Show Off Your Games!

[roosterhavoc]

friendly

These guys not so much. Won't even come near me.

 

[sdm111]

Yeah I took that pic between cutting and raking. Those pens u have look heavy duty, may build a few for broody hens and a brooder. I have problems with foxes, hawks and eagles. I shoulda took a pic but the other day ( I have round stag pens along the rear of the yard ) I went to do my round and I'm assuming an eagle hit the side of one of the round pens it had a huge dent in it like something flew into it luckily I had enough stakes holding it it kept upright and the stag was ok

 

[roosterhavoc]

Fox have been a real issue for me. Most end up on a board. I have a lot or red tails but believe it or not they miss most of the time. I have a lot of raccoons too but I thin them out in the fall. I can't say I've actually lost a bird to a raccoon. A few years ago I had a broad winged hawk set up shop during migration time. This guy was relentless, boldest hawk I have seen in my life. They will land and run a chicken down. I've seen it happen, still have the hen that i chased the hawk off of.

 

[centrarchid]

Fox have been a real issue for me. Most end up on a board. I have a lot or red tails but believe it or not they miss most of the time. I have a lot of raccoons too but I thin them out in the fall. I can't say I've actually lost a bird to a raccoon. A few years ago I had a broad winged hawk set up shop during migration time. This guy was relentless, boldest hawk I have seen in my life. They will land and run a chicken down. I've seen it happen, still have the hen that i chased the hawk off of.

Are you sure it was a broad-winged hawk? Those we have are only half the the size of a red-tailed and go after lizards and small rodents almost exclusively. They also do not run very well. The runner I have are Coopers Hawks and few gamecocks properly placed on ground shut those guys down nicely. Best controller I have for all your problems are fast and eager dogs. Dogs though are long-term in terms of everything, especially setup.

 

[roosterhavoc]

100% sure Trust Me. I can tell the difference between hawks. While some are hard to distinguish a juvenile of one breed to an adult of another. I have Cooper's hawks too they mostly fly over and scare the chickens. This particular broad winged hawk was nailing them in the woods. He would fly low through the trees and swoop down land and run them down in the thick stuff. I have 4 dogs already. A hound , todo from oz and two dobermans. Besides I do just fine taking care of all the problems I encounter. I was referring to having a problem years ago.

 

[sdm111]

2014 murphey whitehackle over col. Givens hatch stag

 

[farmraised86]

Ok got some pics (not the best) but these are my gold sebright x black berchin moderns they have everything I wanted and nothing I didn't in the cross like dark eyes, long legs, long neck, high station, straight comb, hard body and a real wild look

this is them with they're full blooded half siblings

I got some silver sebrights today I'm gonna do the same cross with

 

[roosterhavoc]

Thanks sdm111. Sent me 15 Miner eggs, only ordered 8. Shipped fast and packed the best I've seen so far. I checked them Fri night and after 7 days all 15 were fertile and developed with easily visible veining. 14 out of 15 had easily seen moving embryos. Will keep you updated. Thanks really appreciate the extra eggs.

 

[sdm111]

Good to hear. What kind of incubator is that? Looks all fancy with digital readout and control center. 14 out of 15 definately and a 15th probable is great. I'm convinced healthy fowl, thoughtful packing, and the most important IMO NOT writing hatching eggs on the box leads to success. I can almost say I have proved that hatching eggs written on the box brings unwanted attention like shaking and rough handling but I will say I heard yesterday for the first time that someone received my eggs and some had detached air cells ( post office rough handling ) so we'll see how those go but not to expect development. We'll see how they turnout and if need be I'll replace those no charge. For the record that's the first report of detached air cells on my eggs so they must have been bowling or something with the box !!!

 

[centrarchid]

The entire pen is 4x4x8. The front run part is half 4x4x4. I built them as brood pens originally. They are pulling double duty though since I have 25 chicks in them right now. If you do a google search for 4x4x8 brood pen a link comes back to this site with instructions how to build it. I don't want to take credit for someone else's ideas. They are simple and for the complete pen all you need is 13 2x4x8, a gate latch, two hinges, two sheets of plywood some deck screws, roof material and whatever wire you want. I've only got 4 built so far,need to build 6 more. Wood and wire ain't cheap though so I'm gonna have to make some domes like you have or something similar. Too many hawks and fox for tie cords here.

I will be building one of the pens like you have with two modifications. First is to have handles making moving easier. Second is to have a laying box on front of pen where hen can lay and I can get at eggs without getting into pen. A fellow down the road has such with respect to the nest box enabling him to collect several dozen eggs daily without bending over or stressing birds. His down side is not being able to move pens which I think is going to be a major chore relative to what I am used to.