- Apr 20, 2013
- 17
- 1
- 24
This is my second foray into having chickens. Two summers ago, my wife brought home a dozen Ameraucana chicks (all pullets) from the local feed store. We already had a hutch that could be used as a brooder for them, so in they went. Things went well for a while. I built Chicken Run 1.0. Pullets got transferred to Chicken Run 1.0. Over time, I learned a few things about chickens.
1. Chickens are most likely to be smart when it will endanger their own lives. Otherwise, not so much.
2. 20lb raccoons considered Chicken Run 1.0 to be a playground, ripped out the chicken wire from the staples (that were hammered in), and decapitated all the chickens.
That was it for me and chickens for that year. I was just too depressed to try again. ****** raccoon was old enough to ignore any trap (yes, it was a live-capture trap).
The next summer, I decided to do some research. I had noticed that the Ameraucana tended to be aggressive to each other. I decided to get a flock of Light Brahmas. While they were living in the hutch (which I had reinforced, just in case), I built Chicken Run 2.0. Chicken Run 2.0 was almost a complete teardown of Chicken Run 1.0. All the wire and most of the posts were removed. I planted new posts in the ground (2 feet down) and not only covered everything top to bottom in chicken wire, but I also ran goat wire along the bottom (mostly to deal with curious, digging dogs) and in addition to stapling the chicken wire (aka "poultry mesh") to the posts and rafters, I SEWED the darn thing together with wire, everywhere. Every single place there was a seam, it was sewn together. Then, it was sewn, top and bottom, to the goat wire "wainscoting".
The Brahmas are all doing well (two pullet losses early on) and have been laying for several months. I ended up with one more cockerel than I had ordered, so he got special rations. Last week, I slit his throat and roasted him. Now I understand why people used to make such a big deal over dark meat vs. light meat. Dark meat on that cockerel had as much flavor as wild duck! The white meat was tender and juicy, milder than the dark, of course.
Anyway, the birds eat a mixture of Dumor, scratch, table scraps, and grazing. It seems to suit them well. They are still growing (only 8 months old, after all). My grandson adores them.
1. Chickens are most likely to be smart when it will endanger their own lives. Otherwise, not so much.
2. 20lb raccoons considered Chicken Run 1.0 to be a playground, ripped out the chicken wire from the staples (that were hammered in), and decapitated all the chickens.
That was it for me and chickens for that year. I was just too depressed to try again. ****** raccoon was old enough to ignore any trap (yes, it was a live-capture trap).
The next summer, I decided to do some research. I had noticed that the Ameraucana tended to be aggressive to each other. I decided to get a flock of Light Brahmas. While they were living in the hutch (which I had reinforced, just in case), I built Chicken Run 2.0. Chicken Run 2.0 was almost a complete teardown of Chicken Run 1.0. All the wire and most of the posts were removed. I planted new posts in the ground (2 feet down) and not only covered everything top to bottom in chicken wire, but I also ran goat wire along the bottom (mostly to deal with curious, digging dogs) and in addition to stapling the chicken wire (aka "poultry mesh") to the posts and rafters, I SEWED the darn thing together with wire, everywhere. Every single place there was a seam, it was sewn together. Then, it was sewn, top and bottom, to the goat wire "wainscoting".
The Brahmas are all doing well (two pullet losses early on) and have been laying for several months. I ended up with one more cockerel than I had ordered, so he got special rations. Last week, I slit his throat and roasted him. Now I understand why people used to make such a big deal over dark meat vs. light meat. Dark meat on that cockerel had as much flavor as wild duck! The white meat was tender and juicy, milder than the dark, of course.
Anyway, the birds eat a mixture of Dumor, scratch, table scraps, and grazing. It seems to suit them well. They are still growing (only 8 months old, after all). My grandson adores them.
