MARYLAND THREAD!

[DCchicken]

Have you considered putting a fence around your property? A 4 ft T post fence with welded wire is a great deterrent to all types of things including children. You can also electrify it... even better protection.

I can't do anything with electricity. My insurance company believes the risk of children ignoring the signs is too high. All I need is some kids playing "let's see who can hold the electric fence the longest" and then one of them has a heart attack or their pace maker fails. Then I am stuck paying out millions of dollars that my insurance company would not cover. So electric is out for me.

Any kind of fencing around my whole 5 acres is really cost prohibitive. The weasels would just climb over it and still go after the chickens. If I try to just fence around the coops, they just fly over it or jump up into the trees and fly out that way.

 

[DCchicken]

Welded wire does not electrify well, you should put a strand of wire made for electric fences up for that. It should be set off a few inches from the wire so it won't ground out against it. The welded wire provides a good visual barrier and the electrified wire would be the "enforcer" for anything that tries anyway.

I feel for anyone trying to keep chickens free ranging in an area that has lots of new homes around it. People move to the country for the experience, but then get upset when the "country" doesn't meet their standard for smell and noise. I have little sympathy for anyone buying a house next to a working farm and then complaining about the smell when they spread manure in the field next door, or when a rooster wakes them in the night. Really??? The possibility that cows and chickens might intrude on your life never occurred to you before buying that place next to the farm?

I can't wait until peacock mating season next year . . . I hope the neighbors don't mind more weird noises

My guinea are ready to go outside. I bet the city people are really going to love them. Guinea are an organic method of controlling ticks and my property is entirely wooded so ticks are a problem.

 

[TurnipTruck]

My guinea are ready to go outside. I bet the city people are really going to love them. Guinea are an organic method of controlling ticks and my property is entirely wooded so ticks are a problem.

I would love to be a fly on the wall at a neighbors house once they've been out a week or so! Those guys are not quiet in the least... they would leave anyone begging for a nice quiet rooster.

I also have little sympathy for those who move next to a working farm and then complain about the noise and smell.

 

[Anna Lee]

I wish I could.  But it's too much liability.  I am surrounded by subdivision after subdivision of million dollar homes with children that trespass on my property because their parents told them to go play in the woods (my woods) that border their postage stamp sized backyards.  The more subdivisions that get built, the worse the fox problem gets.  And don't get me started on the deer population.  It's a race to get my fruits and veggies before the deer get them.

No guns, no electric fences, no unleashed guardian dogs.  I told the chickens that they are just going to have to learn to run faster.  

Sorry to hear that. How frustrating! I am guessing the problem goes way beyond posting no tresspassing signs and politely informing the parents that it is private property and that fencing is too expensive. We had a similar issue with a hunter here. I hate to be that bad cranky neighbor but had to resort to calling the police every time I saw him and finally he stopped. (We tried talking to him first, explained we have kids and pets and elderly and disabled relatives and want to all safely use our own land and he lied and said he would stay away.) It is a shame people are so disrespectful. Hope your chickens successfully learn to outrun the predators. The only other thing I can think of is Whitmore Farm uses some kind of movable fence around coops and has a Great Pyrenees inside it. The dog contendly stays inside guarding "his" chickens.

 

[dheltzel]

Sorry to hear that. How frustrating! I am guessing the problem goes way beyond posting no tresspassing signs and politely informing the parents that it is private property and that fencing is too expensive. We had a similar issue with a hunter here. I hate to be that bad cranky neighbor but had to resort to calling the police every time I saw him and finally he stopped. (We tried talking to him first, explained we have kids and pets and elderly and disabled relatives and want to all safely use our own land and he lied and said he would stay away.) It is a shame people are so disrespectful. Hope your chickens successfully learn to outrun the predators. The only other thing I can think of is Whitmore Farm uses some kind of movable fence around coops and has a Great Pyrenees inside it. The dog contendly stays inside guarding "his" chickens.

Unfortunately, in our "lawsuit crazy" land, a big dog would be an attractive nuisance, like a pool, and you'd have to fence even higher to be sure the kids couldn't get to him. It's frustrating, but any effort improve things will likely be more expensive and/or risky than just accepting some loses.

Whitmore Farm is a working farm and you can get away with more when you have a bigger buffer between you and the neighbors and have your ag activities "grandfathered in".

 

[DCchicken]

Unfortunately, in our "lawsuit crazy" land, a big dog would be an attractive nuisance, like a pool, and you'd have to fence even higher to be sure the kids couldn't get to him. It's frustrating, but any effort improve things will likely be more expensive and/or risky than just accepting some loses.

Whitmore Farm is a working farm and you can get away with more when you have a bigger buffer between you and the neighbors and have your ag activities "grandfathered in".

That's exactly the conclusion I have decided upon. My place is 17 miles to downtown D.C. in a "mini-farm" community. It's been there since the 70s. People moved out there to get away from the District. But then they expanded the Metro line out. Now people are pouring into the "country". The developers clear the land all around me and build these multi-million dollar homes. The foxes and deer have nowhere to go. So the hunters trespass and the newly arrived city people with no trees on their postage sized lots want to go hiking in the woods (my woods). It's a mess.

So my girls are going to just have to move their little feet faster. It's sad but I keep a running set of eggs as replacement stock.

 

[dheltzel]

Do you have signs that mark your woods as private property and "No Trespassing"? That would not deter everyone, but would give you a stronger position if someone tried to sue over anything, since they'd have to admit to criminal activity to do so.

Maybe you could charge for access to the woods, making them sign a waiver and give you money if they wanted the rights to use the woods recreationally. The people with bratty kids would be least likely to pay you, I would think, and stand to get in more trouble if they are there when they could have signed and payed, but chose not to.

 

[TurnipTruck]

@TurnipTruck I am interesting in good egg layering hens. besides that, I am flexible.
Thanks!

I have some Golden Reds (Golden Comets) available for $12 per pullet (hen) ($10 if buy 5 or more). They are 20 weeks old, some are laying some haven't started yet.

These ladies will usually lay 6 out of 7 days (300+ eggs per year). They lay a nice large brown egg. If you are interested, I can meet you somewhere and pass a few your direction. Let me know.

 

[ready4flight]

Thanks! I actually picked up 4 baby chicks today! However, I am still in search for a white silliest bantam if you know of anyone with one of them!

 

[TurnipTruck]

Thanks! I actually picked up 4 baby chicks today! However, I am still in search for a white silliest bantam if you know of anyone with one of them!

Do you mean Silkie? If so, I'll keep my eyes open. I have one, but all she is good for at this stage in her life is eating my chicken feed and pushing around the birds lower in the pecking order.

Best of luck with your 4 little ones... what kind did you end up getting? It is always an exciting time when you get new little ones.