Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[BullChick]

Well Folks:

Looks like one of my young CCL girls is not doing well....she's seemed a bit lethargic for about the past two weeks...(she's the omega)....well a couple of nights ago she started sleeping in a nest box...today she decided to stay in the coop....she is seriously undersized for her age and her tail feather are bent down...I cleaned her butt a while back thinking there may be an issue...well, left some treats for her and she is not interested...nothing else just failing to thrive or she has some internal genetic defects...I am getting a learning lesson in how had it is to set up a breeding program for a backyard situation....

 

[stake]

Is she laying age if so does she have an egg in her? And what does her poo look like? Have you checked out the poop chart? And I am also trying to start a backyard breeding business.

RR:

She's pre-pol.....her poo is runy....she's not eating enough, though her crop is never fully empty....I think she got some scratch I put near her....she is very wary of the roos, they are LF and she is banty sized....I think I may expedite moving my youngest crew outside to a second pen ....juts to keep the roos busy/distracted....

 

[meganberk]

Where does everyone have their food and water? In the run or the coop? I'm thinking I want it in the coop, so I don't have to worry too much in the winter of it freezing

 

[Chaos18]

Where does everyone have their food and water? In the run or the coop? I'm thinking I want it in the coop, so I don't have to worry too much in the winter of it freezing

Mine is in the coop as the birds don't always get let out of the coop first thing in the morning.....or at all some days. However there is a water source for them when they free range the property.

 

[AnneInTheBurbs]

Some of my escapees wander into my wooded area. Over the winter they rotated in the points during the snowstorm. Eventually predators got them. They preferred the grass area for foraging.

Goats like wooded areas vines and trees and poison ivy....yummmmm.

You may want to look at electrified netting to provide a relatively predator safe area for them.

That's awesome to hear about the goats! Definitely want some of those in the future. Oh Blarney!!!

Ours love the woods behind our place, but it is heavily patrolled by the dogs. Woods are fine if you can provide a clear cut somewhere to act as a safety zone, predators like cover, creating some open and mown paths can help give roosters line of sight areas for early warning. A secure run area is a must though for when you aren't home or the dogs can't be out. Ours is chain link.

Sounds like a good idea. I'd like to get another dog for more patrol duty when we get our place too. We have a 60 lb. pitbull, but she only likes to chase the squirrels and bunnies.

I don't like the chain link I like the welded wire dog kennels and have chicken wire over top of half of it and then the other half is covered with tin. And my hens and rooster like to go dig through the leaves down in the ditch, the woods, the mulch of the flower beds. You name it the have it destroyed mainly the flower beds so I have to chase them out of those daily and they also are able to free range where ever they want as long as they arnt near the road or somehwere off by them selves like one or two hens by them selves somehwhere. And the only reason my chickens like the woods is because they like to dig through the leaves and dirt so if you mow paths and stuff they arnt probably going to use them any ways.

Yeah, I imagine there's all kinds of yummy bugs and fun things to find in the woods!

Had the ladies and gentleman outside for a little today so I could clean out the pen. I can't wait until the coop is done. Almost there!!

That's looking great! Keep up the good work!

Anne:

You've seen my place...its about 1/3 wooded....I have had alot of predators problems...mostly they go 'down there' for a while then something spooks them and they run up the hill to hide in the bushes....bushes are important for hawk protection....for foxes I really don't think it matters....if determined they will get them one way or the other...for other predators, I really don't know....

Yeah, my biggest concern was for predators, and this is right next to a state park. Hope your girl recovers. :/

Where does everyone have their food and water? In the run or the coop? I'm thinking I want it in the coop, so I don't have to worry too much in the winter of it freezing

I always kept food and water outside of my coop, but I free ranged my girls in my suburban back yard. I highly recommend of the heated pet water bowls. Worth every penny, they only heat when it is below freezing, and you know your animals always have water available.

Thanks for the advice about the woods everybody! Something for me to think about....

 

[BullChick]

Where does everyone have their food and water? In the run or the coop? I'm thinking I want it in the coop, so I don't have to worry too much in the winter of it freezing

Mine is in the coop as the birds don't always get let out of the coop first thing in the morning.....or at all some days. However there is a water source for them when they free range the property.

X2
But... Right now I have nine ducks. Keeping water inside the coop has become a problem for me.
A problem that will be solved in the next couple of weeks!

 

[LadyBehir]

Water and food are in the run. I lock them in the run at night. Coop is always open for them. They like roosting on the perch that is in the run more than the one in the coop. Well, the younger set does and now that it has warmed up, the older girls are there also. I think I need to put in another outside one. I let them out of the run in the morning and back in at night. There is water in the yard for them also. And lots of yummy bugs. I like that they keep my garden pest free. Don't like that they ate all the leaves off my blueberry bushes.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Does anyone here have chickens in the woods? We looked at a property today that looks promising, but has 8 acres, 95% of which are wooded. We would be clearing trees for years. I'm sure there are lots of predators too, so my fencing would have to be top notch.
Just looking for some ideas...

The house has lot of potential, but oh, what about my girls?!

My house has about 1 acre of cleared land with nothing but state game lands behind us and the woods sort of wrap around the yard. My flock absolutely loves hanging out in the woods, diving through the leaves for bugs and such. They enjoy grazing in the yard too but most of the time, they are in that shady wooded area though they are usualy within 20 feet of the edge. It makes great cover from hawks but there is that risk of other predators. I've only lost 1 to a predator in the couple years that I've kept chickens and that was one that didn't get in to the coop overnight.

Had the ladies and gentleman outside for a little today so I could clean out the pen. I can't wait until the coop is done. Almost there!!

Looking great!

Where does everyone have their food and water? In the run or the coop? I'm thinking I want it in the coop, so I don't have to worry too much in the winter of it freezing

I keep mine in the run most times though on really cold days during the winter, I'll put a food dish inside the coop. Heated water bowls and water heaters really come in handy during the winter.

 

[emorems0]

Does anyone know of red golden pheasants for sale in western pa? Oh, and thank you guys for the help for finding some pigeons?

Someone down the street from me (Ohioville) had a big pen full of pheasants, I don't know what kind they were or whether or not they still have them since I don't take that route too often, but I could drive by and check when I pick up feed later this week.

 

[emorems0]

Did I tell you guys about our coyote incident? About two nights after I chased a racoon out of the main chicken run we had a run in with a coyote. I was just about to head to bed around 1am when I decided to check in on Facebook real quick. First post that came up was my neighbor across the street saying how a coyote just ran past her on her porch when she went out to smoke and scared the crap out of her. It was just posted 10 minutes prior. I called to hubs and flew out the back door with a flashlight. Hubs spotted his eyes in the brush across the yard from the coops almost immediately and fired off a shot with the pellet gun that we keep at the back door. He says he hit him in the face and it was enough to scare him off. The next night we had a few neighbors over for a cookout and the kids asked if they could sleep out in the tent in the back yard... yeah, I don't think so!