She’s at it again!-Runaway hen hatches 15 chicks!

[CaramelKittey]

Awwww, warm fuzzies!That's a good and a determined mama.
You were able to sell your cockerels? That is one reason I haven't wanted to hatch. I'm not into culling and I don't know who would want a rooster. Well, I do know that some want them for dinner. But they surely won't be paying $11 for one chicken dinner that they have to dispatch themselves. There are those that want them for fighting. they don't tell you that. So how could I find a buyer for males?

Thank you! Our Raven really is a good Mama! She is always trying to hatch eggs!

The auction we use to sell our male goats and chickens is called the Cedar Lane Auction. Here is a link to their website. http://cedarlaneauction.com/ Everything sells at this Auction. The people who work there have said that they have never had a time that an animal was left behind. The auction is nice because you don't have to stay there. All you have to do is drop off your animals, and leave. They send you a check in the mail later.
Personally, I would never be able to cull my own chickens. Unfortunately, they probably aren't getting a better life after the auction is over.

 

[CaramelKittey]

All the babies are healthy and happy today. Since our 4 bantams chickens are away at the 4-H fair, Raven and her babies are living in their coop until our bantams come home.
Does anybody know if we will be able to tell her if her chicks are male or female based off of coloring even though they are not pure Black Sex Links? I know that the yellow ones will be hard to sex however, the black ones might be easier. Any help is greatly appreciated! I can provide pictures too!

 

[CaramelKittey]

What a wonderful story! And you have a beautiful flock!

Thank you!

 

[LeggyLeghorn]

great story!

 

[CaramelKittey]

Sadly, a couple days ago, a chick went missing. We have no idea if a predator got it, or if it got buried in the shavings. Now we only have 13 chicks.

We have had black rat snakes stealing our eggs recently. There was not a snake in their coop when we went inside, and only one was missing. Any ideas how it got taken, or if it was taken? , and how to prevent it from happening again?
Thank you

 

[Cryss]

The only thing I know of is using 1/2 inch hardware cloth as the fencing, the apron or buried 2 ft straight down around the entire perimeter, and also above as a wire roof. Snakes dig, and they climb.

 

[CaramelKittey]

The only thing I know of is using 1/2 inch hardware cloth as the fencing, the apron or buried 2 ft straight down around the entire perimeter, and also above as a wire roof. Snakes dig, and they climb.

Hello!

Sorry I missed your post. Thankfully, We have not have any problems yet since the one disappeared. We have a solid roof however, we do not have mesh buried under the ground. I suppose a snake could have crawled under to steal a chick. To ensure it doesn’t happen again, we could try and bury mesh under the ground to keep snakes out!

Thank you!