NY chicken lover!!!!

[Lynzi777]

I am no pro with ducks, having only had them for a few weeks... but we did something similar with a kiddie pool for our duckling playpen and put a ramp for them to get into it. They refuse to use the ramp. We made them steps and they love that.

I've read a lot of stories of ducks or ducklings having trouble getting OUT of the pool, some cases even drowning. So I definitely plan on placing steps on both sides of the pool for them to get out. Mine is going to be placed out near the little stream that runs down the side of the yard. I'm going to run a hose from that piping into the pool and then a hose from the pool back into the stream to help it keep from overflowing. Of course this all sounds/looks great in my head - the finished product will be another story. LOL

 

[stonykill]

I whole heartily agree. I will however say this. Not all areas have the same predators. Predators must be planned for and dealt with. Stony I see the number of animals you kill and I don't know your area, but I've not see that many in my area in the 7 years we have lived here. Perhaps it's those chickens who are not cooped up at night that are drawing them to you ?

I did have a coon attack the first couple of months of having chicken due to poor advice. I was told predators wouldn't find my chickens for a couple of years. Well it was a couple of months.

This forum has help a great deal. Many folks don't think about predators nor think they need to take anyone's advice. They lose their entire flock and quit. No effort made to protect their chickens.

I advise anyone I meet who is getting chickens or thinking of it to read everything they can. Predator control is more important than a fancy smancy coop. IMO.

That said , I notice you seem to take losing a bird or two in stride, with no effort to prevent individuals from being taken. Or am I wrong?

My point being we should take care to protect ALL our chickens, ducks, or other livestock.

in NYS we all have the same predators. Different numbers of them, but we all have foxes, coyotes, coons and possums. Last spring I was going through the small city of East Greenbushand saw 2 dead foxes in the busy city street.
I have only delt with these numbers inpredators for the last 3 years. The previous more than 1/2 a decade pretty quiet.
I kill more predators in daylight than I catch in a trap most years. So it has absolutely nothing to do with the 20 or so birds who don't coop themselves when I have around 100 birds.

I agree too many people want the cute coop without giving a 2nd thought to security.

Rancher, I'm more of a farmer than a hobbiest. During the warm months I maintain 100 plus birds. Closer to 140 before butchering in the fall starts. 80 to 90% are free ranging all day long. By chosingto give the chickens this natural life some WILL ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY die of predatation. Just a way of life. And you are dead wrong I don't take it in stride or lightly. Just a fact of life. But I absolutely do not take it in stride. Ask my wife. And no effort. You must be kidding. Or I am totally misunderstanding you. Last year I personally killed 16 raccoons, 5 possums, 2 foxes, and a bobcat. 1/2 of those coons were out during the day. The foxes were killed between 8am and noon and the bobcat at 3pm. Don't even tell me that ins't doing the best I can to protect my flock.
I will not have 100 birds confined. Won't do it. I sell everything I sell egg wise or chick wise DUE TO my husbandry practices. I am asked weekly if I would raise other breeds to fill orders in local stores.

Don't EVEN tell me I don't protect my flock. I do. Most of you keep birds locked up unless ou can supervise them to free range. I open the doors in the morning and close them at dark. and chase away hawks, kill 4 legged predators etc. While they get to live the BEST POSSIBLE LIFE a chicken can have.

Yeah, I'm tourqued off.

 

[Child of Noah]

I've read a lot of stories of ducks or ducklings having trouble getting OUT of the pool, some cases even drowning. So I definitely plan on placing steps on both sides of the pool for them to get out. Mine is going to be placed out near the little stream that runs down the side of the yard. I'm going to run a hose from that piping into the pool and then a hose from the pool back into the stream to help it keep from overflowing. Of course this all sounds/looks great in my head - the finished product will be another story. LOL

Yes, we have steps going into and out of the pool. And they use the steps and love them, and look cute doing it.

in NYS we all have the same predators. Different numbers of them, but we all have foxes, coyotes, coons and possums. Last spring I was going through the small city of East Greenbushand saw 2 dead foxes in the busy city street.
I have only delt with these numbers inpredators for the last 3 years. The previous more than 1/2 a decade pretty quiet.
I kill more predators in daylight than I catch in a trap most years. So it has absolutely nothing to do with the 20 or so birds who don't coop themselves when I have around 100 birds.

I agree too many people want the cute coop without giving a 2nd thought to security.

Rancher, I'm more of a farmer than a hobbiest. During the warm months I maintain 100 plus birds. Closer to 140 before butchering in the fall starts. 80 to 90% are free ranging all day long. By chosingto give the chickens this natural life some WILL ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY die of predatation. Just a way of life. And you are dead wrong I don't take it in stride or lightly. Just a fact of life. But I absolutely do not take it in stride. Ask my wife. And no effort. You must be kidding. Or I am totally misunderstanding you. Last year I personally killed 16 raccoons, 5 possums, 2 foxes, and a bobcat. 1/2 of those coons were out during the day. The foxes were killed between 8am and noon and the bobcat at 3pm. Don't even tell me that ins't doing the best I can to protect my flock.
I will not have 100 birds confined. Won't do it. I sell everything I sell egg wise or chick wise DUE TO my husbandry practices. I am asked weekly if I would raise other breeds to fill orders in local stores.

Don't EVEN tell me I don't protect my flock. I do. Most of you keep birds locked up unless ou can supervise them to free range. I open the doors in the morning and close them at dark. and chase away hawks, kill 4 legged predators etc. While they get to live the BEST POSSIBLE LIFE a chicken can have.

Yeah, I'm tourqued off.

I will not confine my chickens either. I am currently only working at about 1/10th the birds you have, but use similar principles to guide me. Two of my chickens are white, and I do have hawks. I will not be shocked if the two white chickens do not make it to winter when they will be camouflaged. That's nature. My dog does a great job of keeping away ground predators, but air attacks are another story. Yes I will be sad when/if they become dinner for a hawk, I raised them from babies and they flock around me whenever I come outside or come home. BUT, I would way rather my chickens have a life where they are free to roam all over my yard and eat bugs and worms and plants and frogs and fly around and sit in the shade under a bush enjoying a gentle breeze .... than to keep them in a pen all the time (which is not 100% safe anyway). They are more safe being outside where they can run for cover than they would be in a covered/enclosed run if a predator were to get in there - there would be no escape from the killing.

 

[Lynzi777]

Here is a pic of my rabbit hutch, I'm not happy with the quality of the door, so that is going to be replaced this weekend when I have more time to spend on it. This poor fella needed a home as his other hutch was falling apart. So this will have to do for a few days. Also plan on painting and staining it while he's out playing in the yard this weekend.

I am all for free ranging my birds but yes along with that comes the possibility of predators. We haven't had too many around here other than hawks, so we've been lucky. The silkies I won't let out unless I'm around because they can't see. But my bigger birds are let out at 730am and put back in at dusk. They are out all day whether I'm home or not. If I didn't let them out I'd be cleaning coops every single weekend and ain't nobody got time fo dat! LOL

 

[Child of Noah]

Here is a pic of my rabbit hutch, I'm not happy with the quality of the door, so that is going to be replaced this weekend when I have more time to spend on it. This poor fella needed a home as his other hutch was falling apart. So this will have to do for a few days. Also plan on painting and staining it while he's out playing in the yard this weekend.



I am all for free ranging my birds but yes along with that comes the possibility of predators. We haven't had too many around here other than hawks, so we've been lucky. The silkies I won't let out unless I'm around because they can't see. But my bigger birds are let out at 730am and put back in at dusk. They are out all day whether I'm home or not. If I didn't let them out I'd be cleaning coops every single weekend and ain't nobody got time fo dat! LOL

I absolutely LOVE your crate hutches and coops and will definitely be keeping an eye open for some crates in my area.

 

[Henicillin]

My birds are in the coop and run most of the time. We only allow them out when we're going to be around, mostly because of the neighbor dogs and kids, potential predators that can't be dealt with very easily. Also, we don't want them getting onto other people's property, as it's our choice to keep them, not theirs, and other folks shouldn't have to deal with them eating their plants and scratching up their gardens. Other people's mileage may vary, of course, but it's what works for us.

I have seen posts on BYC (not in this section, but elsewhere) that imply if not outright state that keeping chickens in runs is cruel, and that no one who can't or won't free-range constantly should be keeping them. As far as I'm concerned, that's utterly ludicrous. My birds are hardly abused by being in a large run instead of free-ranging in the yard, and anyone who believes otherwise can feel free to stick it.

There - off MY soapbox.

 

[JLaw]

I like pizza. just saying.

jlaw

 

[rancher hicks]

I do free range my birds but don't leave them out at night or I'd have no birds. In fact my BR's are forever in the woods, but they're coaxed into the run at 6 or 7 and then closed in the coop later around 9, depending on how light it is out.


Stony what I said wasn't meant as a slam. On the contrary, I nearly gave up chickens due to the three Missouri birds I had to put down. I also can't butcher them either. Farmers have a whole different mind set and it's a good thing too, or we'd all go hungry.

Nothing wrong with rolling with the punches. Still I can't see leaving birds out in the trees. You and I do agree on the winter conditions. I just snow blow a path and if they want out they go out. The only reason I think I lost a bird to a hawk was she was black against the white of the snow.

Perhaps there is someone around me trapping. I haven't smelled a skunk in quite a while. I also haven't seen any Turkeys or coons. Just the rabbits.

It's just as well since I don't own a gun.

 

[rancher hicks]

My birds are in the coop and run most of the time. We only allow them out when we're going to be around, mostly because of the neighbor dogs and kids, potential predators that can't be dealt with very easily. Also, we don't want them getting onto other people's property, as it's our choice to keep them, not theirs, and other folks shouldn't have to deal with them eating their plants and scratching up their gardens. Other people's mileage may vary, of course, but it's what works for us.

I have seen posts on BYC (not in this section, but elsewhere) that imply if not outright state that keeping chickens in runs is cruel, and that no one who can't or won't free-range constantly should be keeping them. As far as I'm concerned, that's utterly ludicrous. My birds are hardly abused by being in a large run instead of free-ranging in the yard, and anyone who believes otherwise can feel free to stick it.

There - off MY soapbox.

Stick what? I've never quite understood that term.

This really is a hobbyist forum. Not to many farmers. I just don't have enough chickens to lose one here or there either. But that's why this is called Back YARD chickens and not lower forty chickens.

Gotta go watch Gibbs kick butt.

Rancher

 

[Child of Noah]

My birds are in the coop and run most of the time. We only allow them out when we're going to be around, mostly because of the neighbor dogs and kids, potential predators that can't be dealt with very easily. Also, we don't want them getting onto other people's property, as it's our choice to keep them, not theirs, and other folks shouldn't have to deal with them eating their plants and scratching up their gardens. Other people's mileage may vary, of course, but it's what works for us.

I have seen posts on BYC (not in this section, but elsewhere) that imply if not outright state that keeping chickens in runs is cruel, and that no one who can't or won't free-range constantly should be keeping them. As far as I'm concerned, that's utterly ludicrous. My birds are hardly abused by being in a large run instead of free-ranging in the yard, and anyone who believes otherwise can feel free to stick it.

There - off MY soapbox.

I have the luxury of living in a place where it is highly unlikely that the chickens will roam to somebody else's yard. The most likely would be my sister-in-law next door, and she's going to get free eggs (and does not garden) so I doubt she will care much.
It would be a lot more DIFFICULT for me to keep them in a run. I would have to make it secure on all six sides (including top and bottom). I would have to have it large enough for them to get enough exercise. I would have to put "enrichment devices" (toys) inside because they wouldn't have natural access to these things. I would have to feed them a lot more, since they can't forage for it. As it is, I open my chicken coop in the morning, and close it at dusk when they all go inside. While they are out, they are protected by my dog, and can seek their own shelter under bushes or their coop. I use very little purchased feed for them. Easy! You are not cruel for keeping happy chickens in a happy chicken run, you just have a lot more work to do it than I do.