cr8zychicnlady
Chirping
Hello, I've been using this site for some time but have never gotten around to posting anything. I live in north central Oregon at the north foot of Mt. Hood where the weather is one extreme or the other. I'm "back" to raising chickens after a long hiatus and swearing I would never have them again. I grew up with chickens of all kinds.....we had bantams that roamed free and roosted in trees (Mom always loved them for keeping slugs and earwigs out of the garden), the meat chickens and the layers. Now I just have some nice heritage breeds of layers and the inevitable cross because of a persistent broody Australorp. My interest is heavy layers, cold hardy and larger breeds. I find the larger cold hardy breeds aren't as susceptible to predators like hawks if they are mature. The predators I have the most problem with are raccoons, coyotes, bobcat, occasionally a juvenile bald eagle and my neighbor has lost two to a juvenile owl. I live near a river, a stream and forest land so there's plenty to watch for.