Texas

[TheBeadMuse]

Hi all! Just joined! Located In Hockley/magnolia area. We have a flock of 12 hens, 4 Roos, 16 pullets and 2 young Roos, and some little chicks that arrived June 11th. Looking for answers about them in threads before I fall asleep, since we lost 6 the first two days and now another of them is sick. Will probably post more tomorrow.

 

[Roosting Robin]

Hi all! Just joined! Located In Hockley/magnolia area. We have a flock of 12 hens, 4 Roos, 16 pullets and 2 young Roos, and some little chicks that arrived June 11th. Looking for answers about them in threads before I fall asleep, since we lost 6 the first two days and now another of them is sick. Will probably post more tomorrow.

Welcome! Hope you discover how to save your chicks!

 

[Roosting Robin]

So we first time chicken farmers get our cute little chicks, raise them in a brooder box, teach them where to roost, and everything is nice and orderly. I never thought about what would happen when bringing a mature free range rooster into the mix. He started out by jumping out of his run into the main run, okay... I know my friend's flock is healthy and he's gentle around the 6 week old babies even when they pecked on him. Then dusk and all the girls line up to go to roost like always. He jumps on top of the rain barrel, on top of the coop, and up a tree. So after crowing constantly since 4 am, (did I mention tree was just outside our bedroom window?) he is still 20 feet in the air at 9 am. It only took him 30 seconds to go from ground zero to 20 ft elevation. Does he not know how to jump down, or is he happy up there? I'm not climbing up there after him!

My neighbors free range game chickens roost in trees, but they all get down as soon as its light enough to see. He may be up there because it feels safe, he may be crowing to claim the turf and inform other roosters that he is here and he is king, or he may not know how to get down, lol. If he doesn't come down soon, get a rooster pole, long pole with a hook on it, snag his feet and pull him down. As soon as he is down, clip those wings or this will be a daily thing.

So, after 22 hours with the rooster up the tree, I googled how to get rooster out of tree. Answer was to get water hose and spray him until he flaps down. It worked. Then we caught him and put him with the girls. He strutted, ate, drank, and mated with two of the girls. Then this time at dusk, he dutifully followed them in to the coop to roost.

 

[henless]

FINALLY getting the flock started. Took long enough.

One dozen Buff Orpington pullets will be here in 3 weeks. Brooder ready, supplies ready, ready to build the tractor.

Welcome! You'll love the BO's. I have 3, and they are so sweet!

So, after 22 hours with the rooster up the tree, I googled how to get rooster out of tree. Answer was to get water hose and spray him until he flaps down. It worked. Then we caught him and put him with the girls. He strutted, ate, drank, and mated with two of the girls. Then this time at dusk, he dutifully followed them in to the coop to roost.

If all else fails, google it!

I'm glad he seems to have figured out the routine.


My girls are finally roosting. I started putting them on the roost Sunday, and last night I had about 7 or 8 that was on the roost when I went to check on them. I hope to have them all roosting by this weekend. Boy, they sure do poop a lot at night!

Having them roost on the floor, you never noticed how much poop accumulates overnight. I can see how people who have the small coops need to clean it on a daily basis. I think I'll stick to big, walk in coops.

 

[Starfire669]

So, after 22 hours with the rooster up the tree, I googled how to get rooster out of tree. Answer was to get water hose and spray him until he flaps down. It worked. Then we caught him and put him with the girls. He strutted, ate, drank, and mated with two of the girls. Then this time at dusk, he dutifully followed them in to the coop to roost.

I am glad you got him down and that he is learning the routine. Hopefully he keeps being a good boy and goes in the coop every night for you!

 

[Brookshire11]

Still waiting on our 5th Lady to start laying. She squats the lowest & I know it's only a matter of time. If it takes much longer, I'm going to have to start searching the yard for surprises. Ha-ha!

Me too! lol
4 laying, 1 left that should start soon! Then there's the Silkie but I don't really count her.

She'll take awhile I'm sure

Hi all! Just joined! Located In Hockley/magnolia area. We have a flock of 12 hens, 4 Roos, 16 pullets and 2 young Roos, and some little chicks that arrived June 11th. Looking for answers about them in threads before I fall asleep, since we lost 6 the first two days and now another of them is sick. Will probably post more tomorrow.

Sorry about your sick bird :/ but welcome to BYC! Hopefully it's of some help to you!

 

[Starfire669]

So something was in my goose coop last night. I had a bag of bedding stored up in the overhead storage area, about 6 feet high. It was on the ground this morning, all torn up. When i let them out they were all agitated, but none of my ducks or geese are missing or injured. This worries me. There is no sign of damage to the coop. Could a duck have flown 6 feet up in a small enclose space and knocked down a big full bag of bedding? Any ideas?

 

[Roosting Robin]

So something was in my goose coop last night. I had a bag of bedding stored up in the overhead storage area, about 6 feet high. It was on the ground this morning, all torn up. When i let them out they were all agitated, but none of my ducks or geese are missing or injured. This worries me. There is no sign of damage to the coop. Could a duck have flown 6 feet up in a small enclose space and knocked down a big full bag of bedding? Any ideas?

. That sounds "rodentish" to me, except would have to be awfully big to knock it down. I hope it was a duck flying up there!

 

[Starfire669]

. That sounds "rodentish" to me, except would have to be awfully big to knock it down. I hope it was a duck flying up there!

Me too! I don't want a mystery rodent learning how to break in, leave no trace, then teach others! It would only be a matter of time before the rodents attacked my ducks and geese. Plus I want goslings and ducklings next spring, and if I can't find the point of entry they would be at risk! I am checking the coop from top to bottom to try and figure this out.

 

[Starfire669]

Found the point of entry, it's real high up just under the roof over hang. So now I have a question, could my mystery predator be a snake? We have been missing 1 duck egg a day for the past few days. I simply thought that 1 of the ducks was taking a break. But Ivory just started laying. Ebony usually lays first thing in the morning either in the coop before I let them out, or she immediately goes to the ducks favorite nest. Daisy is still laying, her eggs are much larger than Ivory and Ebony's eggs, so it's easy to ID her egg. Daisy is still cranking out the eggs. I saw Ebony laying this morning, and since Ivory just came in to lay I doubt she would be taking a break so soon. But I am missing 1 of the small duck eggs a day.

Could a snake have been coming in, eating the egg and leaving no trace? There are no broken egg shells, which would fit a snakes MO. This morning the ducks and geese were so agitated that they were slamming their bodies against the coop door, they never do that. They usually honk and stand by the door, not body slam it. I think a large snake could knock a full bag of bedding down off the shelf, this seems more likely than a rat.

If I do have a large snake, are my chickens at risk? My youngest pullets are 13 week old BAs.