NY chicken lover!!!!

[Gramma Chick]

Quote: I think mine is similar ..

 

[Gramma Chick]

a fox made off with one of my buff Orpington hens last night. The downside of raising birds.

Im sorry to hear that . Did you have them locked up or loose ?
a fox got 2 of our babies when they were free ranging in the spring ..
But when they went to bed they were locked up like fort knox .( totally surrounded by wood )
When We moved the coop we made a bigger run for them ...My husband & son thought it was safe for them
I however am still going around the outside looking for flaws where predators can exploit a small hole .
We also have 2 motion sensor lights on the shed that they share . On on the coop side & one one the other side .
We also had a blanket on the cloths line that flapped in the wind off & on during the night . ( not near the light sensor though .)
I need to put it back up ..The wind storm took it down ..its buried in the snow somewhere ..
This has showed a weakness maybe ..You have a chance to fix ..it

 

[Gramma Chick]

We cracked open the jumbo egg this morning. I expected a double yolk at least, maybe even a triple. Nope, just one huge single yolk. Of course hubby shook it (Checking for an egg inside?), so the yolk broke. It did have several meat spots, so we scambled up the jumbo egg with a cracked egg gathered yesterday and tossed it in with some other scraps. Getting so we keep a bowl of 'chicken fodder' in the fridge. Bits of leftover food gathered for treats. They enjoyed it all.
Happy to report little girl is getting better. Antibiotics are working. Coughing is few, far between, and very productive in removing lung gunk. Sadly, mommy is now coming down with something. Waking up with very sore throat in the morning, so been eating toast with honey which helps greatly. Time to dig out the antihistamine to dry up the nasal drip causing the sore throat. Actually have been pretty good at staying healthy this winter, so it was time. Too much cuddle time with the sickly child.

Love shares ! Us too sore throat & cold this week ..Probably the great waether we have had

 

[Gramma Chick]

sorry multiple post

 

[Gramma Chick]

Funny story ..We have a stray cat that showed up in this cold ...
I think we have adopted him . hes adopted us . I want to call him spaz ..
He is real friendly & needy . You look at him he meows you pet him he meows ..So love starved
He is submissive to our male cat ..One of the 1st day he was here ..
Him & a chicken were smelling each other almost nose to nose ..Then they both chickened out ..
Well today ..Our hen doggie & blackie /spaz were both on the back deck ..
All the sudden I hear a commotion ..see the cat backing up ..& the hen going forward ..PECK !
I guess blackie will now respect the chickens ..He was following me into the run ..I had to chase him out ..
They didnt like him in there ...CLucking & a cluckling ...LOL

 

[rancher hicks]

That's a great way of looking at it. I agree and I see it that way, too.
I love your hoop coop. I'd consider one but I am concerned about predators. Do you not have bears over yonder? We do and they would make short work of it unless I rigged electric lines on it somehow. They tore apart a well built shed of my neighbors to get at her guineas last year. They are desperate because we didn't have any mast on the trees and food is scarce. I've got a 3-mile electric charger on my coop and run so they haven't bothered my birds (yet).

It's a rare occurrence for there to be a bear siting around here. I agree a bear would make quick work of a hoop coop.

Now on the fox thing I still advocate "marking" your territory. I haven't done it yet but suspect if you tack a piece of brown or yellowed cloth to the tree you "mark" it should keep the smell there for quite a while. Urine is a good way of letting varmints know your there. This of course is for men only.

On my runs I bring the chicken wire/ hard ware cloth down a couple of feet and bend it out away from the coop/run. I then allow the grass weeds to grow up through it. I can still run the mower over it keeping it raised up a bit. Though I have thought about planting herbs around the coop too. The chickens don't seem to bother , Lemon Balm or Mints. They would look nice and smell nice too. I have heard mice don't like the smell of mint but can't say how good it is.

 

[rancher hicks]

The cord has a clip on the end of it for hanging a waterer. In the warmer days I like to keep gallon waterers cuz I think they can get a bigger swig of water. The cord is usually tucked up under the roof.

I also like to keep two feeders and two waterers in the runs so those lower on the pecking order are sure to get a chance to eat. However right now there is only one waterer since it's heated. They seem ok with it.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Quote: Me too ..I usually have many dishes out for them .
But with this cold weather I snagged one the heated dog dishes for their food ..so they are sharing ..
For the lower ones I usually feed them from my bowl when Im out there ..while they are waiting for their turn .

 

[java girl 2]

Quote:

Quote: Pyxis, I will PM you.

 

[java girl 2]

Ok, The 3 Sizzle chicks are still for sale!!!! I really need to sell them very soon, so if you know anyone who would like them, let me know!! They don't have the frizzling but do carry the gene so breed them and you will get more sizzles!!