Maine

[IZZYBELLA]

So sorry Izzy. Are you in a no shoot zone? Fox will be back.

SCG: Did the skunk injure or kill any birds?

We are in a no shoot zone and are too close to a walking path and other houses for it to be safe. There are so many fox around here... one got two of my neighbor's chickens a few weeks ago. They are so sly... I don't know that I'll trust letting the girls out even if I remain with them supervising.

 

[CoopChick719]

And last night we had a skunk attack the chickens right before dusk. It is always something.

Hit it but didn't kill it with the .22 and unfortunately it sprayed. The coop smells awful.

I didn't realize a skunk would attack chickens either!! That sucks that it sprayed the coop!!

Well, add me to the list of predator losses.  I just lost a red star to a fox.  I am beating myself up about it, because I never let them out of my sight when they are out of the coop, but I was lax and was weeding out front while they had wandered out back.  Next thing I know I hear a horrendous screech.  I screamed and started running... in time to see the fox carrying her off.  The fox dropped her, but she was seriously injured.  My husband put her down, while I herded the others into the coop.  I know it's nature and the fox was here first, but ugh.  The rest of the flock is very subdued/shocked right now. 

so sorry. Izzy! <3 Hugs~~I felt the same way after the fox took 3 of mine. One was in broad daylight!! I was on "recess duty" for a long time after that.

We are in a no shoot zone and are too close to a walking path and other houses for it to be safe. There are so many fox around here... one got two of my neighbor's chickens a few weeks ago.  They are so sly... I don't know that I'll trust letting the girls out even if I remain with them supervising.

We had 1 so bold it was sneaking up behind coop to get a leghorn while we were 5 feet away!

 

[buckabucka]

I try to keep my flock a bit on the hungry side, but that's not always possible when they have such an abundance of fresh fixin's from the yard.  Have had to do a bit of chasing myself on occasion.  I expect it will be worse when i put the big meat roos in the freezer.  They don't tend to stray too far from the feed bowl, and when they come running at the shake of a can, the rest of the flock "usually" does, so they don't miss anything.

I do that too, and usually all of the adult flocks will come running. The past few afternoons, when I've checked the young cockerels, their food has been totally gone. I felt neglectful, so yesterday I filled two full feed bowls and they weren't so interested by evening. I got them in by catching and chasing, and then just waited out the last four that hid under the large rose bush. It costs me some mosquito bites, but the last four were worth waiting for because three of them were pullets (rare around these parts!).

My latest dilemma is one of timing. I'm going camping again for two night when the young ones will be 10 weeks old. I leave them cooped because they fly over the fence a lot and It is too much to ask my neighbor to chase them. Do you think 25, 10-week old birds (roughly 19 cockerels, 6 pullets) can coexist in a 6' x 6' enclosure (with loft) without killing each other? So far, all is peaceful, even 2 days ago when they spent the day cooped due to rain, but at some point this is not going to work out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will work, then I will stop going away and start dividing them in any way I can, as necessary.

 

[VardoChicken]

Good morning!
I cam across this listing on Craigslist today but it was posted yesterday. I haven't inquired about this poor lost kiddo so I can't tell you if they still have it or not. Maybe someone here is missing a chicken or has space to rehome this one? Here is the link: http://maine.craigslist.org/pet/4552929449.html

Our own little flock is going to be put in their coop for the 1st time, hopefully tonight. I know I should be happy to get them into their new spacious digs, but I can't help being a bit nervous about them....wish us luck! I probably won't sleep a wink tonight!

 

[IZZYBELLA]

We had 1 so bold it was sneaking up behind coop to get a leghorn while we were 5 feet away!

Wow... I was wondering how bold they would be. This answers the question!

Second night in a row I've awoken to blood-curdling fox screeches. Such an eerie sound... sounds like a child screaming out in the woods.

 

[anyasmifya]

Yeah, I had a fox pretty much stare me down, when I was like maybe 15 feet away yelling at it and swinging a shovel!

 

[IZZYBELLA]

Yeah, I had a fox pretty much stare me down, when I was like maybe 15 feet away yelling at it and swinging a shovel! 

Whoa. This is good to hear, although quite disturbing. I think I'll be carrying them from the coop to the fenced in garden and back!

 

[lazy gardener]

One of my 13 week old BSL was singing the egg song this afternoon. Though, I'm sure she wasn't in egg laying mode. More like, "Here I am, where are you?" (Even though they were in plain sight.)

 

[chickengirl987]

We started with a Williams Sonoma coop, gift from DW. I picked up a free garden cart with 20" wheels being thrown away and adapted them to go on the coop to make it easier to move around. Then I built a run for them using some used metal roofing, plus lumber and 1/2" hardware cloth that we bought. The run has a small door next to the coop, and a door that is full width on the end. I have hooks and eyes on the coop doors, nest box top, and floor drawer to keep the raccoons from figuring out how to open them. The side door latch came with the coop, and that has a bolt in it to keep the smart ones from opening the door. In the photo, the ramp is lying on the ground because I closed the door to the coop to keep the chicks inside. My Springer Spaniel couldn't help herself and got at least part of herself in one photo, silly girl. First a promotional photo from WS. Then photos as modified. Here are some chick photos, BLRW. I am very happy with their health and vigorous eating. There are 6 in all. They are growing fast. Eventually we will know if we have some pullets. They spent their first night, last night, locked inside the coop. The brooder location was in the garage near a window, and the temperatures were too high during the day, over 100. I tested them in the brooder without the heat lamp at night for a couple of nights, and had them in the run for a few hours each day over the weekend, they did well. I am pleased with last night's results. These photos were taken this morning.

What are the measurements for the inside of your coop?

 

[Jazor]

Posted an ad to Craigslist looking to re-home one of our silkies. He was supposed to be blue, and a pullet. He's a cockerel, and black, so he's up for grabs if anyone wants him. He's actually not bad looking, but I want to keep the buff silkie roo so we're going to rehome this guy.

If anyone's interested let me know, he's ready to go whenever!