Az OEGB
Songster
- May 24, 2022
- 367
- 1,471
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I realy like the idea of having wild flock. I have some jungle fowl most likely hybrids very similar to your crackers looks pretty much the same , same size, disregard the post earlier about them being larger than your crackers, I hadn't had a rooster for a while at that point and i remebered my brood cock bigger. Anyways to get to the point I have five acres theSo where I am now, I have two Cracker flocks on farm. One is down in the woods behind a half acre of electric net. There is one stag and 6 hens. The hens are pure Crackers, the stag is half-Cracker, half-American. The hens are mature and are all at least 1.5-2 years old. The stag will soon be a year old. The stag’s name is Erik the Red.
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The habitat behind the net is a 1/4 acre of oak hammock and 1/4 of low-productive food plot. The habitat outside the net is several acres of oak hammock and bayhead swamp, as well as more food plot. I also have a deer feeder behind the net that throws laying pellets and scratch twice a day. The chickens are not cleaning up the feed so I will probably cut the portion down.
The net is only being semi-successful at keeping the chickens in. Morning and evenings they often fly over it and forage is the wider hammock, which I’m fine with in principle, but I like the net to discourage bobcat attacks and to give the hens a safe place to ground-nest. But I can foresee having to take the net down soon. They may be safer without it instead of a single hen being out and pacing it until a bobcat corners her. Although the cats do respect the fence. Currently the flock roosts both behind and outside the fence. I will have to run an electric line around the feeder to stop bear from tearing it up if I take the net down.
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I have dispensation from the state wildlife agency to trap the bobcats. One in particular is quite large and has been a thorn in my side for about 5 years, being a major predator of my domestic turkeys.
The second Cracker flock is currently in a coop and is also headed by a half-American stag, and all of the pullets in that flock are 1/4 American.
chickens are on top of a hill. On the property right at the edge of it in a wash about 100 yards down from the main flock thiers a thick spot with some tall bushes somewhat enclosed on either side where there’s chickens by hills and a little flat piece right off of it. this pic was taken from the far edge of the chickens range what I was thinking about doing is taking some jungle fowl down their where the arrow is and starting a separate flock down there. Tomorrow I’ll try to get some better pics of the place. My question is do you think it would be worth trying and how should I go about doing it. The pictures are off my rooster and one of my hens
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