across giving enough space.

Thank you! I appreciate yall helping me nip the problems before they are real problems.

We love working with someone who is interested in learning from others' mistakes.

Now you can make new, original mistakes and teach us how to avoid them.

 

[DingDingChickenKing]

I been busy. I think I got things sorted. The weather has been good so I kicked them outside and heat them if it drops below 50. I should be able to remove the heat lamp in 2 more days. The lows are gonna be 55 soon.

Updated pictures. I also got 5 silkies in hopes of getting a rooster or two to make some babies themselves. My intention is to eat the extra meat as they lay less and to keep the population in check.

The silkies are noisy. I don't remember my other girls being this chatty.
My wife has a Bungie bird, you think they just talk or something? They all seem fine. Variable heat, food, water.
Are silkies just more chatty?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Looks good. I don't have Silkies so no idea if they're chatty (I always assumed quiet since they're small). Have you eaten a Silkie before? It's prized in some cultures but they're not commonly eaten in the US.

Then again you're a hunter and a butcher, I bet you can make a meal out of anything.

 

[DingDingChickenKing]

Looks good. I don't have Silkies so no idea if they're chatty (I always assumed quiet since they're small). Have you eaten a Silkie before? It's prized in some cultures but they're not commonly eaten in the US.

Then again you're a hunter and a butcher, I bet you can make a meal out of anything.

If you dont know how to cookit, moist heat it. Thats like a really easy and simple thing you can almost live by, and if you really have no idea what your doing, chop it up and make stew. Ive had silkie but no idea it was silkie at the time. Just thought it some exotic meat. I didnt think to ask, because around the same time i was trying rattlesnake, alligator, and a few other items we "accidently" ordered in. I've read about how prized it is.
I started my own chickens when i realized i was just buying whole chickens and pieceing them out anyway, then i got 2 acres that are just kinda wasting away and idealistic for them.
Also means one less day i gotta work for someone else lol.


Ill be honest and this might be trashy, but first time i end up cooking one of the girls i'll probably bread it and fry it so my wife and kid dont get squeemish about the color.

Little boneless skinless dark nuggets, then introduce them to pieces, then maybe a roasted bird. Or who knows, the silkies are little charmers and i might not have the heart. There is like two hens in the my main coop that are just kinda sourpusses. The others go out and scratch and have a good time, then just sit there angrily, doing not much of anything, with little sour attitudes. Nothing wrong with them, i been over them head to butt, theyre just "inside" chickens or something. they are eating and drinking, moving around, legs are fine.
They just seem like witches.


Also not a huge deal, but a rat snake about 3 feet long was sunning itself in my run yesteday, one of the australorps ran out and pecked at it, it reeled back to bite it, chicken moved super fast and then 18 chickens run over and peck it into retreat before i could grab my gun (as im deathly afraid of snakes and one of the few times im openly a coward). Should i be worried about this? wife seems to think its only a issue if eggs start dissapearing. That the chickens are too big for it and they kinda just ....really messed him up anyway.

Saw him a second time but same thing. Should i be worried?

I know its not the most ethical or safest thing, but i planned on killing it and letting them get a taste, so hopefully they just shred a snake if it bothers them.

 

[3KillerBs]

Also not a huge deal, but a rat snake about 3 feet long was sunning itself in my run yesteday, one of the australorps ran out and pecked at it, it reeled back to bite it, chicken moved super fast and then 18 chickens run over and peck it into retreat before i could grab my gun (as im deathly afraid of snakes and one of the few times im openly a coward). Should i be worried about this? wife seems to think its only a issue if eggs start dissapearing. That the chickens are too big for it and they kinda just ....really messed him up anyway.

If you can get over your personal feelings, a rat snake on your property is your best insurance against a rat problem.

They'll take eggs and chicks. Maybe a large snake would take a small bantam. But most adults are too much for a snake to handle.

Additionally, and I *could* be repeating an old wives tale, the old-timers in this area swear that if you have rat snakes they'll keep the copperheads aways.

I don't know if that's true, but I'm happy to have them managing the rodents for me.

 

[aart]

a rat snake on your property is your best insurance against a rat problem.

Or an indication that you have a rodent population....but the snake should take care of it.

 

[3KillerBs]

Or an indication that you have a rodent population....but the snake should take care of it.

Yes.

 

[DingDingChickenKing]

If you can get over your personal feelings, a rat snake on your property is your best insurance against a rat problem.

They'll take eggs and chicks. Maybe a large snake would take a small bantam. But most adults are too much for a snake to handle.

Additionally, and I *could* be repeating an old wives tale, the old-timers in this area swear that if you have rat snakes they'll keep the copperheads aways.

I don't know if that's true, but I'm happy to have them managing the rodents for me.

Not sure either, as a very kid i picked up a copper head at school and had a teacher flip out on me. Then about a year after that, my mom told me snakes were more scared of me than i was of them. 5 minutes later i had a Gardner snake chasing me across the yard, it wasnt stopping. It wanted me dead.

Or an indication that you have a rodent population....but the snake should take care of it.

Yes.

Yes, i live next to a huge wooded area and a large open overgrown field. I have 2 mouser cats that bring me around a body a day.
I tend to trade them 3 bodies for 1 can of cat food, or some cooked chicken. Its worked very well so far. When i moved into this property, the previous owner had a rodent problem to the point of throwing a box of mouse poison behind the fridge and just letting them chew into it. If people arnt squeemish, i have pictures of the "mouse pile" and a few when i remodeled the house where they formed connections on electric circuits. Some look older than me and turned into dust when cleaned up.

Since i moved in and have released my cats, i havnt had a single issue and absolutely no signs of mice or rats in the house. They have taken to hunting down into the field too, so I am assumeing they are moving down to where the "food" is at, another reason i think the population is "checked"

 

[rosemarythyme]

Or who knows, the silkies are little charmers and i might not have the heart. They just seem like witches.

Also not a huge deal, but a rat snake about 3 feet long was sunning itself in my run yesteday, Should i be worried about this? wife seems to think its only a issue if eggs start dissapearing. That the chickens are too big for it and they kinda just ....really messed him up anyway.

I love snakes, so I'd leave it alone. I agree an adult hen isn't likely to be on its menu, but eggs and chicks, yes.

 

[DingDingChickenKing]

I love snakes, so I'd leave it alone. I agree an adult hen isn't likely to be on its menu, but eggs and chicks, yes.

Me and the snake sat down and had a talk about expectation while he was under the coop hiding. I explained to him that he is allowed to exist, but needs to understand that if he touches my chickens or eggs in the future, i will kill him.

I havnt seen him since we both had a freakout where i almost stepped on him. So for all the snake lovers, hes fine somewhere, hopefully not within touching distance of me in any way. I'm not actively after him and if i see him ill just chase him off.

If i have a hen with a clutch of eggs or chicks, will a roo do his duty if the the snake gets into the coop?