NEW MEMBER

[arlenecruises]

I am having fun with 7 chickens, one who has green/blue eggs. The rest are brown. I live in Pine, Colorado in the Rocky Mts. and it has been very cold
I am on a quest for non GMO scratch and wonder what everybody thinks of that,
I raise my own worms for them in a large planter box and of course they LOVE them.
So far they seem to love everything I feed them As soon as they hear my whistle they start clucking.

I live in the forest and have to worry about critters ad hawks, so far so good, I did nave a neighbor cat come over and kill one chic last year.

Any thoughts for me.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi

Glad you could join the flock! I'm sorry to hear you had a neighbour cat kill a chick last year
Predators sure are on the top my list of things to keep away from my flock. I too learnt the hard way when I had a fox attack. I see you have posted in the feeding section of the forum, I'm sure members there will be able to give you there thoughts on non GMO feeds there.

Wishing you the very best of luck in the future, it sure does sound like you are enjoying them.

Enjoy BYC and all the chicken chat

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC- glad that you have joined our community. I hope that other members can help you out.

Good luck
Ct

 

[drumstick diva]

Living in a forest you are going to meet all sorts of predators with one thought in their mind - they love chickens, and not in a good way. I would suggest NOT free ranging them unless you don't mind replacing casualties often. A large, secure run with top will keep out many predators. Replace any flimsy chicken wire with 1/2" hardware cloth. It costs more, lasts much longer, and most predators cannot bite or tear through it. If you have Bears, all bets are off. For them you probably need a powerful electrified fencing around the perimeter.

 

[CherriesBrood]

Hello and
We are glad you joined us!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[N F C]

x2 on the advice from drumstick diva. There are a lot of things that enjoy a chicken dinner and it's up to us to protect our birds as best as possible. Here is an article in the Learning Center that will help you with various predators:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-predators-pests-how-to-protect-treat-your-flock

Good luck with your flock!