The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[lalaland]

ok, this morning at 3:30 am I went to do chicken chores.

The coop has two halves with an open door between the two areas. First area is the older chickens, and the alpha rooster stays in there. The second area is where all the less than a year old hens and jr rooster roost.

Normally, when I come in at night, everyone is on their roost in their spot.

This morning (ok, in the middle of the night)......the first half of the coop was empty except for alpha rooster who was standing alertly on the litter - almost on guard!
Every single hen who usually roosts in the first half of the coop was nestled on the ground in the back farthest corner of the second half of the coop.

After seeing Kassaundra's rat video, I thought RATS!!!

but I haven't seen any sign of them or any other critter. I couldn't stay long, just long enough to ascertain there were no obvious signs of struggle or vermin. I'm a little worried though, why would all of the hens be off the roost?

Checked as soon as I got h ome after work and all seemed normal. I'll check again after dark, but what the heck?

 

[Leahs Mom]

Almost sounds like he was warding off something that was disturbing them. What was going on in the younger side of the hen house?

 

[lazy gardener]

The White Silkie male is from white on white breeding ..who know how many generations..but many.
The cuckoo is from cuckoo to cuckoo
Sounds like white does not work for any type of sex link..poo

There is a chart regarding sex linking: "The author's advise concerning white birds and sex linked crossing is do not use white birds in sex linked crosses. Basically, because the genotype is difficult to ascertain. Unfortunately, I didn't get the author's name. But if you do a thread search, you'll find the article. It discusses combinations for Black and Red sex linking, as well as a bit of info re: feather sex breeding.

 

[lalaland]

Almost sounds like he was warding off something that was disturbing them. What was going on in the younger side of the hen house?

nothing! younger hens and roos up on the roost. Some of the older hens on the floor were settled in, some were standing, but all were on the floor.

Just did bedtime check, everyone where they are supposed to be. We will see at 3:30 am tomorrow when it is -30 windchill.

its just that I've never seen this. Sometimes a hen will be on the floor, rarely, but I figure they fell off the roost at night. Not all of them at once!

 

[delisha]

This is the time of year for rats, mink, and all kind of things..my birds have been doing some night warnings too..scares me a bit..I need to do some night prowling..I found a hole in my fencing I need to repair in the morning.

 

[armorfirelady]

ok, this morning at 3:30 am I went to do chicken chores.

The coop has two halves with an open door between the two areas. First area is the older chickens, and the alpha rooster stays in there. The second area is where all the less than a year old hens and jr rooster roost.

Normally, when I come in at night, everyone is on their roost in their spot.

This morning (ok, in the middle of the night)......the first half of the coop was empty except for alpha rooster who was standing alertly on the litter - almost on guard!
Every single hen who usually roosts in the first half of the coop was nestled on the ground in the back farthest corner of the second half of the coop.

After seeing Kassaundra's rat video, I thought RATS!!!

but I haven't seen any sign of them or any other critter. I couldn't stay long, just long enough to ascertain there were no obvious signs of struggle or vermin. I'm a little worried though, why would all of the hens be off the roost?

Checked as soon as I got home after work and all seemed normal. I'll check again after dark, but what the heck?

Oh my you get up way to early for work.

Quote: I agree something must of put the rooster on alert. Perhaps your coming out scared it away? I have seen more neighborhood cats around with this cold & frigid temps. I am guessing that other predators are around as well with all this cold weather that I am sure is making finding food harder.

This is the time of year for rats, mink, and all kind of things..my birds have been doing some night warnings too..scares me a bit..I need to do some night prowling..I found a hole in my fencing I need to repair in the morning.

Putting hardware cloth around the coop is top on my list when it warms up. I need to wait for a warm day so I can pull off old tarp & put the hardware cloth up then put the new billboard tarp on over it.

 

[Leahs Mom]

I got one of those rat zappers .... who was it that told us about them?.....

I put it in a plastic (yes, plastic) rubbermaid type container to protect it from the weather and put it outside right near the pop door. I had been seeing small footprints in the snow that I was wondering if they were weasels or some small creature. In addition I was seeing mouse trails and everything was leading between the pop door and the side of the run with the dog house shelter.

Anyhow, I was hoping that one of the rat zappers might actually kill - or at least do some damage - if a weasel went in there.

Every time I set it I get a mouse if it's after the kiddos are in for the night. One night it was tripped with nothing in it but whatever went in had struggled to get out as it got caught on part of the inside wiring and it was pulled out a little. No permanent damage to the wiring.

I don't think I have anything in the hen shed itself, but since I knew stuff was out there I thought I'd give that zapper a try. Definitely catching the mice like crazy.

 

[Leahs Mom]

For whoever was needing to get rid of rats, try a Rat Zapper (google it, I had no luck trying to paste a link here). It runs on batteries and is very effective, just follow the directions precisely.

Here it is! It was @ChickChickChicky that told us about the rat zapper!

 

[lazy gardener]

I want to make a 5 gallon bucket mouse trap. I think it would work well. coat hanger wire passed through a soda can, top to bottom, so it acts like an axle for the can, then put the ends of the wire through holes drilled at the top of the bucket, and put peanut butter on the soda can. A couple of inches of water in the bottom of the bucket should be helpful as well. Mouse is supposed to reach across to the can, or jump on the can and spin off to fall into the drink.

 

[lalaland]

I got one of those rat zappers .... who was it that told us about them?.....

I put it in a plastic (yes, plastic) rubbermaid type container to protect it from the weather and put it outside right near the pop door. I had been seeing small footprints in the snow that I was wondering if they were weasels or some small creature. In addition I was seeing mouse trails and everything was leading between the pop door and the side of the run with the dog house shelter.

Anyhow, I was hoping that one of the rat zappers might actually kill - or at least do some damage - if a weasel went in there.

Every time I set it I get a mouse if it's after the kiddos are in for the night. One night it was tripped with nothing in it but whatever went in had struggled to get out as it got caught on part of the inside wiring and it was pulled out a little. No permanent damage to the wiring.

I don't think I have anything in the hen shed itself, but since I knew stuff was out there I thought I'd give that zapper a try. Definitely catching the mice like crazy.

I have had a rat zapper for two years. One thing is that it doesn't work if the critter had dry feet - so if you see that the bait is gone/red light is on but nothing caught, you can put a damp or wet cloth so the critter has to walk on it before going into the trap.

I might get it out and set it up in the coop. the live trap hasn't been getting anything for a month or two.