- Sep 12, 2012
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Now that I've caught up and helped to address the chick issue.....
Problem came up with the new "pen" today. But it isn't all just a problem with the pen itself.
At the very bottom is about a 6-inch wide piece of plastic tarp that is supposed to fold under each side, and help keep bugs out of it in the uneven spots. The first day we set it up, we used rocks on that flap to stop the chickens from getting out. My sister said she planned to have her boys go into the pen, while I was at work, and hammer nails (or screws) down through that bottom flap every 8-12 inches or so, to keep it held down without rocks that could roll away.
I relied on them to get it done.
It didn't get done.
Three chickens got out today when strong winds forced those flaps to roll the rocks off of them. One has since been returned to the pen (Buddy, the only one I can always freely pick up without ANY fuss). One is roosting up in a tall tree, and hates being caught (black and white EE named "cookie"). And the third....
Was my gold polish rooster. There is no sign of him. Not even a big pile of feathers leftover from a struggle. That tells me it was MOST likely him getting out and getting picked up by a hawk. Ground predators usually leave signs of a struggle behind.
And if that isn't bad enough, my oldest nephew said he saw them out earlier, and didn't want to put them back because he didn't want to mess up anything about the screen arbor. I asked him what there is to mess up. He said he doesn't know, but he didn't want to mess up and have me yell at him.
I flatly told him there was no need to yell at him for any of it, but he would have to live with the fact that my good polish rooster died because he didn't do anything about chickens getting loose.
Now I've got 6 polish pullets due to show up on April 7th, and no rooster to go with them. Grrr....
Problem came up with the new "pen" today. But it isn't all just a problem with the pen itself.
At the very bottom is about a 6-inch wide piece of plastic tarp that is supposed to fold under each side, and help keep bugs out of it in the uneven spots. The first day we set it up, we used rocks on that flap to stop the chickens from getting out. My sister said she planned to have her boys go into the pen, while I was at work, and hammer nails (or screws) down through that bottom flap every 8-12 inches or so, to keep it held down without rocks that could roll away.
I relied on them to get it done.
It didn't get done.
Three chickens got out today when strong winds forced those flaps to roll the rocks off of them. One has since been returned to the pen (Buddy, the only one I can always freely pick up without ANY fuss). One is roosting up in a tall tree, and hates being caught (black and white EE named "cookie"). And the third....
Was my gold polish rooster. There is no sign of him. Not even a big pile of feathers leftover from a struggle. That tells me it was MOST likely him getting out and getting picked up by a hawk. Ground predators usually leave signs of a struggle behind.
And if that isn't bad enough, my oldest nephew said he saw them out earlier, and didn't want to put them back because he didn't want to mess up anything about the screen arbor. I asked him what there is to mess up. He said he doesn't know, but he didn't want to mess up and have me yell at him.
I flatly told him there was no need to yell at him for any of it, but he would have to live with the fact that my good polish rooster died because he didn't do anything about chickens getting loose.
Now I've got 6 polish pullets due to show up on April 7th, and no rooster to go with them. Grrr....
