# Venting post...



## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

Get chickens they say, it'll be fun. 

bought a dozen (6 production reds, 6 golden comets) last March with the expectation of 4-5 of them not surviving and the possibility that some might be cocka-doodle-dooers. I have never raised anything from birth... well they all survive. they would not all fit in my coop so I had to sell some after months of raising and caring for them- sucked. GAVE 4 to my brother. he builds a ratty coop and all but 1 gets picked off by a **** a few days later. then he GIVES the last one to his neighbor....not the person that originally GAVE him 4 grown chickens!!!

back to my flock. they start laying and we have eggs running out our ears. **** breaks in and gets one chicken. sucked. reinforced and beefed up the coop. rocking along good with the exception of molting and some hens getting really broody. then about 2 months ago when I come home and one chicken doesn't return to the coop to roost ( I freerange them during the day). I looked everywhere on our property and in the woods...not a feather to be found. maybe a hawk or other big bird? down to 6 hens (4 golden comets, 2 prod reds). come home 3 weeks ago to only 2 hens. found piles of feathers in 4 different locations throughout the woods by my house.  
I now have 2 lonely hens that I am forced to keep cooped all day. they now pace the length of the coop and eat their own eggs as soon as they lay. what gives?! 

but you know what...I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have learned a lot and enjoyed the heck out of every aspect of raising chickens. well, except shoveling poop and losing chickens. I now have 21 new chicks on order, plans to renovate and add on to the coop and run, and I am trapping fox and **** in the woods by my house . my chicks just can't get here soon enough. I have my brooder ready to go. oh and now I have my parents getting into the chicken bidniss. 

Like many things in life, it's a process. always help others, learn and better yourself where you can. "when you stop learning, you start dying"

cheers


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

So you now realize they never mention the work or heartache that comes along with having the feathered ones in your life? I guess that's because they're afraid they'll scare off any of the newbies. Let them find out for themselves kind of thinking.

Your girls that are up are bored. Toss a flake of straw in with them, give them something to do. That will ultimately mean more work for you when clean out time comes but they'll have something to take their attention off the eggs. I also buy the bales of alfalfa hay that TSC sells. My birds love it. Again, some extra work at clean out. Hang a head of lettuce or cabbage from the rafters.

I don't have family near me so when they do dumb things it doesn't involve me. I'm selfish that way.


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## OldBrickHouseFarm (Sep 30, 2014)

Cheers young man. 
I agree on the process and always learning.
Good luck on your flock additions.
What breeds are coming?


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## MichaelZ (Feb 27, 2015)

I like meat chickens cause (hopefully) you will raise them to full size, butcher, and not have to worry about racoons, dogs, etc. I do not deal well with lost birds. If I had layers, which I may someday, I would have a bullet-proof coop with electric wire around the night-time lockup. The more time that passes, the greater the probability that some problem animal will intrude. Once a racoon decides to intrude, it is pretty hard to stop him.


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

OldBrickHouseFarm said:


> What breeds are coming?


black australorp, EEs, brown leghorn, golden comet, Plymouth barred rock


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

I adore my Australorps. They're amazing birds and I couldn't imagine not having them. My main breeding rooster, Cash, is my "chicken ambassador". He travels with me to 4H meetings and when I do chick hatching in the school classrooms to give the kids a chance to get hands on. Wonderful, wonderful breed.


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## Barredrockmom (Jun 27, 2014)

I have two huge tanks that are very aggressive to intruders but my land is fenced and safe for free ranging birds. You live where there are so many predators. I would say the best thing to use is Hardware cloth. We have a double walled coop with Hardware cloth in the windows, under the vinyl floor and up, over and under the run. This way no critters can dig their way in. Also keep the door way raised about 5 inches from the ground, again with Hardware cloth door and 4 by 6 step into the run. I have a metal closing mechanism in the middle of the door to the run with three wood toggles bars to keep out ***** that are smart. My coop door also has metal closures. I feel an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I have two hens that are now going on 6 years old. They are Barredrocks and weigh about 7-8 pounds. When they chase off cats, they also shreek. Scares the hell out of the neighbors cats.


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## zamora (May 26, 2015)

I love your posts! 

We heard a fox barking in the woods near our coop the other morning when we were leaving for work. Hy husband grabbed the .22 and headed for the woods. He never did get the fox but the chickens made it through the day but we leave them in the coop while we are gone and they get turned out when we get home. We surmise that a raccoon was the reason for the slaughter of our last flock several years ago and are scared of it happening again so have tried to reinforce our coop to keep predators out.

*fingers crossed*


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

Barredrockmom said:


> I have two huge tanks that are very aggressive to intruders but my land is fenced and safe for free ranging birds. You live where there are so many predators. I would say the best thing to use is Hardware cloth. We have a double walled coop with Hardware cloth in the windows, under the vinyl floor and up, over and under the run. This way no critters can dig their way in. Also keep the door way raised about 5 inches from the ground, again with Hardware cloth door and 4 by 6 step into the run. I have a metal closing mechanism in the middle of the door to the run with three wood toggles bars to keep out ***** that are smart. My coop door also has metal closures. I feel an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I have two hens that are now going on 6 years old. They are Barredrocks and weigh about 7-8 pounds. When they chase off cats, they also shreek. Scares the hell out of the neighbors cats.


 by tanks I assume you are referring to dogs? what breed?
and I picked up some of that hardware cloth...tough stuff. I would hate to know my dinner depended on me breaking through that stuff. thanks for the ideas!


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

zamora said:


> I love your posts!
> 
> We heard a fox barking in the woods near our coop the other morning when we were leaving for work. Hy husband grabbed the .22 and headed for the woods. He never did get the fox but the chickens made it through the day but we leave them in the coop while we are gone and they get turned out when we get home. We surmise that a raccoon was the reason for the slaughter of our last flock several years ago and are scared of it happening again so have tried to reinforce our coop to keep predators out.
> 
> *fingers crossed*


fox are what we are dealing with mostly. I hope to trap them. would make a nice fur to hang in the man cave...or on the side of my coop!


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## Barredrockmom (Jun 27, 2014)

By Tanks? I was referring to my two lead Barredrock hens. They are huge and you can hear them running across the yard and storming through the bushes. Very imposing but the sweetest things and good layers. This is Lacy and Clarabelle at two years old. They are now 6 years old and huge!


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

oh! hahahaha
wow those are some pretty girls. good pics
I hope to have a couple of those real soon


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## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

I think most of us go through these trials and tribulations.... I was told if you start with chicks expect half to die. So we ordered 2 dozen. They came with a ton of extras and guess what? We only had one DOA and three that died in the first week. This left us with almost 30 chickens! So the run we built we got real small real fast, needed some drastic additions, especially since our birds could have put your tanks to shame.... the Buff Orps and Brahmas.... you could see your ripples in your coffee when they ran! Of course two were missexed... and we had to part with them because we were so close to so many other houses we didn't want to make anyone mad. That sucked. Then we had them for almost two years when a raccoon broke in twice (once after improvements were made to the security!) and took out a good half of the flock... Not long after that, just short of two years having them, my neighbors decided to send out a letter threatening whoever it was who had the chickens that they weren't legal and actions would be taken. Low and behold we were in the ONE neighborhood in our entire town to be zoned as no livestock what-so-ever. I found this spiteful.... as they didn't even know which house it was (and threatened to send the chicken gestapo to go knock on doors to find where the "chicken noises" were coming from!) but this was the way the neighborhood usually worked - with a small hierarchy of bored soccer moms terrorizing everyone else who is minding their own business. So we rather suddenly had to find a home for a bunch of nearly spent hatchery hens... Got real lucky, found an AWESOME home with someone who lost all theirs to a dog attack. They are still spoiled out of their ever lovin' minds. A few months later we moved to a rural community to a parcel of land that was already a farm before us. And now we have around 100 birds (at my boyfriend's insistence - he really wants to sell eating eggs to the community and I still have about 20 roosters to dispatch when they get big enough to eat, which they almost are.) We're waiting for them to start laying now to see how this all works out....... In any event this has been an interesting journey with a lot of heart ache and learning as well. We're continuing onwards and I don't think we'll be stopping anytime soon.


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## Barredrockmom (Jun 27, 2014)

the Buff Orps and Brahmas.... you could see your ripples in your coffee when they ran! Of course two were missexed... "" 

Hahahah.

They must be huge! Sorry you had to endure these kind of people for neighbors. It seems the trend today that the minority is taking over the majority. Luckily my neighbors love hearing my hens cluck and I do try to let them out at dusk so they do not make too much noise early in the am... wanting out of the run. I have only 6 hens and one thinks she is a rooster. I still cannot find out who is crowing now and then. It is a real soft crow. So cute.


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## TheLazyL (Jun 20, 2012)

My first flock were Buff Orpingtons. 8 hens and a roster. Figured I'd lose 2 or 3. I didn't. At 2 1/2 years old they stop laying so that fall they went to freezer camp.

Replacement flock was an assortment of 12 hens. 3 each of; Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, Columbian Wyandotte, Golden Bluff and Rhode Island Red. 

Within 4 days I lost 4. Two Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, a Columbian Wyandotte and a Golden Bluff. 

They are now 2 1/2 months old and doing fine. The remaining Blue Lace does have a cross beak.

Figure I'll wait till spring to order 4 replacements.


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## Barredrockmom (Jun 27, 2014)

I was rehabbing a Black Bird who had crossed beak. I had to trim the ends every three weeks so she could eat. She lived many years to be a surrogate birds to other Blackies who were injured or babies. I miss her.


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

UPDATE

my uncle called and said why don't you come get you a few chickens (he has around 60)? so I went with intentions of getting 2-3 laying hens so I could have something to look at and some eggs until my chicks get here. I travel 2 hours and long story short I end up with 2 pullets (11 week old mix of several breeds), 2 laying hens (gigantic white chicken), and small rooster. I have no idea how I got talked into the rooster and those huge hens. they weighed about 12 lbs each. I think the rooster is a game bird or something...

get them home around 1am and stick them on the roost with my 2 chickens that I have left (1 prod red and 1 golden comet). kept the pullets in the cage inside the coop. wake up at 5 and hear that little rooster doing his thing and my 2 hens going CRAZY. pacing back and forth making all kinds of racket. I watched for a while to see how they interacted with the rooster and other 2 ginormous hens and they seemed okay. a little stand offish but okay. I leave for work. wife calls around noon and says she thinks our hens killed one of the new hens. so I told her to turn our 2 hens out of the coop. shortly after that she calls again and says both of the new hens are laying on the ground lifeless. GREAT. rooster is fine though.

I get home and find 2 dead hens, 2 pissed off hens, a crazy rooster, 1 horrified pullet in the cage and one pullet that the wife accidently let out and it ran into the woods somewhere. I hauled off the 2 dead hens. let the 2 original hens back in the coop to roost with the rooster. btw, the rooster is holding his own pretty well against my 2 hens that are more than twice his size.


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## chickenmommy (Apr 30, 2013)

I'm sorry rosco. Hens can be rough while they figure out their pecking order. When do u get ur new babies in?


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

mid Aug....


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## chickenmommy (Apr 30, 2013)

Oh that's still another month away. That must seem like forever lol


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## zamora (May 26, 2015)

Sorry to hear about the deaths, that's so sad. Ours are still trying to find the right pecking order but we are about to enlarge the coop and hopefully that will help as well. I'll be so happy when all the feathers grow back in. The new three are starting to look a lot less raggedy.


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

im starting to wonder what to do when its time to integrate the new pullets (10) with my ol hens (2)...? should I cage the 2 ol hens? or just eat them? haha


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Most are able to integrate new birds in to the coop by doing an introduction phase with the new birds protected by a cage or a secure pen that separates them from the existing birds. I brought in a lot of birds during the time I was still raising them and didn't have any losses because of the others attacking.

Think about it this way. The new birds were somewhere totally foreign to them with an established flock. The established flock considered them to be intruders and because the new birds had no right to be there did not fight back.


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

chickenmommy said:


> Oh that's still another month away. That must seem like forever lol


yea im so flusterated. but trying to stay positive. so im taking some time to build some roll away laying boxes and add on to my coop/run.


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

thanks, that makes sense Robin. I gues you live and learn...then get Loves???

but when my new pullets are old enough to integrate, there will be at least 10 of them. not sure if I will have a cage big enough for them to keep them separate?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Then when you add on to the new coop fix it so it can be divided off in a temporary fashion. I've seen quite a few that had removable walls to allow for emergency use when things cropped up like an injured bird.


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## chickenmommy (Apr 30, 2013)

Rosco u should post pics as u get things done and of ur new babies when u get them. I already miss the little peep peep of baby chicks.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

chickenmommy said:


> Rosco u should post pics as u get things done and of ur new babies when u get them. I already miss the little peep peep of baby chicks.


uh oh, that's not a good thing. I have a feeling chicks are some how going to find their way in to your life.


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## chickenmommy (Apr 30, 2013)

I hope so I want more chickens lol. They r so addicting. I have 12 right now. I really want some Cochins. Little feathered feet r so adorable. But the hubs doesn't care that much about chickens. He just deals with them because I love them


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Same here with my hubs and the chickens. Although he was quite fond of my d'Uccles. Little Prissy came running up to him one weekend he was home. She didn't know him from Adam yet she was looking to him for rescue. 

She managed to get out of her pen and couldn't get back in. At that point any human would do so she tagged him. He reached down, she eagerly climbed in to his hand and allowed him to carry her back to her place of safety. That was it for him, they were worth having running around.


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

robin416 said:


> Then when you add on to the new coop fix it so it can be divided off in a temporary fashion. I've seen quite a few that had removable walls to allow for emergency use when things cropped up like an injured bird.


just when I thought I had it figured out in my head you gotta go and give me a new idea....haha thanks Robin


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

chickenmommy said:


> Rosco u should post pics as u get things done and of ur new babies when u get them. I already miss the little peep peep of baby chicks.


that's the plan...stay tuned


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I had eleven pens in my coop so it was never an issue. Add in that they were Silkies where flight wasn't an issue and it was pretty easy to deal with newbies or problem birds or those that needed more attention. 

Some of those I saw were quite ingenious when they were done. The easiest I saw was having a permanent wire wall but a large man door that could be left open if the whole coop needed the space. Some had a whole wall that could be removed like a folding door.


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## rosco47 (Jul 6, 2015)

any idea where you saw these pics? or post yours?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

We're talking a whole bunch of years back. I don't even remember if it was on a forum or something I stumbled across on the internet. 

The one with the perm wall is pretty straight forward. With the man door swinging back against the wall it was out of the way when the whole coop was in use.


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## chickenmommy (Apr 30, 2013)

robin416 said:


> Same here with my hubs and the chickens. Although he was quite fond of my d'Uccles. Little Prissy came running up to him one weekend he was home. She didn't know him from Adam yet she was looking to him for rescue.
> 
> We had a d' uccle rooster that was so sweet. It would let me hand feed it and hold it while it slept. Then once he claimed the hens as his he became so mean. If the girls would get too close he would try to chase me down. Lol I'm like ur the size of s fluffy potato what r u gonna do lol


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

chickenmommy said:


> robin416 said:
> 
> 
> > Same here with my hubs and the chickens. Although he was quite fond of my d'Uccles. Little Prissy came running up to him one weekend he was home. She didn't know him from Adam yet she was looking to him for rescue.
> ...


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## Barredrockmom (Jun 27, 2014)

At the end of the day, I have one fat old hen that likes to screw with the yearlings. She tries to keep them from entering the coop for the night. Little bugger waits inside and tries to bite them when they come through the door way. I pick her up and give her a light chicky spanking. LOL. Never works but makes me feel better. Little bully. She used to be low man on the to totem poll until her two sisters died. Now she takes full advantage of her rather rotund size.


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