Starting Over

Pics
Date sort Score sort
Brizi

Brizi

Songster
Feb 22, 2023
137
436
136
Alabama
A few years ago, my fiancé and I got 4 hens. They were our beloved pets and trusted egg layers. Honestly, they produced more eggs than we could use, so we ended up giving a lot of eggs to friends and family. Unfortunately, last week, some dogs from a couple blocks over got to them. Rest in peace, my girls. 😞

So we're starting over. We're building a completely new run, 20x10 or 30x10 welded wire + hardware cloth. We're going to secure everything really well this time around. We've got a 5x4 coop that's still in great shape. We picked up some chicks last week-- a Black Jersey Giant, a Buff Orpington, a New Hampshire Red, and a Silver Laced Wyandotte-- so we've got a solid month to get everything ready. We decided on those breeds because, while they may only lay 2-4 eggs a week, they're apparently pretty hardy and have longer natural lifespans.

I'm having lots of doubts and worries. Will the run end up being secure enough to protect these new girls (err, hopefully girls) from the roaming dogs? What happens if these "pullets" turn out to be roosters? Was it a bad idea to go for all heritage breeds instead of more prolific egg laying breeds? Will my wallet survive this ordeal? These are the questions that haunt me. 😅
 

Attachments

  • 20230221_180942.jpg
    20230221_180942.jpg
    508.6 KB · Views: 14
  • IMG_20210228_105342304_HDR.jpg
    IMG_20210228_105342304_HDR.jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 5
  • 20230206_063710.jpg
    20230206_063710.jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 3
So sorry for the loss of your girls. I agree with those promoting hardware cloth; I learned the hard way and now have hardware cloth Everywhere.

Great breeds for your new flock! While I love heritage breeds, I have had my head turned by a few of the non-heritage girls who are great year-round layers.

Will your wallet survive? Mine has taken quite a few hits and managed to pull through.

What if your pullets are really roosters? That's the trickier one in my book. My senior rooster was an intentional acquisition. Two later roosters were a surprise. One was so aggressive he went to live with a rooster flock elsewhere. The other is great with his girls, less great with me. We have an ongoing uneasy relationship.

In any case, should problems arise, you are now part of community of folks who will be happy to offer advice and encouragement. Welcome to BYC!
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
I use electrified poultry netting to enclose about 1/3 acre of my property for my flock to roam. I've never lost a single bird to ground predators and we have plenty that hunt the area.
You will not regret passing on the high production breeds. They just don't live long and usually die a painful death due to reproduction malfunction/disease.
If you purchased sexed pullets, the odds are in your favor that you don't have a cockerel. Are you not permitted to have them where you are?
 
DobieLover said:
Hello and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.
I use electrified poultry netting to enclose about 1/3 acre of my property for my flock to roam. I've never lost a single bird to ground predators and we have plenty that hunt the area.
You will not regret passing on the high production breeds. They just don't live long and usually die a painful death due to reproduction malfunction/disease.
If you purchased sexed pullets, the odds are in your favor that you don't have a cockerel. Are you not permitted to have them where you are?
Click to expand...
We actually do have an electric poultry net! Sadly, one of the dogs down the road didn't care and jumped it. Stubborn thing. My neighbor even got pictures.

We are allowed to have roosters, but we do not want chicks and we do not want a rooster riding our few hens bare. 😣 Our "solution" would be to allow him to roam within the area of the electric net that will be around the run, and put a coop in there for him. Though at that point I'm not sure if it'd just be better to try and find him a home.
 
Brizi said:
We are allowed to have roosters, but we do not want chicks and we do not want a rooster riding our few hens bare. 😣 Our "solution" would be to allow him to roam within the area of the electric net that will be around the run, and put a coop in there for him. Though at that point I'm not sure if it'd just be better to try and find him a home.
Click to expand...
1 cockerel to 3 pullets may or may not work. It depends on the flock dynamics. Many people keep breeding pairs and trios without the hens getting bare backed.

I would never house him alone with the pullets in an adjacent pen where he couldn't be with them. He would need a flock of his own to be happiest.

How high is your net?
Mine is 42" and it stopped the GSD that killed one of my hens when they were still free ranging.
Got him again when he peed on the net. He received a nifty jolt to his man parts! :D
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom