YO GEORGIANS! :)

[Quack Addict]

ChickDancer, you really need to ID the predator so you can properly trap/eliminate it. Do you have any friends with game cameras you could borrow? If you're close to Tift county I would happily loan you one of mine. If your problem is a fox, as I suspect, box traps won't do much good. They are far too wary for that. Do they go under the exact same spot every time? If so maybe placing the box trap inside the pen with the opening against the spot they come through would work.

 

[LingaB]

Anyone's chickens spending the day in the coop? Mine have plenty of room in the run and I am always giving them fresh grass to munch on but unless I go outside they stayin the coop 90% of the day. Could it be the heat?

 

[amandarc]

Congratulations on the new adventure and welcome!

Thank you, I'm so sorry to hear about your losses. I have been fully warned by many to expect losses with raising chickens. The not so fun part of it. We have coyotes, raccoons, foxes in Atlanta just like in rural parts. A coyote actually got my cat so predator proofing has been where much of my money has gone to building our coop/run. I wish I could offer advice, but I'm unable. Sending a virtual hug to you, I would be upset waking up to all that frustration and sadness.

 

[ChickDancer]

Thanks!! I'm actually in Atlanta, however, we have been blessed with a home on 2 acres despite being close to buckhead. I have always wanted chickens for fun, educational purposes, eggs, pets, etc. If I could live on a farm I would, so being on land and near town, was a miracle

I am nervous about buying from a hatchery as well as craigslist. I really wish I knew someone with chicks I could trust the health and quality.
I would love to know which breeds others have had great success with for egg production and also friendly birds. I have heard a lot of mention on here about Golden Comets?? Anyone else have experience with these birds?

I normally have: Easter Eggers, Sumatra, Silkies, Frizzles, and soon to be many new breeds BUT

Silkies recently all got attacked and disappeared because of predators. I have chicks that I'm raising in hopes of getting more, but that will be a while.

 

[Rocky Rhodes]

They are doing well. Thanks for giving me mostly girl eggs.

I am glad that you had a high percentage of pullets. I hatched 12 Crested Cream Legbar eggs last week and 10 were males! I have no shortage of roosters.

 

[Rocky Rhodes]

New to the site!! Just built our coop and run. It's fabulous and big. Now to decide on which type of chickens and whether we want chicks or pullets. Then where to get them.... so much I need to know! I research everything, so advice is very welcome!

The first pic is of Rhodebars, The second pic is of Crested Cream Legbars and the last pic is their offspring. I am covered up with pullets roos and eggs. You can find out all about these auto-sexing breeds on Greenfire Farms website. Oh! By the way the Crested Cream Legbar lays the most beautiful powder-blue eggs you'll ever see.

 

[mrsdszoo]

Hey ChickDancer; just give me a call or text when those chicks show up this weekend. I'm sure I can find a spot for some of 'em.

Rocky Rhodes, those sure are some nice looking birds you have -I saw them in person at GAM and Robo's place. Auto- sexing chicks from blue eggs sound lovely too. I may have to get some chicks from you .

 

[Rocky Rhodes]

Hey ChickDancer; just give me a call or text when those chicks show up this weekend. I'm sure I can find a spot for some of 'em.

Rocky Rhodes, those sure are some nice looking birds you have -I saw them in person at GAM and Robo's place. Auto- sexing chicks from blue eggs sound lovely too. I may have to get some chicks from you

.

I am covered up, so you just say when. It's awesome knowing their sex before they even dry out, and I have never seen a more beautiful egg color than the pale blue of the Crested Cream Legbar. Thanks for the compliment.

 

[ChickDancer]

ChickDancer, you really need to ID the predator so you can properly trap/eliminate it. Do you have any friends with game cameras you could borrow? If you're close to Tift county I would happily loan you one of mine. If your problem is a fox, as I suspect, box traps won't do much good. They are far too wary for that. Do they go under the exact same spot every time? If so maybe placing the box trap inside the pen with the opening against the spot they come through would work.

In my experience watching a fox play around a trap one day, it's not because they are wary, but because they're stupid. I was inside, just watching him through the window as he walked around the trap, climbed on it, and tried his best to pull the bait THROUGH the trap. He just couldn't figure out to go to the FAR end to get in.

But I'm not so sure it's a fox either. Foxes are diurnal (sleep at night, like we do, awake during the day). If they're awake at night, it would only be at dusk or dawn. But nothing happens during those hours. It's nice and quiet. It only happens during the late hours of the night, which is what leads me to think Raccoon or Possum. Even a hawk would be sleeping then. Owls would be up, but they wouldn't be able to sneak UNDER the side of the pen like that.

But since there are only three chickens left in there, I've decided to go ahead and move them back to the big pen tonight. We moved them out in hopes of splitting them up by breed, but these new pens just aren't secure enough. So they'll all go back into the big main pen with the babies. It has sheet-metal siding to it (it used to be an old above-ground pool) that is 4-feet high, and plastic netting over the top. My only issue with creatures in there has been snakes, but I haven't seen one of those since I chopped the head off of a king snake who ate a golfball in there, thinking it was an egg (apparently, chickens aren't the only ones fooled by golf balls...).

 

[ChickDancer]

Hey ChickDancer; just give me a call or text when those chicks show up this weekend. I'm sure I can find a spot for some of 'em.

Rocky Rhodes, those sure are some nice looking birds you have -I saw them in person at GAM and Robo's place. Auto- sexing chicks from blue eggs sound lovely too. I may have to get some chicks from you

.

I should have room for them, since the old rabbit hutch is empty, along with that little short coop my sister found at the dump that I repaired. I just think it's funny how it turned out, lol!