The Middle Tennessee Thread

[Octoberlyn]

Not just Roosters but a pr. maybe... and the Black Cochins

Here is a pic of a brahma when younger and a pic of the cochins. I'll do a pair of brahmas - they are currently 7 weeks - the cochins are older at about a year. Is that too old?

 

[Peach2u]

The 7 week old ones, what are they?

I have 2 olive egger roo maran over green egg laying hens, and 3 maybe more EE's green/blue egg roo over blue green egg hens. I left my camera @ my grandma's yesterday. So, I will be a few days from taking pix again ;-P The OE's are black with orange and the EE's are scattered multi colored.

That's the best pix from 2 weeks ago. The yellow leg one's are Welsummer's. The white one an EE hen. But it gives a good idea of what they look like.

 

[Peach2u]

We live just off West End Ave/ 440 and have had quite a bit of trouble with hawks. I left our babies out for about a minute and a half in the fall to fill up their water. Came out to find them huddled in the corner of the pen squawking. I counted and was missing one. About 5 minutes later saw a hawk circling. Figure that must have been it. The pen is narrow and our power line runs right over it, but it must not have deterred the hawk like I thought it would. So, I bought bird netting to cover it. He would swoop and get a good look, but move on. Then a few weeks later, he dove and got stuck in the netting. Quite a sight to see!! Hawks are huge close up. He got himself out...luckily, I didn't want to help him!! A few weeks later the chickens were out in the back yard with me, a neighbor, her 2 kids and my 4 running around in my itty bitty back yard crossed with low tree limbs and phone lines. That hawk swooped down not 5 feet from me. I screamed and clapped my hands so hard they hurt for days! He took off mid swoop. All winter he would sit in our tree overlooking the coop and pen. My hubs finally popped him with a BB gun. Not sure if that is illegal or not, but he has yet to come back, sit and drool over the chickens. They now "safely" range out in the front yard and take cover under the bushes if he glides by. I am still not 100% sure the hawk won't try to pick one up, but the ladies seem smarter and maybe they are too big. They are all full size chickens. Sorry for the long post, but just didn't want any city farmers thinking hawks are not a problem in a congested populated area. We have frequent coyote, possum, fox, and raccoon sightings as well.

I live out in the county. I have every critter you can think of on out acres. Most are harmless to my flock. I have a coop built like Ft. Knox. Only a bear or human can get in. Hawks are my main problem. We have a pair that flies over all the time just looking for a target. 2 weeks ago I put my teens in a grow out pen. It is 10'x20' dog kennel panels. The first day I had them out the hawk go into the pen. It was a tight fit with lots of branchs over the top. But he got in and eat it there on the ground. Ne didn't leave much behind wings legs and feathers. That night I put bird netting over the top. The kind you put over cherry trees. I pulled it tight, like a trampoline. The next day I heard a racket in the yard. I went out and looked up over the pen and there he was. He was just perched on a limb right above the pen. By this time my corgi Livia who chases everything was in full kill mode. She ran out to the pen and barking and running back and forth. The hawk just sat there looking at my 12 teens huddled in a corner peeping. The rooster was also making a lots of noise near the run. Wings flapping and giving his warning calls. The adult hens including one with 6 chicks where under holly bushes. I threw a tennis ball at him and then he flew off.
The point is: Once a hawk knows where to get a free meal, it will keep coming back. The Bird of Prey Law provents you from harming them. I'm not sure why. You see them everywhere around here. I got a giant fuzzy spider from halloween and put it there. The breeze makes it move. I move it around every other day. My chickens didn't like it. It seems to be working so far. The hawk hasn't come back to the pen. He still flies over looking for a stray chick.My adults are too big and smart for him. The roo keeps good watch and sounds the alarm hens run everywhere. I just can't let my teens out unsupervised till they get over 4 pounds then they are safe. I also have gotten a giant blow up snake I was going to try. We will see.

 

[Peach2u]

alright..... I guess this is where I belong..... seeing as I live about an hour from Nashville. not really posting anything specific....just wanted to say hello to fellow middle Tennesseeans.

oh yeah ...... just got 5 American game (2 stags and 3 hens) and a mixed rooster and set 39 game eggs as well as 27 mixed eggs in the incubators today. This is the start to my future flock which no doubt will be ever expanding.

 

[BKPUCKETT]

Here is a pic of a brahma when younger and a pic of the cochins. I'll do a pair of brahmas - they are currently 7 weeks - the cochins are older at about a year. Is that too old?

My Rocks are just baby's how do you want to trade I cant sex them.

 

[Penny Hen]

I live out in the county. I have every critter you can think of on out acres. Most are harmless to my flock. I have a coop built like Ft. Knox. Only a bear or human can get in. Hawks are my main problem. We have a pair that flies over all the time just looking for a target. 2 weeks ago I put my teens in a grow out pen. It is 10'x20' dog kennel panels. The first day I had them out the hawk go into the pen. It was a tight fit with lots of branchs over the top. But he got in and eat it there on the ground. Ne didn't leave much behind wings legs and feathers. That night I put bird netting over the top. The kind you put over cherry trees. I pulled it tight, like a trampoline. The next day I heard a racket in the yard. I went out and looked up over the pen and there he was. He was just perched on a limb right above the pen. By this time my corgi Livia who chases everything was in full kill mode. She ran out to the pen and barking and running back and forth. The hawk just sat there looking at my 12 teens huddled in a corner peeping. The rooster was also making a lots of noise near the run. Wings flapping and giving his warning calls. The adult hens including one with 6 chicks where under holly bushes. I threw a tennis ball at him and then he flew off.
The point is: Once a hawk knows where to get a free meal, it will keep coming back. The Bird of Prey Law provents you from harming them. I'm not sure why. You see them everywhere around here. I got a giant fuzzy spider from halloween and put it there. The breeze makes it move. I move it around every other day. My chickens didn't like it. It seems to be working so far. The hawk hasn't come back to the pen. He still flies over looking for a stray chick.My adults are too big and smart for him. The roo keeps good watch and sounds the alarm hens run everywhere. I just can't let my teens out unsupervised till they get over 4 pounds then they are safe. I also have gotten a giant blow up snake I was going to try. We will see.

This is a trick used for birds raiding a garden but it may throw off a hawk too. You know all those useless CDs that you got as advertisements? or just don't play right anymore? Hang them on strings so the wind can blow them. The sunlight will flash on the surface and throw reflections all around. It is hard to keep focused on a target and navigate when you are getting flashes of light in your eyes.

 

[Cinny]

Babies are growning so fast.....here is Stinker the Salmon Faverole.....Sweetpea the Maran Splash.....and ? the Columbian Wyandotte (Still tossing names around for her)

 

[Cinny]

Thanks to a trip to Donna we now have our long awaited Olive Egger.....named Olive, of course....Stinker has been rubbing up on her and showed her how to eat out of the feeder, the other two don't pay much attention yet. Actually Stinker the Salmon Faverole is the one I was most worried about, she lives up to her name and causes all the trouble.

DMRippy.....better known to us all as Donna .....has a great selection of chicks and pullets and even roosters, beautiful birds! If you need anything at all you should PM her....she knows her chickens....LOL

 

[alerievay]

I live in East Nashville (Inglewood) and haven't had any problems with hawks. (Should I knock on wood now??) We had one that used to nest in an adjacent yard, but it hasn't been back for a year or two. I did find a raccoon in the coop one morning (didn't do any damage), and I think we have had a snake get in recently, since we lost some eggs under a broody. I'm honestly more worried about dogs than anything else, though. There are just too many wandering around the neighborhood. Our Ameraucana got on the wrong side of the fence one day and was attacked by a dog (we think); she was able to hide in the brush, though, and she only lost some feathers.

 

[Fred28]

Hi. Do you have any olive egger pullets available still?

Thanks