My journey towards chickendom!

[joan1708]

oh but that all changes when you get chickens!

 

[baklilchicks]

this is so awesome we are also getting our first chickens too! end of February that when chicks are local feed store. so we have also been cleaning the yard and working on the fences.

 

[SavageDestiny]

oh but that all changes when you get chickens!

I'm really not too worried. Weasels of any kind do not exist around here, and although supposedly we have raccoons, I've been here 18 years and have yet to see one or any tracks. Even when we lived outside city limits and kept rabbits in outdoor hutches.

Quote:

this is so awesome we are also getting our first chickens too! end of February that when chicks are local feed store. so we have also been cleaning the yard and working on the fences.

What kind of chickens are you going to get? It's so exciting, isn't it?

Progress for me has ground to a halt. It has been snowing and the ground is frozen solid, so yard cleaning and fence building is not happening.

 

[SavageDestiny]

So my project is being postponed until this nonsense has gone away:


It's actually deeper now. The coop is over halfway buried! Apparently I'll have to rig some sort of tarp shelter over it for next winter when it snows.

 

[GNRMorgans]

Sigh...winter...I feel your pain! We've had subzero temps here for the last 2 weeks! Brrrr....

 

[JanetS]

Don't underestimate the predators you WILL have when you get chickens!! Not only wild predators but also your own dogs. Fences won't stop a raccoon,fox or bobcat. We didn't know we had bobcats in our area until one jumped over our 6 ft fence and grabbed our favorite hen. We never saw her again. It's a very sad lesson to learn.

Good luck and enjoy your chickens when you get them. I know we do.

 

[SavageDestiny]

Don't underestimate the predators you WILL have when you get chickens!! Not only wild predators but also your own dogs. Fences won't stop a raccoon,fox or bobcat. We didn't know we had bobcats in our area until one jumped over our 6 ft fence and grabbed our favorite hen. We never saw her again. It's a very sad lesson to learn.

Good luck and enjoy your chickens when you get them. I know we do.

My dogs are my biggest worry, which is why there is going to be a fence between the dog portion and chicken portions of the yard. I have high hopes for my Pit Bull, but my sighthound mix worries me a lot.

Our fencing is pretty secure, however- the house forms one side, the opposite side is 8' tall, and the back fence is at least 12'. The front fence is being built and will be at least 6' and have a roll bar on top.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I'm in the same boat as you with all the snow. We haven't been able to do any outside prep at all yet. I'm really hoping it all starts melting by the time our chicks arrive so we can get our coop built. Just glad we have a big brooder for them lol. My dogs are a concern of mine too. I have 3. A Siberian husky (high prey drive), a mutt maybe plott Hound mix or JRT mix, and a Bulldog rottie mix. I'm going to try introducing them to the chicks when we first get them and supervising them around them daily. That's how we introduced our cat who was only 4 weeks old when he came into the picture. He's like the ringleader now lol. Good luck! (To us both! Lol)

 

[GNRMorgans]

I am in the same ship as you both...we have 3 pitties and I am POSITIVE they would become poultry hounds in the most negative sense. We are going maximum security here - double doors in the coop, cement floor and run perimeter and roofing over all. No free range for my upcoming lovelies, but they will have a 14x20 run. We also often have predator birds in our area so there is just no risking it. On top of that, I saw my first Lynx today, after living here for 11 years!

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I am in the same ship as you both...we have 3 pitties and I am POSITIVE they would become poultry hounds in the most negative sense.  We are going maximum security here - double doors in the coop, cement floor and run perimeter and roofing over all.  No free range for my upcoming lovelies, but they will have a 14x20 run.  We also often have predator birds in our area so there is just no risking it.   On top of that, I saw my first Lynx today, after living here for 11 years!

Wow! A lynx? That's crazy! I fully plan to free range mine. My high prey drive husky can't be out untied so I mostly just have to worry about my other two. I'm pretty sure the chickens will be smart enough to stay away from her when she's outside. We have predators around here also. We're in the country and our property borders state game lands. I've seen a fox up the road and heard Hawks last summer. I'm actually hoping that my other two dogs can be trained to protect the chickens. We'll see what happens. If predators become too much of a problem, they'll have to be happy confined. I don't want that but if that's how it has to be then that's how it has to be. But the run will be 10 x 15 for 10 or less that should be fine.