***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[lonnyandrinda]

could predators get through this type of dog wire???

Snakes absolutely. Raccoons will reach through and grab chickens and pull them close enough to the fence to bite off whatever they can reach. Were the victims up next to the fence or in the middle of the run? Minks and weasels can fit through that too I'd imagine.

I'm certainly no expert but I can think of lots of animals that can squeeze thro that that being said my bantams have a run with that fencing, but their coops are super secure with hardware cloth and we've had zero predator problems. Plus my Pyrenees spends a lot of time in the run because he takes off otherwise and I don't want to turn on the electric fence which is around 1 1/2 acres for the goats. Thankfully our goats don't try to jump it. Which reminds me @lonnyandrinda do you use electric fencing for your goats or chickens? I know you have lots of kids so I'm wondering if you've found a worry free way to use it? I'm thinking I'm years away from being able to turn it on and this Pyrenees does not listen to me and the bantam run is not huge. I'm about to try a shock collar.

I use electric poultry netting to contain everything. It is portable and moveable, make sure you order extra stakes. It uses pulses of electricity. My kids know better than to touch it but if you do it is a nice little zing not really enough to hurt you. The goats and dogs respect it and the only predator we've had was a hawk that slipped under a pen's netting and was trapped there. I don't have access to my pics on the tablet but I will share one later.

Please keep us and our son in your thoughts and prayers. He has been suffering with major depression for the past year or so. He is also autistic. He withdrew from college this week without letting anyone know and has now disappeared. He hasn't used his phone or his bank account for 5 days now. My dad saw him on Tuesday but that was the last contact anyone had apparently. We are in panic mode.

Will do how awful. Prayers that he will be found safe and you can get him the help he needs!

 

[miohippus]

Snakes absolutely. Raccoons will reach through and grab chickens and pull them close enough to the fence to bite off whatever they can reach. Were the victims up next to the fence or in the middle of the run? Minks and weasels can fit through that too I'd imagine.
I use electric poultry netting to contain everything. It is portable and moveable, make sure you order extra stakes. It uses pulses of electricity. My kids know better than to touch it but if you do it is a nice little zing not really enough to hurt you. The goats and dogs respect it and the only predator we've had was a hawk that slipped under a pen's netting and was trapped there.
I don't have access to my pics on the tablet but I will share one later.
Will do how awful. Prayers that he will be found safe and you can get him the help he needs!

when i found them they were in the coup not the run so nothing reached threw and got them if it was a predator it had to go threw the fencing to get them. I looked all the way around and didnt see any evidence of digging ether.

I didn't know we had Minks and weasels around here

 

[Kassaundra]

Please keep us and our son in your thoughts and prayers. He has been suffering with major depression for the past year or so. He is also autistic. He withdrew from college this week without letting anyone know and has now disappeared. He hasn't used his phone or his bank account for 5 days now. My dad saw him on Tuesday but that was the last contact anyone had apparently. We are in panic mode.

Oh my, my thoughts and prayers are w/ your family, I hope he is found safe and sound.

 

[Kassaundra]

My original reason for posting-NanaKat, Don't eat my boys! It occurred to me you'd be at the Shawnee show and I', mot going to make it. I just can't trust myself not to come come with a dozen roosters.
So we can meet any day that's good for you. My boys don't wanna be nuggets!

Will someone quote this for NanaKat? My quote icon is missing and I want to make sure she sees it.

@NanaKat I quoted for you Mitzi, I think she could see your original post since I could though.

 

[Kassaundra]

when i found them they were in the coup not the run so nothing reached threw and got them if it was a predator it had to go threw the fencing to get them. I looked all the way around and didnt see any evidence of digging ether.

I didn't know we had Minks and weasels around here

Do you close the coop at night? Headless chickens is definitely a preditor and not flock inflicted damage. My personal thinking is that wire is great for daytime use, I would not feel secure w/ it at night though.

 

[ashtree]

A Frizzle! Cool! I hatched 11 Sizzle and Frizzle eggs a year ago and they were all regular Silkie or normal feathered except for 1 lone Frizzle (that Poco adopted) and 1 lone Sizzle. Evidently they're not easy to come by the old fashioned way.


Love that kid  I use cypress mulch in my pens and it works awesome. A 10x10 pen takes about 5-6 bags (3 cu ft bags). I have to rake it a lot because they dig like crazy but it's perfect for wetness and heat both. In the summer I rake it up and spray it down with water and it cools the pens off 15 degrees.

A possum or racoon could slip through that like butter.
Sending hope and prayers. Depression *blows*. You get sucked so far into that black hole you can't see the way out. I feel for him and am really scared for you. If I had to guess I'd say he's holed up somewhere with a friend trying to regroup.

I will give you a sizzle anytime! I mean it, girl or boy, you just let me know. And where do you get the cypress mulch? I bet the garden would love that compost.

My original reason for posting-NanaKat, Don't eat my boys! It occurred to me you'd be at the Shawnee show and I', mot going to make it. I just can't trust myself not to come come with a dozen roosters.
So we can meet any day that's good for you. My boys don't wanna be nuggets!
@NanaKat
Will someone quote this for NanaKat? My quote icon is missing and I want to make sure she sees it.

Snakes absolutely. Raccoons will reach through and grab chickens and pull them close enough to the fence to bite off whatever they can reach. Were the victims up next to the fence or in the middle of the run? Minks and weasels can fit through that too I'd imagine.
I use electric poultry netting to contain everything. It is portable and moveable, make sure you order extra stakes. It uses pulses of electricity. My kids know better than to touch it but if you do it is a nice little zing not really enough to hurt you. The goats and dogs respect it and the only predator we've had was a hawk that slipped under a pen's netting and was trapped there.
I don't have access to my pics on the tablet but I will share one later.
Will do how awful. Prayers that he will be found safe and you can get him the help he needs!

Ok, I don't have the portable kind, mine is crazy high voltage and grounded. I could probably turn the voltage down but I think it would take a lot to keep my Pyrenees in. Portable sounds like a much better idea until my kids are, I dono, 20. My 4 year old is the clumsiest person I've ever met.

So I'm looking at affordable incubators now; does anyone have any recommendations? He has plans to hatch out lots of chicks so I don't think a mini will work. We share the brinsea for the silkies

 

[ashtree]

when i found them they were in the coup not the run so nothing reached threw and got them if it was a predator it had to go threw the fencing to get them. I looked all the way around and didnt see any evidence of digging ether. I didn't know we had [COLOR=333333]Minks and weasels around here[/COLOR]

Oh we have them. But I think you would have lost more with an attack from 1. I'm guessing raccoon or possum, either way get a kid to crawl in there and close that pop door every night. They're good at that kind of stuff

 

[miohippus]

Do you close the coop at night? Headless chickens is definitely a preditor and not flock inflicted damage. My personal thinking is that wire is great for daytime use, I would not feel secure w/ it at night though.

I use to but have not been lately it is harder to get to coup now that my dh changed the fencing around and i have been kind of lazy and thought possums and raccoon would be to big to get threw the fencing so... i guess i will have to start doing it now and maybe put out a trap.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

I will give you a sizzle anytime! I mean it, girl or boy, you just let me know. And where do you get the cypress mulch? I bet the garden would love that compost.

Ok, I don't have the portable kind, mine is crazy high voltage and grounded. I could probably turn the voltage down but I think it would take a lot to keep my Pyrenees in. Portable sounds like a much better idea until my kids are, I dono, 20. My 4 year old is the clumsiest person I've ever met.

So I'm looking at affordable incubators now; does anyone have any recommendations? He has plans to hatch out lots of chicks so I don't think a mini will work. We share the brinsea for the silkies

White fence around the perimeter. It's this:

http://www.premier1supplies.com/fencing.php?mode=detail&fence_id=96

We bought three sections of fence, an energizer, battery, and about 12-15 extra poles. I think the whole setup costed about $800. It needs to be moved/tightened every 2-3 months or it sags a little ( you can see a little sag in the pic with the goat). It covers about 1/3 acre.

The little syrofoam incubators that are about $70 are decent. If you want to hatch a lot you want a turner. But it's harder to stagger hatch if you are using a turner- if you can swing TWO incubators you can stagger hatch easily by using one for turning eggs only and one for lockdown/hatching eggs only. You can move quite a few eggs through them that way.

ETA: Not included in the cost there is a solar panel we bought to help the battery last longer, I think it was about $70. If I did it over again I would bite the bullet and order their solar engergizer setup instead of the battery one. Also, you do have to keep the grass down to under 6 or 8 inches tall around the perimeter or it will drain the battery quick. It's pretty easy to pull each stake and move it a few feet, mow down the line, and put it back in place tightening as you go.

 

[Kassaundra]

I use to but have not been lately it is harder to get to coup now that my dh changed the fencing around and i have been kind of lazy and thought possums and raccoon would be to big to get threw the fencing so... i guess i will have to start doing it now and maybe put out a trap.

Yes especially now that they know where dinner is. I would do both shut the door at night and put out traps. If you or your husband are handy you could make an automatic chicken door, there are many designs that are do it yourself if you google or you tube search you can find a lot of ideas.