Yes. I purchased 10 chicks and some predator (weasel or snake?) got in through small holes (less than 1 inch) in the coop at night twice in the first week after I got them and killed one bird each time. We covered every hole we could find in the coop with 1/4" hardware cloth and, as far as we...
My chicks are just over 3 months old (hatch date 23 April). They used to spend most of every day playing outside in their big shady pen or sitting on their outside roosts in that pen. At night they go on their coop up on their inside roosts to sleep. I shut the door as it starts getting dark...
Sadly, yes. Both young chickens and kittens. A lovely German Shorthair Pointer who meant them no harm. He would pick them up gently by the head and bring them to us. Unfortunately, he then simply sat quietly waiting for us to notice. If we noticed in time, they were unharmed but if we were busy...
Yes, no openings bigger than 1/4 inch for the chicken house is best but I have had problems only with big predators here and have been lucky about the smaller ones. We do have a high tensile electrified fence around the property perimeter and we haven't had a bear on our property since we...
Thank you. We do have a 6 ft speckled kingsnake who has lived here for years. It has never bothered chickens or eggs in all that time but
maybe he changed his mind on that. I am guessing security tight enough to keep a weasel out will also keep a snake out?
Thank you. So cover those holes with hardware cloth. I will have to use a different waterer but that's okay if it stops predators. Also will disable moving the coop but again, saving birds is more important. Set traps? What would be the best location for a trap and the best bait?
Something killed my 10 week old Salmon Faverolle on her roost upstairs inside the closed coop last night. It had to have gotten in through a hole no larger than chain link. 2 of those holes are access for nipples on the water. 2 holes are where the cables run to lift it with the wheels to move...
I thought this was an easy chick to identify. I thought a Barred Rock but a friend said "No. She is a Dominique." This picture was taken today, about 9 weeks old. So what breed is she and how can I tell?
Thank you Jed. They are growing so fast they look different every day now. I may not be very confident of their breed id's until the start laying! It really doesn't matter. They are cute and healthy and I am pretty sure all girls. My goal is fun pets that lay pretty eggs. 😁
10 birds, I think 9 different breeds. 2 are either Blue Ameraucana or Easter Egger, 1 Salmon Faverolle, 1 a red sex link/Isa?, 1 Speckled Sussex, 1 Barred Rock, 1 Rhode Island Red?, 1 New Hampshire Red?, 1 Buff Orpington, 1 Australorp?. As you can tell I am not certain of all my id's yet but...