NY chicken lover!!!!

[Glasshen]

Aqua, that's a handsome beast. Hope he doesn't decide to hang around. TOB had a great picture too, maybe she is a pro photographer? Beautiful.

All the fox pics are making me worry, I think it was about this time last year that I had all the trouble with the foxes, and they took my BR hen. And while I was doing chores the crows were making a terrible noise, they were trying to get rid of a pair of hawks. One of them was headed toward the coop, but when I flapped at it it headed the other way. The flock wisely stayed quietly in the coop. I shut them in so if it came back they were safe.

So all these predators must mean that it's getting to be spring, and there are young to feed.

 

[Cooped Up Chick]

Quote:
Oh, so sorry I thought I was responding to roll away nest boxes!

<lip zipped>

Lisa

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

The larger one will be worked on later Larry!

Interesting combinations Rancher! I will save you a roo! hehehe

Nice fox pictures. Its nice to see that they are healthy and vibrant. Just not so nice when they are close to the coops. I like seeing wildlife around. As long as they arent trying to eat my chickens, I'm okay with that.

What a craptastic day. First lots of snow, then freezing rain, sleet, rain, back to snow. Not fun sliding down the mountain to work this morning. Hopefully this stuff will melt soon.

 

[AQHAchick22]

Aqua, that's a handsome beast. Hope he doesn't decide to hang around. TOB had a great picture too, maybe she is a pro photographer? Beautiful.

All the fox pics are making me worry, I think it was about this time last year that I had all the trouble with the foxes, and they took my BR hen. And while I was doing chores the crows were making a terrible noise, they were trying to get rid of a pair of hawks. One of them was headed toward the coop, but when I flapped at it it headed the other way. The flock wisely stayed quietly in the coop. I shut them in so if it came back they were safe.

So all these predators must mean that it's getting to be spring, and there are young to feed.

Unfortunately I think he/she is sticking around. The dogs have been going a little more nutty at night than usual...plus I just got this picture at the end of January...



Edit: Speaking of nutty dogs they are barking up a storm outside right now by the back fence...

 

[Cass]

Aqua, that's a handsome beast. Hope he doesn't decide to hang around. TOB had a great picture too, maybe she is a pro photographer? Beautiful.

All the fox pics are making me worry, I think it was about this time last year that I had all the trouble with the foxes, and they took my BR hen. And while I was doing chores the crows were making a terrible noise, they were trying to get rid of a pair of hawks. One of them was headed toward the coop, but when I flapped at it it headed the other way. The flock wisely stayed quietly in the coop. I shut them in so if it came back they were safe.

So all these predators must mean that it's getting to be spring, and there are young to feed.

One of the TSC employees solved her hawk problem by feeding the local crows, away from her coop. She hasn't lost a chicken to a hawk in 2 years. (I didn't ask her about other predators)
I am thinking of putting out a bird feeder on the opposite side of my property from my garden and coop and try and draw some crows in. Fill it with cracked corn instead of birdseed so only the large birds are attracted to it.

 

[Cass]

Oh, so sorry I thought I was responding to roll away nest boxes!

<lip zipped>

Lisa

Nope, might be my misunderstanding of what you were replying to. Please don't zip your lips...we enjoy having new people around here. (and minunderstandings happen, we all get over them....well, except a couple of people, but they don't post much. LOL)

 

[Tough Old Bird]

Aqua, that's a handsome beast. Hope he doesn't decide to hang around. TOB had a great picture too, maybe she is a pro photographer? Beautiful.

All the fox pics are making me worry, I think it was about this time last year that I had all the trouble with the foxes, and they took my BR hen. And while I was doing chores the crows were making a terrible noise, they were trying to get rid of a pair of hawks. One of them was headed toward the coop, but when I flapped at it it headed the other way. The flock wisely stayed quietly in the coop. I shut them in so if it came back they were safe.

So all these predators must mean that it's getting to be spring, and there are young to feed.

Gosh, no, Glasshen, I am just a wildlife / bird photo junkie, but thanks !!!

I also hope the foxes (and other predators) stay where they belong, because I do hate to see them killed, especially when there are young dependent on them.

Not what you want to see near your coop, but still a neat image to catch on your game cam. We have caught both red and gray foxes on ours, along with an occasional coyote, lots of opossums and coons.

TOB

 

[brahmapapa]

Agreed. And the picture in the ad was of a snow white bird, so I would have to agree with Rancher.

Personally I think these folks (the ones selling the birds) are not overly good at business management. The ad claims they bought the chickens as pullets for $9.75 almost 2 years ago. Now they are selling them for $3 and/or sending them to become (most probably at their age) soup. Not sure why they are sending them to Canada, NJ might be closer and campbells buys old egg layers for their soup.

If I ever go completely insane and decide to become an egg production farm, I would grow the birds from chicks that I hatch. Even with feeding them for 4 - 5 months it would be cheaper than buying the birds from someone else who raised them to laying age (and there is no garentee that a "pullet" will start laying instantly, so you might still be feeding a bird that isn't laying for a month or two)
That's what the local egg farmer did....had a huge area they ran around and ate and drank and grew until they were old enough to go in the cages for laying and egg collection. (the chicks never went outside, but otherwise they ran around and acted like chicks) Of course I will never go that insane, cuz to make money at it you would have to either totally automate the system or work at it 8 hours a day and I just don't want to work that hard.

I wonder if they make or I could make a nest box that the egg dissappeared into the back so the hens can't eat them, poop on them or do those other things that hens seem to find a way to do when they discover where the last sista laid their egg.

when i had egg eating probs years ago i created a dished area in 3/4 pine board so the eggs rolled to the middle, then i routed out a center hole large enough for eggs to fall thru. I cut the board to fit my nesting boxes, put spacers under the boards to hold them off the bottom of nest box a little more than the height of an egg, and when turned so depression was upright and placed in nest box with a thin cussion material below the hole, the eggs roll thru the hole and are protected, it worked well. If this sounds like a solution for anyone, i could make those depressiond boards to fit your nesting box for a cost of $8.00 each. To collect eggs you just lift the board. no need for straw, wood chips or any other nesting material. The hens never seemed to mind sitting over the hole. An additional benefit is that eggs don't accumulate accessably so hens have nothing to go broody over..

 

[happyhensny]

One of the TSC employees solved her hawk problem by feeding the local crows, away from her coop.  She hasn't lost a chicken to a hawk in 2 years.  (I didn't ask her about other predators)
I am thinking of putting out a bird feeder on the opposite side of my property from my garden and coop and try and draw some crows in.   Fill it with cracked corn instead of birdseed so only the large birds are attracted to it. 

Crows like bread and old popcorn too!! We have lots.

 

[Nambroth]

Fellow NYers... I just wanted to let you know that our state (Cornell) no longer does testing on poultry. We were referred to GA state. Very sad to learn of it as Cornell was one of the best in the nation for diagnostics.