Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[AnneInTheBurbs]

LOL. 165 chicks hatched so far this weekend. I woke up this morning and the temp in the hatcher was 104!! I think about 9 died as a result, but I'm surprised it wasn't worse. I suspect the body heat from all the chicks in that well insulated cooler just pushed it right up there. Anyway, there are lots of blue and green egg layers in this hatch.

Only 165? Are you taking it easy this week?

[COLOR=0000FF]Your avatar is hysterical, and I'm pretty sure we had that same brooder when I was growing up. Although we didn't have chicks in it. We would got to the lake and catch tadpoles, set them up in there and wait for them to turn into frogs....they NEVER did.[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000FF]I guess I need to make a list, I didn't realize there was that much interest in Polish. I'll have to see if the breeder I got them from has any to sell, so we can enable....uhhhh 'accommodate' everyone that wants them. They are comical, though. And I LOVE the coloring on the Toulbant.[/COLOR]

They are beautiful. And on my list for the future! Do you find they re more susceptible to predators because of the poor vision?

[COLOR=0000FF]I am dreading going outside today. I lost the cockerel that I keep in my main coop along with some laying hens. I noticed all the birds standing weird, all upright, all looking the same direction, I KNEW something wasn't right. Grabbed a jacket, hollered to my family to come help me, something wasn't right, and they all think I'm crazy. My husband wouldn't believe me that the birds were gone until it was dark and he counted them on the roost. This cockerel was an Imported Orpington, he was HUGE. Nothing carried him off without a fight so now I'm hesitant to let them out today. I'd like to sit out there all day and wait for the fox or coyote or whatever to come back. My dog's been great about keeping predators away, she was slacking yesterday.[/COLOR]

So Rory, that's terrible. Do you have a replacement Roo in the works?

 

[Blarneyeggs]

Quote:
Great enclosure and nice gate!


@Anne, yes, last spring...or perhaps the one before? I had a grow out pen surrounded by electric fence and my neighbor saw a bald eagle picking my chickens off in there. Only the Polish. Yes, I've always got another cockerel in the works, but losing that one puts me in a position where I have to move birds around....something to think over before I do it.

@chxmama Yes, I've see fox all of the time. I found foot prints in the snow all around one of my runs a few weeks ago. And my Bella (dog) was going crazy barking at something last Friday, I drove my car way out into the field to get a look at what she had chased off and it was not a fox, too large. I couldn't tell if it were a dog or a coyote. I think if it were a coyote I would have noticed a bushy tail and I don't remember that.

 

[TillyPeeps]

[COLOR=0000FF]I am dreading going outside today. I lost the cockerel that I keep in my main coop along with some laying hens.  I noticed all the birds standing weird, all upright, all looking the same direction, I KNEW something wasn't right.  Grabbed a jacket, hollered to my family to come help me, something wasn't right, and they all think I'm crazy.  My husband wouldn't believe me that the birds were gone until it was dark and he counted them on the roost.  This cockerel was an Imported Orpington, he was HUGE.  Nothing carried him off without a fight so now I'm hesitant to let them out today.  I'd like to sit out there all day and wait for the fox or coyote or whatever to come back.  My dog's been great about keeping predators away, she was slacking yesterday.[/COLOR]

Oh no! That's terrible. Be careful to protect yourself too, in case the predetor is a really dangerous one.

 

[LeBlackbird]

[COLOR=0000FF]I am dreading going outside today. I lost the cockerel that I keep in my main coop along with some laying hens.  I noticed all the birds standing weird, all upright, all looking the same direction, I KNEW something wasn't right.  Grabbed a jacket, hollered to my family to come help me, something wasn't right, and they all think I'm crazy.  My husband wouldn't believe me that the birds were gone until it was dark and he counted them on the roost.  This cockerel was an Imported Orpington, he was HUGE.  Nothing carried him off without a fight so now I'm hesitant to let them out today.  I'd like to sit out there all day and wait for the fox or coyote or whatever to come back.  My dog's been great about keeping predators away, she was slacking yesterday.[/COLOR]

Oh my gosh Martha, that's horrible. Foxes were one of the hardest things I ever battled here. They hardly ever leave a trace unless they have too. I didn't know what I was dealing with until I put a game camera out and got a few pictures of him stalking around at night while everything was closed up. Nothing worked! we tried live traps, leg traps. After he realized the birds were out of reach at night, he started to come in broad daylight. I ended up moving the bantam coop very close to the back door and one morning he was out there, circling it. Well, we left a gun by the door too and got him right there. I almost gave up on poultry right there, foxes are horrible. Raccoons are dull enough to step on leg traps or wander in live traps so we can dispatch them quickly or relocate them far away. But foxes are so smart...

 

[grandpaw roo]

Old Trappers saying:
Foxes are hard to catch but easy to hold.
Coons are easy to catch but hard to hold.
You probably won't catch them by just throwing steel in the ground.Check youtube for different fox sets.It can be done if done right!

 

[stake]

I am dreading going outside today. I lost the cockerel that I keep in my main coop along with some laying hens. I noticed all the birds standing weird, all upright, all looking the same direction, I KNEW something wasn't right. Grabbed a jacket, hollered to my family to come help me, something wasn't right, and they all think I'm crazy. My husband wouldn't believe me that the birds were gone until it was dark and he counted them on the roost. This cockerel was an Imported Orpington, he was HUGE. Nothing carried him off without a fight so now I'm hesitant to let them out today. I'd like to sit out there all day and wait for the fox or coyote or whatever to come back. My dog'so been great about keeping predators away, she was slacking yesterday.

So Sorry B, its an awful feeling.....

 

[stake]

Oh my gosh Martha, that's horrible. Foxes were one of the hardest things I ever battled here. They hardly ever leave a trace unless they have too. I didn't know what I was dealing with until I put a game camera out and got a few pictures of him stalking around at night while everything was closed up. Nothing worked! we tried live traps, leg traps. After he realized the birds were out of reach at night, he started to come in broad daylight. I ended up moving the bantam coop very close to the back door and one morning he was out there, circling it. Well, we left a gun by the door too and got him right there. I almost gave up on poultry right there, foxes are horrible. Raccoons are dull enough to step on leg traps or wander in live traps so we can dispatch them quickly or relocate them far away. But foxes are so smart...

BlackBird:

I'm fighting the same battle...I've tried trapping without success....and have a shotgun sitting in my dining room..(makes guests feel real comfortable)

 

[LeBlackbird]

BlackBird:

I'm fighting the same battle...I've tried trapping without success....and have a shotgun sitting in my dining room..(makes guests feel real comfortable)

I'm sorry Stake, I hope you get him! or he gets bored and moves on...keep at it! Grandpaw roo has got to be right, there's got to be a way...I just wasn't doing it right

 

[chiques chicks]

BlackBird:

I'm fighting the same battle...I've tried trapping without success....and have a shotgun sitting in my dining room..(makes guests feel real comfortable)

Dining room, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen.....

 

[barbiegirl]

I am dreading going outside today. I lost the cockerel that I keep in my main coop along with some laying hens. I noticed all the birds standing weird, all upright, all looking the same direction, I KNEW something wasn't right. Grabbed a jacket, hollered to my family to come help me, something wasn't right, and they all think I'm crazy. My husband wouldn't believe me that the birds were gone until it was dark and he counted them on the roost. This cockerel was an Imported Orpington, he was HUGE. Nothing carried him off without a fight so now I'm hesitant to let them out today. I'd like to sit out there all day and wait for the fox or coyote or whatever to come back. My dog's been great about keeping predators away, she was slacking yesterday.

So sorry