Texas

[ClovisMan]

Tom Baker....the only Doctor Who series I ever watched.

 

[orumpoultry]

Wow!  What kind is he? 

Since the pen is between two buildings, Ken loosened the screws on the rooftop a bit so I could tie the fishing line up there.  He then ran some kind of a wire on the opposite side of the fence and I tied the fishing line on there.  There are different gauges of fishing line.  Get the heaviest one you can find.  I had a huge branch break and it landed on the line.  The branch brought the line down to the ground but it didn't break.  I was able to work the branch off the line by breaking the smaller branches and cutting the trunk up.

Lisa

The birds don't try to jump out? Problem I've run into with anything shy of 6ft is escape artists. Walking outside and finding loose chickens all over the place! My old neighbor once called the cops cause my chickens tore up his flower beds... A year of free eggs, a replaced garden, and a loose livestock ticket later he is now a good friend of ours... As long as none of my critters end up in his yard ( which is a feat, his yard is across the street and down the road! )

 

[Ms Jellybean]

Here is the link for his graduation announcement.

He designed it himself. While you are there take a look at some of his work.

 

[ClovisMan]

Here is the link for his graduation announcement.

He designed it himself. While you are there take a look at some of his work.

Wow, good job on raising that boy. You must be a proud mama!

I honestly didn't think you were old enough to have a kid that age.

 

[TexasLisa]

The birds don't try to jump out? Problem I've run into with anything shy of 6ft is escape artists. Walking outside and finding loose chickens all over the place! My old neighbor once called the cops cause my chickens tore up his flower beds... A year of free eggs, a replaced garden, and a loose livestock ticket later he is now a good friend of ours... As long as none of my critters end up in his yard ( which is a feat, his yard is across the street and down the road! )

The fencing used for the pen is OLD. It was there when we bought the place. It is rusty and starting to break. I would tie the fishing line onto the fence and go to the roof at an angle. Then I would start from the other side and work at a different angle. It is a 4 ft. fence. The fence was sagging in places, so Ken would run wire down the side above the fence and I could tie the fishing line there (if I wanted to). My flock didn't jump the fence, but if you look at the last picture you can see part of the gate. See the iron spikes? My little darlings would jump up to the gate and hop over. There was one in particular who would jump onto the spikes, hence the wind chimes! No more escapes!

We are getting ready to enlarge the pen because the pen is not in good shape. We got 16 gauge vinyl-coated welded fencing. It is 2 x 3 mesh. 4 ft x 50 ft. We plan on putting heavy boards around the bottom and run electric fencing.

I hope this helps.
Lisa

 

[Black Bear Hink]

I am also new, as of Oct, to chicken raising...I started with a Barred Rock and a white leghorn. Then rt before Thanksgiving my Barred died. So, I went to Wabash Antique and feed store (I think it is called) and got 2 EE's and one Australorp. Then 2 weeks ago my leghorn just up and died. So sad because she laid EVERYDAY!! I'd like to get a Black Copper Maran, or Welsummer. And there are a few more that I see people posting pictures of that I'd really like to have. However, I live in the middle of a neighborhood, so no roos and 6 is probably the max my yard can handle. It is big, but boy do those chickens really scratch up the green stuff.
So, we'll see.
Melanie

Boy...that's a bummer. So far, my chicks are doing well. Hopefully, I can keep them safe once they move into their coop.

 

[lovingmyhens]

Boy...that's a bummer. So far, my chicks are doing well. Hopefully, I can keep them safe once they move into their coop.

I am looking for some juveniles that lay dark brown eggs...some Marans or Welsummers. But most of the people I have found just sell chicks right now. So I am still looking. Not too many people around here have these types of chickens and I can't have roos so getting a bunch from the hatchery isn't for me!

 

[SlipsWife]

Does anyone else thing this could be a Crele Old English Game Bantam? Its super tiny. I'm hoping its a pullet, the comb is getting pretty red though...its hatch date was 2-24 from Privett

 

[jajeanpierre]

Since I put the fishing line up, I have not lost any more birds to hawks or owls. I read not too long ago somebody had used fishing line and a hawk figured out how to get inbetween the lines. I have mine crisscrossing in so many places, they would have trouble getting in.

Lisa

It's not really that they can't do it it is that they choose not to risk getting in a situation where they can't escape easily or is likely to be unsuccessful. My Scarlet macaw panicked or some real or imagined threat the other day and flew up between two lengths of that plastic deer netting that someone posted a link to recently. I had the netting over an area where I kept my Silkies last year. The lengths of netting were held together by light bungee cords. She just powered through it. She wouldn't have chosen to go there, but felt there was no alternative. Ditto with the hawks. You just want to make it too expensive for them to bother. With any animals of prey, it is always a cost/benefit analysis--is it worth the risk or expended energy. If they have to maneuver through fishing line, the chickens have an extra bit of warning time to duck under somewhere. Any attack has an energy cost, and energy for a predator is usually a scarce resource. All bets are off with young Coopers, though, especially if late in the summer or early fall when many of them have dispersed from their parents and are starving. Starvation after dispersal is the leading cause of raptor death. Starving animals are desperate animals, so they might go somewhere common sense tells them not to go. I think the trick to avoiding hawk predation is partly just to make it a little more difficult.

Here's a YouTube video of a Northern Goshawk navigating small holes shot in slow motion. A Norther Goshawk is a bird specialist and is basically just a bigger version of a Coopers.

Here's a bad copy of a bit of BBC footage showing how adept the Goshawk is at maneuvering at speed. Coopers are equal to a Goshawk in maneuvering in the forest.

 

[lovingmyhens]

Quote: I'm sorry to hear about the ear thing. It is the worst not being able to hear 100%! Man, I am just ready for summer. Period. long, short, hot humid, just bring it on!