Keeping Chickens Free Range

[ZORRO3061]

Perhaps he's not so stupid. Fresh eggs are tasty.

Nice pics of beautiful cats. You live in a beautiful land. I've been as far south as Guatemala, Jamaica. Awesome landscape. You can keep your cats!

Yes, I do not want to kill them. I am even preserving half of my property with native jungle for them to live. But they need to understand that the chicks are mine and are not for supper !

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

 
Perhaps he's not so stupid.  Fresh eggs are tasty.

He is a She, and she is not a happy puppy anymore. She is back to wearing a hard muzzle whenever she goes outside.  It is hard to pick an egg up when you have a muzzle on.

I just wish I could be assured every egg  she steals is fresh.  We find nests around here from last year now and then.  We wear "protective" clothing and use a Looooooong pole with a soup ladle taped to it to pick these eggs up.  Some have been know to explode as soon as we touch them.   We found one nest and went to get the "OSHA approved rotten egg demolition equipment and protective gear" and came back to find the nest empty of eggs.  No proof "she" took them, but circumstantial evidence points to her.    

:

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

Actually, I was told the best way To KEEP my dogs from eating my eggs IS TO LET THE eggs GET HOT, ROTTEN, then dump some of the spoiled egg atop their heads. They hate the stink!
Is it possible the eggs she ate aren't THAT spoiled?
******Sorry to hijack the thread but...My chicks are about 9weeks old and are looking into egg boxes..Anyone noticed if Free range hens lay sooner than caged Hens do?*******

 

[lazy gardener]

He is a She, and she is not a happy puppy anymore. She is back to wearing a hard muzzle whenever she goes outside. It is hard to pick an egg up when you have a muzzle on.

I just wish I could be assured every egg she steals is fresh. We find nests around here from last year now and then. We wear "protective" clothing and use a Looooooong pole with a soup ladle taped to it to pick these eggs up. Some have been know to explode as soon as we touch them. We found one nest and went to get the "OSHA approved rotten egg demolition equipment and protective gear" and came back to find the nest empty of eggs. No proof "she" took them, but circumstantial evidence points to her.

Yuck. Hope she doesn't get TOO sick, just enough to teach her a bit of a lesson.

Actually, I was told the best way To KEEP my dogs from eating my eggs IS TO LET THE eggs GET HOT, ROTTEN, then dump some of the spoiled egg atop their heads. They hate the stink!
Is it possible the eggs she ate aren't THAT spoiled?
******Sorry to hijack the thread but...My chicks are about 9weeks old and are looking into egg boxes..Anyone noticed if Free range hens lay sooner than caged Hens do?*******

At 9 weeks old, I expect they are inspecting egg boxes out of curiosity, or... if you have older laying hens, perhaps they are curious about what all the ruckus is about. A lot of youngsters retreat to nest boxes if they are feeling intimidated by the older birds. Even in top form, you shouldn't see any eggs from them before 16 weeks.

 

[duluthralphie]

I have broken "Pearl" from egg eating!

Here she is after her second complete day without eating an egg..




See how happy she looks now that she has that monkey off her back!

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Lol poor pearl. But she has a lovely shiney coat

 

[ZORRO3061]

I have broken "Pearl" from egg eating!

Here she is after her second complete day without eating an egg..




See how happy she looks now that she has that monkey off her back!

How cute !

 

[Peeps61]

LOL! Poor Pearl. My dachshund/Jack Russell Terrier mix, Dolly, was chewing my backyard down, so she was introduced to a basket muzzle. She could drink, but that was it. After she had been fed, into the muzzle she went while she was outside. After awhile, I was able to leave it off of her for increasing periods of time. If she started chewing again, back came the muzzle. This breed(s) of dog is extremely intelligent, and she had soon linked the muzzle to her chewing, and decided it was worth her while to stop.

 

[SmColorInDaPan]

Yuck. Hope she doesn't get TOO sick, just enough to teach her a bit of a lesson.
At 9 weeks old, I expect they are inspecting egg boxes out of curiosity, or... if you have older laying hens, perhaps they are curious about what all the ruckus is about. A lot of youngsters retreat to nest boxes if they are feeling intimidated by the older birds. Even in top form, you shouldn't see any eggs from them before 16 weeks.

Thank You LG, for your response. I have One older hen. Like others here, being diligent in collecting the egg b4 the dogs do. Perhaps, Chicks are curious as to why the DOGS get into the bigger box. Doesn't explain the smaller boxes they peek into. Will line the smaller ones with hay, pine needles today... Never can tell with Critters!

 

[blkjak]

Had to chase a coyote away last night from my ducks. The ducks were close to the coop but not close enough for the coyote to stay away. Now I have an injured Pekin hen. She has a small cut on her back and 1 leg doesnt seem to work right. Tucked her away with food and water under a heat lamp.