NY chicken lover!!!!

[Beer can]

I didn't mind mine sleeping in trees until they started disappearing.

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

Howdy all. Though I would drop in on my new computer that my kids got me for christmas. The other one was dying a slow and painful death. Now when I click on stuff it doesnt take 5 minutes to open! I hope everyone is well and their cheeps are healthy and laying. I have been working mad, long, weird hours at work (retail) and so havent been home much except last week when I got really sick. However, Im on the mend now and feeling better. Our daughter is home from GA with her boyfriend visiting and she has been a huge help baking cookies and such for me. She leaves to go back on tuesday. It will be our first christmas without all our girls home. Sniff. I feel like a hen who has lost her chicks! Anyways, just wanted to pop in quick and say hi. Please forgive any errors in typing as I am still getting used to this new keyboard. Ta for now!

Pharm

 

[rancher hicks]

Got my reserves on homesteading from the library. I just go through and reserve anything that might interest me. There were 40. Some are just booklets. Specific things, Bee Keeping, etc. etc.

Lots of people have lots to say and lots of different ideas. Which of course is why I say take what you can use and ignore the rest. Even here.

I'm not willing to invest in Electric fencing because I'm old and not likely to have chickens to many more years. Also with DW wanting to travel south for the winters. I would like to surround the entire area with Stockade fencing though.

Beer Can , my neighbors Guineas got out and went so high he could not get them back. He eventually got all but one. Coaxed them with feed. One he had to rescue off the ice in the creek. He's the one with the tunnels.

 

[Gramma Chick]

It may depend on how many stakes are holding it up...too
My Plastic fence is up ...



I dont know if you can see it? The snow didnt bother it ...the blue barrel is inside the fence

 

[jennianne]

It may depend on how many stakes are holding it up...

I dont know if you can see it? The snow didnt bother it ...the blue barrel is inside the fence

Thanks for the pics. I can't see the fence exactly but I get what you are saying by seeing the setup. How close (approx) would you say your stakes are? And how tall is the barrier?





I actually was looking at premier and the prices there are not as high as I expected...after all the $$ I have put into these girls lol. I am hesitant to jump into electric at this time of year and with a small dog to train on it, I would rather throw up some plastic for the season and look at my options again in the spring when the ground softens. I bet I could find another use for the plastic if I decide to upgrade to ww or elec....

 

[sarahandbray]

Someone asked if I've used the fencing in the winter. So far, yes. Continue to move the fence on the thawed out days so they get fresh pasture. I probably re-do the fence line every 10 days or so--just because. I don't have to, I just like to get them fresh grazing area and the girls literally follow on my heels as I do!!

I've had it up since the end of September, so I feel like the predators that were going to try to get in have already tried. When we had that really heavy, sticky snow a few weeks ago, the fence sagged a bit. I just kicked it with my Muck boots and it straightened back up. They say the charge is less with snow acting as an insulator on the ground, but it was like that for probably a week and nothing got in.

I have limited experience so far, but read a TON before purchasing, both here and on other sites. I am really happy with all the components of my purchase in the three months I've owned them--the 48" PoultryNet fencing with double stakes, the Kube energizer kit, and the HotGate (TOTALLY worth the additional $50! Priceless!). I have very flat, soft land, so the sagging is minimal. I did buy 4 extra stakes as support.

A new section of fencing is on my Christmas list!! Here's hoping I get it!

I decided to pay the up-front expense for several reasons, after weighing the pros and cons:

1) I have three little kids (6, 9, 11) and the last thing I wanted them to see in the coop was a chicken massacre if something got in there. Actually, that goes for me, too. It takes a LONG time to raise chicks from day-olds to laying age and I would HATE to have them killed right around that 15-18 week mark after I've put so much time and $$ into them!
2) I had a feeling I'd love keeping chickens and want to continue for some time (which turned out to be true!)
3) the pasture (with maybe two more sections) will encompass our garden in the late fall/early springtime, which my gardener husband is THRILLED about! (instant fertilizer!)
4) I didn't want a permanent fence up (and they can get $$$ especially when you add in buying hardware cloth to dig down 12" like everyone suggests. Annoying and expensive and labor intensive!)
5) I want this to be MY project--in other words, I want all the work to be able to be done by me. My husband has enough big projects to work on (150-year-old farmhouse!) and the last thing I wanted was to make more work for him in the coop. So far, I've done 90% of everything chicken--raising them, researching them, doing the fencing, retrofitting the coop, adding old storm windows, cleaning out, etc.
The electric fencing is VERY simple and easy to move, wherever and whenever I feel like it.

Very empowering not waiting on anyone to help with stuff!! LOVE when I can do everything myself!!!

Sarah

 

[sarahandbray]

Oh, and it took no training for the dogs. At all.
Two noses touched the fence, yipped, and have never touched it again.
Not like training on an underground dog fence (which we also had--that was weeks worth of training!)

 

[Beer can]

Oh, and it took no training for the dogs.  At all.
Two noses touched the fence, yipped, and have never touched it again.
Not like training on an underground dog fence (which we also had--that was weeks worth of training!)

I need one of them fences for my kids!

 

[jennianne]

@sarahandbray
Thank you for such an informative post. A lot of your points hit home for me, especially how your fence choice enables you to do the work. While my husband is very supportive, he is gone a lot (military) and on top of that, I am pretty independent. We worked on it together some, but the chicken coop/run has been mostly my thing from a design, construction, maintenance perspective. I am going to have to do some more research on the premier fencing. Thank you again.

Someone asked if I've used the fencing in the winter.  So far, yes.  Continue to move the fence on the thawed out days so they get fresh pasture.  I probably re-do the fence line every 10 days or so--just because.  I don't have to, I just like to get them fresh grazing area and the girls literally follow on my heels as I do!!

I've had it up since the end of September, so I feel like the predators that were going to try to get in have already tried.  When we had that really heavy, sticky snow a few weeks ago, the fence sagged a bit.  I just kicked it with my Muck boots and it straightened back up.  They say the charge is less with snow acting as an insulator on the ground, but it was like that for probably a week and nothing got in.

I have limited experience so far, but read a TON before purchasing, both here and on other sites.  I am really happy with all the components of my purchase in the three months I've owned them--the 48" PoultryNet fencing with double stakes, the Kube energizer kit, and the HotGate (TOTALLY worth the additional $50!  Priceless!).  I have very flat, soft land, so the sagging is minimal.  I did buy 4 extra stakes as support.

A new section of fencing is on my Christmas list!!  Here's hoping I get it!

I decided to pay the up-front expense for several reasons, after weighing the pros and cons:

1) I have three little kids (6, 9, 11) and the last thing I wanted them to see in the coop was a chicken massacre if something got in there.  Actually, that goes for me, too.  It takes a LONG time to raise chicks from day-olds to laying age and I would HATE to have them killed right around that 15-18 week mark after I've put so much time and $$ into them!
2) I had a feeling I'd love keeping chickens and want to continue for some time (which turned out to be true!)
3) the pasture (with maybe two more sections) will encompass our garden in the late fall/early springtime, which my gardener husband is THRILLED about! (instant fertilizer!)
4) I didn't want a permanent fence up (and they can get $$$  especially when you add in buying hardware cloth to dig down 12" like everyone suggests.  Annoying and expensive and labor intensive!)
5) I want this to be MY project--in other words, I want all the work to be able to be done by me.  My husband has enough big projects to work on (150-year-old farmhouse!) and the last thing I wanted was to make more work for him in the coop.  So far, I've done 90% of everything chicken--raising them, researching them, doing the fencing, retrofitting the coop, adding old storm windows, cleaning out, etc.
The electric fencing is VERY simple and easy to move, wherever and whenever I feel like it.

Very empowering not waiting on anyone to help with stuff!!  LOVE when I can do everything myself!!!

Sarah

 

[Glasshen]

Three eggs today! The most in months.