Recent content by spiceholler

  1. S

    6 week old chicks below freezing temps

    i'm in the same boat. my chicks are 6 weeks old, it's March 18 and we're still having some freezes at night...about 30 degrees but I'd like to put them into their nursery coop and get them out of the house. they are fully feathered and there's 13 of them that will likely be able to keep...
  2. S

    To pinless peeper or not to pinless peeper- that is the question

    I'm considering using pinless peepers for my rooster who has singled out one of my senior hens who is not laying. Last year he was bullying her so much so that she ended up running away for a day or so and then when she came back she decided she wanted to sleep on the porch in a cat carrier...
  3. S

    Seed Starting Mat as Heat Source?

    I've got 13 one month old chicks that are outgrowing their brooder. I've got a small outdoor nursury setup with a mini coop (separate from the main coop) and have been bringing the chicks out during the day and bringing them back inside at dusk. Their mini coop is about 3'x3'x3' and seems too...
  4. S

    Broody Possibly Rejected Chicks. Worth Trying Again?

    We just pulled chicks from a broody. She had raised chicks before, but only 6 and now being winter the chick order minimum is 15 so we tried grafting them. We have done 15 successfully with another hen so we felt optimistic. We waited until nightfall and then opened the nursery coop and gave...
  5. S

    anyone try a Critter-Gitter

    we've got a vulnerable area adjacent to the coop. it's at the forest edge and we've done our best to cut back a lot of the surplus vegetation; however, we know that we have predator pressure, most likely bobcat or fox, we've seen both and know those are excellent hunters! we are considering...
  6. S

    rooster attacking one of my hens

    I don't believe he is trying to breed with her. the best I can describe is when they see each other, he runs towards her and she submits to him and he repeatedly pecks at her head. she's taken to avoiding the flock and now sleeps in a cat carrier on the porch. we let her out early to get a head...
  7. S

    Chick getting kicked out of flock

    We have one accidental rooster and decided to keep him. We've had him for about a year and he's pretty docile, except he's got one hen who is high in the pecking order that he's singled out. She submits to him and he pecks her in the neck. We've tried breaking up the "fight", but understand that...
  8. S

    rooster attacking one of my hens

    I've got an "accidental" rooster, about 1 year old and he's pretty good, very docile and respectful of us and most of the flock. I have one hen, "Massachusetts" who was formerly a high ranking hen and the rooster has been singling her out and attacking her. I watched it happen again...
  9. S

    How Many Chickens Will I Lose Free Ranging

    thinking about doing a temporary fence as we've had some more intense predator pressure of late. most likely fox but we have seen a bobcat in a thwarted attack. how long would make sense to cordon them off until the predator (or predators) move along? we know this isn't a certain solution, but...
  10. S

    Removing the Predators Food Supply

    that is good advice, but i wish we had the time or funds to take on another coop build. we have invested a significant amount into their current coop. i suppose as you say there are no shortcuts. As we are in a rural area with 400+ acres around the property (recently logged which I believe has...
  11. S

    Removing the Predators Food Supply

    their coop is very very secure. they are getting picked off generally at dusk when they gather near the coop to have a snack before bedtime.
  12. S

    Removing the Predators Food Supply

    The losses to our flock have recently seen a steep uptick and we lost another hen last night. (We had left for a dinner party and knew we were taking a risk, ugh!) Based on the hunting behavior and pile of feathers, we believe we are dealing with either a fox (from the nearby droppings) or a...
  13. S

    Can environment cause broodyness?

    we just tossed a third into our broody pen (our former duck house). we also just found a clutch of 20 eggs under said pen. the third broody was sitting on them! the first two have been there for a little over a week so we're considering a slight modification to the setup and we need to make...
  14. S

    Fox spotted this morning

    interesting. i read that foxes are extremely scared/cautious of dogs. however, any predator would probably easily get over any of their fears if they are hungry enough. we had some fox activity last year, lost two hens over a few weeks. we repeatedly sent the dog into the woods and sprayed some...
  15. S

    bears or coyotes?

    Yesterday was quite rainy and our ducks asked to be let out of their pen to free range for a bit. we have 3 ducks and about 20+ chickens (free range during the day). the rule has been that we are supposed to be watching the ducks while they are out, but of course we have loosened that rule as...
See more
Back
Top Bottom