Texas

[NagemTX]

Im having raccoon problems. I trapped one, but it escaped. I was in the backyard today, so i let the chickens out of their runs. A raccoon came into the chicken yard and grabbed my oldest hen. She was almost 9 years old. I feel horrible because I couldn't get to her in time. He killed her before he got over the fence. I shot at him but don't think I hit him. I have the trap set again.
They will be staying in their runs from now on.

Was getting chick feed over the weekend and a guy was buying chicks and said it was to replace nearly his entire flock that got taken out by coons. Everyone is having a great deal of trouble with them this year.

Sorry you lost her.

 

[Sojourner1]

I'll start this one.

I am in San Marcos, between Austin and San Antonio.

FYI
I have been keeping a spread sheet of Texas BYC members for several years. Right now it has 274 members on it. Of course some are no longer members or might have visited only a few times.

Texas, we are strong !

I'm in Magnolia Texas right now but soon will be moving my brood to Bolivar Peninsula. I've had them for 16 years and this is the first year they've been hiding out and hatching lots of babies. (I usually use an incubator)was down to 6 now 19! No special breed they all intermingled just fun colors and patterns.

 

[Ashley Benningfield]

Yeah its so hard to keep them locked up when its hot. At least their runs are shady. And I have three fans running during the day.

I learned very fast around here that the fight to keep them cool is never ending this time of year and it can be more challenging when they have to stay inside a run. I’ve spent hours learning tips from others on how to help them manage the heat without being able to move around totally free and a few have worked out great. Some days I do just one thing, some days I do them all if it gets bad enough.

Natural shade is great to start with. I had to make mine with a tarp and shade cloth over it. I freeze water in old cat litter containers and take them out during peak heat hours for the chickens to sit around and stand on and they seem to love them. I also give them a shallow water bath made from a storage container with a frozen water bottle in it. My one Plymouth Rock hen especially loves to stand in it when she's hot. I sometimes make up some electrolyte mix to give them during peak heat with yet another small frozen bottle of water in it. I just upgraded to a permanent hanging outdoor fan a couple weeks ago as well to get air moving around better and it wasn’t a moment too soon.

 

[janiedoe]

I learned very fast around here that the fight to keep them cool is never ending this time of year and it can be more challenging when they have to stay inside a run. I’ve spent hours learning tips from others on how to help them manage the heat without being able to move around totally free and a few have worked out great. Some days I do just one thing, some days I do them all if it gets bad enough.

Natural shade is great to start with. I had to make mine with a tarp and shade cloth over it. I freeze water in old cat litter containers and take them out during peak heat hours for the chickens to sit around and stand on and they seem to love them. I also give them a shallow water bath made from a storage container with a frozen water bottle in it. My one Plymouth Rock hen especially loves to stand in it when she's hot. I sometimes make up some electrolyte mix to give them during peak heat with yet another small frozen bottle of water in it. I just upgraded to a permanent hanging outdoor fan a couple weeks ago as well to get air moving around better and it wasn’t a moment too soon.

Its a challenge alright.
I feel guilty for keeping them in, but the funny thing is, that when the doors are open, most of them still spend most of the afternoon inside the runs. A lot of mine are six and seven years old so they enjoy laying around. They like standing in pools of water too.

 

[janiedoe]

@gracielouis welcome to BYC, and to the Texas thread!

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Nice to meet you @gracielouis !

 

[janiedoe]

Was getting chick feed over the weekend and a guy was buying chicks and said it was to replace nearly his entire flock that got taken out by coons. Everyone is having a great deal of trouble with them this year.

Sorry you lost her.

Thank you.

 

[janiedoe]

@TexMel86
Welcome to BYC and to the Texas thread !

 

[janiedoe]

@Melisanewell80 welcome to the Texas thread!

 

[Auntiejessi3]

@Melisanewell80 welcome to the Texas thread!

Howdoo ma'am