- Jul 8, 2017
- 32
- 23
- 99
Hi y'all! Glad to finally join BYC! My fiancé, my daughter and myself have a little farm here in Arkansas with horses, goats, mini donkeys, a mini horse, and of course chickens.
We started our flock in March of 2016 with 4 black Marans, 2 Americaunas, a Plymouth Barred Rock and 2 Buff Orpingtons. We raised them from a day old in our home until they were old enough to graduate to the coop. My daughter named each (assuming they were all girls). We later found that Charlotte was actually Charlie, Roxanne was actually Rocky, and Matilda was truly Boudreaux...... Seeing as this coop just didn't have room for three strapping young men, we downsized the flock, keeping only Rocky. Over the last year and a half, we've added to the flock. We have another coop with a flock of Silkie chickens, and oh how we love them and their silly antics! And we've added to our regular chickens as well. We brought in a Rhode Island Red, a dominecker, and another buff Orpington. Our girls are rotten to the core. We let them free range when we are home to watch and then I can start hollering "Here chick chick" and they come running at Mach speeds to find me. So easy to put back in their pen. We built them a huge enclosure around the coop so when we are not there, they have lots of room to roam and fly and run, yet have all the protection from predators.
But today was a very tough day. We left them out while we ran to town. Something we just never do (leave them out). Lo and behold, we return home and Elizibeth is gone (one of the marans). She's been broody, very broody. Something went in the coop and snatched her up and took her, leaving only a few feathers behind. The rest of the flock was out in the pasture enjoying the day and nothing touched them. My fiancé thinks it may have been a dog. Never again. Breaks our hearts.
So back to guarding the flock diligently!! It's so nice to join this community. And I look forward to checking out all of your forums and hearing your replies. Hope everyone had a safe and happy Fourth of July!
We started our flock in March of 2016 with 4 black Marans, 2 Americaunas, a Plymouth Barred Rock and 2 Buff Orpingtons. We raised them from a day old in our home until they were old enough to graduate to the coop. My daughter named each (assuming they were all girls). We later found that Charlotte was actually Charlie, Roxanne was actually Rocky, and Matilda was truly Boudreaux...... Seeing as this coop just didn't have room for three strapping young men, we downsized the flock, keeping only Rocky. Over the last year and a half, we've added to the flock. We have another coop with a flock of Silkie chickens, and oh how we love them and their silly antics! And we've added to our regular chickens as well. We brought in a Rhode Island Red, a dominecker, and another buff Orpington. Our girls are rotten to the core. We let them free range when we are home to watch and then I can start hollering "Here chick chick" and they come running at Mach speeds to find me. So easy to put back in their pen. We built them a huge enclosure around the coop so when we are not there, they have lots of room to roam and fly and run, yet have all the protection from predators.
But today was a very tough day. We left them out while we ran to town. Something we just never do (leave them out). Lo and behold, we return home and Elizibeth is gone (one of the marans). She's been broody, very broody. Something went in the coop and snatched her up and took her, leaving only a few feathers behind. The rest of the flock was out in the pasture enjoying the day and nothing touched them. My fiancé thinks it may have been a dog. Never again. Breaks our hearts.
So back to guarding the flock diligently!! It's so nice to join this community. And I look forward to checking out all of your forums and hearing your replies. Hope everyone had a safe and happy Fourth of July!
We look forward to seeing you here on BYC, hope you have a great time! 
And yes, she was a beauty. 
Hoping we don't have any more casualties!
