Keep a close eye out. Once a predator figures out there is an easy source of food they will return until the food source is all gone. You may have shored up the spot they got in but they will search for another spot. They are crafty, check, recheck and triple check to make sure you are buttoned down tight.
Eggs
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I took my time building my new coop last year and so far I have not lost a chicken. The actual coop is 8x10 and is 4 feet off the ground. Underneath the coop is a storage area that is fully closed in With wood. The floor of the storage area is 6 inch concrete. The run is 8x20 and framed with 4x4 posts treated 2x6s and covered with hog panels. I have 2x2 wire under the bottom 2x6 and stapled to them. This wire extends 2 feet around the entire run and is buried about 4 inches. I covered the whole roof with corrugated tin,and blocked up the space between the trusses. At the time bird flu was an issue so the entire run is wrapped in 1/2 inch hardware cloth. The only expense I have in it is the concrete which I mixed by hand and the hardware cloth. All the rest was rough cut wood and tin panels I had already.
This summer I hope to add a rain barrel and a bell waterer. I tried fermenting my feed this year and have not gotten good results. I put feed in a 5 gallon bucket about 1/2 way full. Then added water til it was 3 inches above the feed. I did this for 4 days and 4 buckets and started to feed the feed. So far the chickens have not gone nuts over the feed and are leaving it. Anyone with experience got any ideas what I am doing wrong?
This summer I hope to add a rain barrel and a bell waterer. I tried fermenting my feed this year and have not gotten good results. I put feed in a 5 gallon bucket about 1/2 way full. Then added water til it was 3 inches above the feed. I did this for 4 days and 4 buckets and started to feed the feed. So far the chickens have not gone nuts over the feed and are leaving it. Anyone with experience got any ideas what I am doing wrong?
No experience with fermenting feed but I do have experience with 'coons. I'm watching the neighbors birds until their house is closed and the new owners take possession which is supposed to happen the end of the month. Well, Tuesday night the coons chewed a hole in the chicken wire about 3' off the ground and got inside the pen/coop. 9 birds were either missing or dead & partially eaten inside the pen/coop. The hole was about 18" dia. I patched the hole and reinforced some other areas that looked iffy. Wednesday night they pulled hard enough on the chicken wire at the same height that they opened up a hole large enough to squeeze in, but not large enough to get a bird out. 5 more dead, partially eaten birds. I said enough is enough, blocked off the door to the coop just enough to put a live trap in the doorway, and set five Z-Traps (Dog Proof coon traps) outside the pen and baited them with commercial fish food.
Friday morning I had 4 'coons (one boar, 3 females that had a litter) waiting for me and none had entered the pen, so there was nothing in the live trap that was blocking the coop door. I felt better, but reset the traps, found two more areas that they had torn the chicken wire AND the one wire from the 2"x4" galvanized inner wire that was around the perimeter of the pen at ground level. I reinforced those areas, closed up the hole that they had made Wednesday night, and moved the live trap outside of the pen. So now there were 6 traps outside of the pen.
This morning there were 4 more coon waiting for me. Again, one boar and 3 females. All the coon were adults, and these 3 females showed signs of recently having a litter too. So, that's 8 'coon in two days.... These also went to feed the buzzards and I will re-set/re-bait the traps tonight. I ordered 1/2 dzn more traps yesterday from Z Traps and they should be showing up soon. I'm seeing coon keeping the deer away from the deer feeder on the trail cam, so I will be putting some traps around that as well.
There is a "neighbor" (about 1/2 mile away) that "loves" coons. He will sit on his porch and feed them dog food, even having a few crawl up into his lap to eat. He even contacted the local animal control company and told them that they could release their caught 'coons on his place. A few years ago when the neighbors had a problem in their coop I fed 31 coons to the buzzards in the span of a few weeks. I am peeved to say the least and I will keep the traps set until I don't catch any more for a month. I'll rotate different baits just to be sure I'm not educating any. The buzzards should thank me, as should the turkeys and other nesting birds.
They won the first two skirmishes, but I WILL win the war - at least this year.
Friday morning I had 4 'coons (one boar, 3 females that had a litter) waiting for me and none had entered the pen, so there was nothing in the live trap that was blocking the coop door. I felt better, but reset the traps, found two more areas that they had torn the chicken wire AND the one wire from the 2"x4" galvanized inner wire that was around the perimeter of the pen at ground level. I reinforced those areas, closed up the hole that they had made Wednesday night, and moved the live trap outside of the pen. So now there were 6 traps outside of the pen.
This morning there were 4 more coon waiting for me. Again, one boar and 3 females. All the coon were adults, and these 3 females showed signs of recently having a litter too. So, that's 8 'coon in two days.... These also went to feed the buzzards and I will re-set/re-bait the traps tonight. I ordered 1/2 dzn more traps yesterday from Z Traps and they should be showing up soon. I'm seeing coon keeping the deer away from the deer feeder on the trail cam, so I will be putting some traps around that as well.
There is a "neighbor" (about 1/2 mile away) that "loves" coons. He will sit on his porch and feed them dog food, even having a few crawl up into his lap to eat. He even contacted the local animal control company and told them that they could release their caught 'coons on his place. A few years ago when the neighbors had a problem in their coop I fed 31 coons to the buzzards in the span of a few weeks. I am peeved to say the least and I will keep the traps set until I don't catch any more for a month. I'll rotate different baits just to be sure I'm not educating any. The buzzards should thank me, as should the turkeys and other nesting birds.
They won the first two skirmishes, but I WILL win the war - at least this year.
Always sucks to loose animals to predators when you thought you had them secure. We used 1/2" hardware mesh on our girls run. So far we haven't had issues. Neighbor had a fox or coon go through their chicken wire run few years ago. They switched to the hardware mesh and didn't have issues after that. Coons are smart too. Once they know they can get in they keep trying.
Walp, I don' t have to worry about the neighbors chickens any more. Closing on the house was yesterday, so they are the new neighbors problems now. They won't be a problem because he said he's not keeping them. Been there, done that he said and wasn't going to repeat the experience.
Bill G
ArboristSite King
Cotton mink = not worth skinning out. LOL
Bill G
ArboristSite King
Well with all due respect and no ill will I do not agree at all. If a take an animal's life in a trap I believe it is my duty to properly harvest and utilize it. I am the idiot who skins, stretches, and dries possum. I hate coyotes and it is legal to kill them 24-7-365 here but if in season I skin them out. Yes I have taken furs home that the buyer would not buy but I have done my due diligence.
In the case of the Mink it is a bit humorous. It was early summer while our sons were playing ball. We are good friends with the husband-wife conservation officers here and our sons played ball together for years. We were at a game one night and my wife asked Laura "hypothetically if a dead Mink was to show up in out chicken house would you like it for a education exhibit" Laura smiled and said "hypothetically I would toss it" I followed her instructions.
Maybe if your hens aren't laying this is the problem.
not me! i can just myself doing that to ants, spiders, hornets, mudders, snakes, etc...
but when it comes to snakes, espeically copperheads i do repurpose them. this one sat on can for few days. [doa] then i put on fence post... no takers. the S had take a set, made a hook. hung it on top barbed wire further out in the more obvious area... was gone next morning!
for sunny side up or over easy... i want yard eggs. for scrambled, store bot fine for me. just want them soft scrambled as a preference...
did these sunny side up at ranch other day... yum!
did these sunny side up at ranch other day... yum!
Bill G
ArboristSite King
I bet it cancan get a man in trouble, big trouble!
My chickens are about to bite the dust. Havent had a fresh egg all week. i have turned them on a diet of pure corn just to keep the weight up until I can get them to my sisters to try out her new plucker. The chicken had been getting all the 15% layer pellets they could eat as well as corn all summer. Not to mention all the garden scraps they could eat. One egg a day, two ever once in a while. They aint worth the corn it takes to keep them fed. I plan on investing in younger birds as soon as I get the pen empty.
Just butchered our meat birds Saturday. We only did 50 birds this year took about 2 hours. We have 45 egg layers and get 35 to 40 eggs a day. We are having trouble getting rid of eggs. About every 3 weeks we take around 20 to 25 dozen to the auction. I am thinking about selling about 15 of last years hens to lower feed costs and reduce egg production. Heck I am thinking about cutting back to around 8 hens and not sell any eggs. With the price of feed, it is hard to make a profit. With 8 hens compost and letting them eat the bugs and grass the feed bill would be cost effective.
I have read where some people are feeding beans and or rice. I also tried fermenting which did not work well for my flock. Anyone have any other feed ideas?
I have read where some people are feeding beans and or rice. I also tried fermenting which did not work well for my flock. Anyone have any other feed ideas?
no, since i don't raise chickens. but, my main yard egg source does. i will ask him about it. i have been buying his eggs, hands down, the best ever!
, for many years. orig they were $1.25/doz to his customers. i only met him by chance on a side trip. had a sign out in front of house: Eggs For Sale. i stopped. we hit it off right away. been friends since. i always paid him bit more than going market. that way, when i called for eggs. sure i got some for you! lol... told him use the dif to buy feed! then they went to $2 and i paid $3. i would pay $5 for his if i had to. others down here run ads, yard eggs, $5. i wouldn't buy! some so called free-range are small egg farms! only so many bugs out and on the ground! lol.my last couple dozen from him were $ -0-! i gave him something i did not need. farm related. still new. worth coupld hun. and i said, no, no $ required. asked several times. then, i said well, ok... a cold one will work! lol, then back at the refer he said, sure u don't want some eggs? i said, well, ok... if u dont need them! yolks as orange as the rising sun!
i had some for dinner last nite. had some ham in refer. spuds from nite before. my fav breakfast is fried ham n eggs!
well, you get the idea...
A dozen eggs are selling for $1.29 here in Georgia.
Be carefull with the beans and rice. I think I posted a video back in the spring about someone feeding beans and increaseing production. I tried it with a few cans of Lucks pinto beans and didnt see any improvement. I did a little research after that and it seems beans contain something that can kill your birds. The beans have to be cook first before feeding. Best I can fighre is chickens need lots of protien and sunlight to be productive. My Lot doesnt get the sunlite it needs, to much shade, but I have feed fed 15% protein layer mash all summer and also free feed whole corn and my birds performance has been very disappointing.
Thanks mudstopper for the heads up. Backyard lumberjack, I have one customer that pays $5.00 I told him I sell them to anyone else for $2.50 but he loves the eggs. I hate to take eggs to the auction but we still get 1.50 average. Last winter we were getting $4 and $ 5 a dozen eggs were scarce. Because of all the flu and poultry houses burning.
It takes around 24 weeks for hens to start laying so because of supply and demand the price came down. It seems like a lot of people started back yard flocks. My main laying birds go by different names. Red star, red X and so on. I also raise a duel purpose German chicken I really like called Bielefelder. I have 17 fertile eggs in the incubator right now. I may switch over entirely to this bred.
It takes around 24 weeks for hens to start laying so because of supply and demand the price came down. It seems like a lot of people started back yard flocks. My main laying birds go by different names. Red star, red X and so on. I also raise a duel purpose German chicken I really like called Bielefelder. I have 17 fertile eggs in the incubator right now. I may switch over entirely to this bred.
