***OKIES in the BYC III ***

[Ksane]

Todd, I'm so sorry about your birds! That would be devastating to witness :-(

MSKitn-i think we all probably had your kind of luck with our 1st chickens, I sure seemed to. I still seem to be a rooster magnent.
i get mine from Ideal Hatchery in TX when I order chicks www.idealpoultry.com
You only have to have a total of $25 which is usually about 10 pullets. They can't sex bantam breeds but they do sex all the bigger breeds. They're out of a lot of the breeds this time of year but you can get common breeds all year long. Easter Eggers, Leghorns, Red Stars, etc. Total cost for 8-10 girls is right at $35. Heck of a deal. Make SURE you tell them DO NOT add males for warmth. You have to pay an extra $1.75 for insurance but otherwise you end up (like me today!) with 10 extra big breed males. I can't believe I forgot to tell them this time.
Check them out. I've ordered from them 4 or 5 times and always been pleased.

 

[lonnyandrinda]

My jubilee orpingtons that I won on rarebreeds came today!!!

Won a pair from PapaBrooder and was able to purchase an extra pullet. They are adorable! Hope to have lots of little Jubilee Orps running around my place in the spring!

Rinda

 

[CruchyJeepMama]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has any advice on getting rid of an owl. For the past 2 weeks there has been a large owl stalking my chickens. The first time I saw it it was sitting on the ground right in front of my chicken coop at night- thankfully all my chickens were locked in. A few days later I went outside at 10:30 am and saw the owl fly away as soon as I walked outside. Last night I heard it up in the tree in our backyard. My chickens are free range during the day and I lock them up at night. I am afraid this owl is going to start killing all of my chickens. I'm assuming it is illegal to kill it, but is there anything I can do to scare it away? I have dogs but they stay in the fenced in back yard which is about 30 feet away from the chicken coop and obviously they can't do anything about the owl.

 

[ChknObssd]

I have something like this set up in my yard, though not solar activated and def didnt spend $$$ on it:

http://www.amazon.com/Solar-Activate-inch-Owl-Deterrent/dp/B005LRTFZI


Works pretty good for us so far!


Maybe??
http://www.mileskimball.com/buy-owl-reflector-310253

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has any advice on getting rid of an owl. For the past 2 weeks there has been a large owl stalking my chickens. The first time I saw it it was sitting on the ground right in front of my chicken coop at night- thankfully all my chickens were locked in. A few days later I went outside at 10:30 am and saw the owl fly away as soon as I walked outside. Last night I heard it up in the tree in our backyard. My chickens are free range during the day and I lock them up at night. I am afraid this owl is going to start killing all of my chickens. I'm assuming it is illegal to kill it, but is there anything I can do to scare it away? I have dogs but they stay in the fenced in back yard which is about 30 feet away from the chicken coop and obviously they can't do anything about the owl.

Try hanging some old CD's around by some fishing line where they can catch and reflect light as they spin it will scare off a lot of different things

Bill, I was too scared you'd eat the boys lol They were super friendly and the people who took them wanted them for their flock and not food.

Can/will ANYone take these boys???? Please?? lol

Wellll... I probably would have really LOL and I'd take the others but the same fate would probably be in store for all but one or two

Quote: They do have to have some moisture at least close by somewhere, We have some like Sirens that live their whole lives in the water I've caught 3 in Oklahoma they look kinda like an Eel but have external gills and front legs only out in the eastern edge of the state I caught a couple of Slimy salamanders the stuff they ooze out of their skin takes days to wear off LOL

I lost two bufforpington''s this morning I let everyone out went back in for breakfast the wife stepped out the back door and herd the commotion asked me what was that so I stepped outside I knew immediately something was wrong so I went to the frontyard two buff girls were screaming bloody murder I found my best buff roo dead from a single bite his favorite girl gone feathers every where so long feather gave his life trying to protect his girls. I never seen what did it cameras are coming then war kill in my front yard 20 feet from the front door not good . I have got to put some fear in some wild life around here the dogs are not enough! I lost 14 buff girls and 6 ee's all girls taken it leaves the roo's alone leaves them dead does not eat the roo's I think it's a bobcat I cant catch him in the live trap so I will shoot him .

Sounds like dogs to me...

 

[NanaKat]

The only thing we have found to work at keeping owls and hawks away from our birds is to have .covers on the runs. Chicken wire, welded wire or shade cloths work effectively. The pens where I am losing birds to an owl are the two pens without covering. Going to corral the birds into their coops at night and start moving keepers to the enclosed pens . Lost a nice keeper cockerel last night. He had wiggled out of his coop, hopped the fence and was in an adjacent pen...head, neck, breast meat and guts .were consumed and strung out and a wing was gone.

It is not illegal to shoot an owl or hawk if it is pursuing your poultry...by state statute. I'll find the citation here in a bit. I've chosen the wrong day to make pear butter. Reducing 25 cups of pear pulp and sugar .by 1/2 on a rainy day....takes forever!! And you have to stay right with it so it doesn't scotch....stirring as I type on my iPad.

 

[Elwood Lightfoot]

Anyone know if there is an auction at Newcastle this Saturday?

 

[mjgigax]

Anyone know if there is an auction at Newcastle this Saturday?

Yes, I am looking forward to some time to talk with adults - must be the weather and the full moon - the students were wild this week, like they forgot how to act after 7 weeks of class. Three steps forward/ two steps back. The 2nd and 3rd graders were the best; made 4th, 5th, 6th look bad. Once again hanging out with chickens was the remedy for my attitude and bloodpressure

 

[lonnyandrinda]

Bixby people (I know there are a few on here)- had a friend ask me what the chicken laws are for Bixby city limits. I know Tulsa and BA but not Bixby. Anyone know?

 

[erinszoo]

Hello from Tuttle, Oklahoma. I'm new to raising chickens. We purchased our pullets this spring from a local auction. It is very evident now that I had no idea what I was doing. Because 8 of my 9 "pullets" turned out to be roosters! I tried to give them away, but no takers. We ended up slaughtering the bigger ones, the delawares and orpington, because they were fighting terribly and tearing up the little bantam silkie we wanted to keep. Out of the silkies we kept hoping they would all turn out to hens, only one is. I now have 3 bantam silkie Roos and 1 silkie hen. Blah! I am really terrible at this it seems. I want to add some small to medium size hens to my little flock. I was thinking Barred Rock and Easter Eggers. From what ive read they are good egg layers and are cold hearty. Does anyone suggest a hatchery? I'm sacred to go back to an auction! No more Roos please!

We use McMurray Hatcheries but you have to buy a minimum # of birds. Used to be 25 but some breeds is only 15. We haven't used them in a couple of years but have always gotten good birds. Feed stores like Tractor Supply and Atwoods also sell birds and usually have pullets separate from roos that come from hatcheries as well. Just ask what hatcheries they use. Our local store uses McMurray.

We keep our silkies separate from our other birds because they never did learn to get along. Our barred rocks are great. They are easy to handle, do well in all our crazy weather, lay eggs like champs for years on end, and are just all around great birds. We only have an EE roo but he is amazing, sweet, protective, great with his girls. We'd like to get Dominiques next time we get birds. They are a heritage breed that do just as well as the barred rocks.