Raising Chickens

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

Speaking of snakes. Don't normally shoot rat snakes but I do shoot thieves who I know will just keep coming back for more  loot.

Very sneaky snek. My nest boxes are attached to the back door and are about an inch or so above the floor of the coop when it's closed so they can drain underneath. Where that snek is laying would be under the boxes with the door closed. Likely nobody could have seen him under there, not even that mean barred rock rooster. And he would have just slithered out after dark once they were all on the roost up above.

 

 

Edited May 14, 2020 by crimsonlonghorn

[TexasEd 8067]

Snek, "I was just in here to eat the rats that were getting into the feed, honestly."

[mr. sunshine 2827]

It’s been years since we had chicken coops and a pen but occasionally we’d find one gone in the morning with a smooth, bloody tunnel under the outer concrete/rebar barrier. Weasels are a motherfucker but gotta appreciate the craftiness 

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

On 5/6/2020 at 3:54 PM, crimsonlonghorn said:

Last month my kids convinced me to let one of our broody hens sit on some eggs and try to hatch them. Rather than let the hen lay them all we collected eggs from two coops and gave her an instant clutch of nine eggs. May 7 (tomorrow) was supposed to be the day.

Two eggs broke early on and were thrown out. We found a dead premie in the coop on Monday (gross) but then opened the coop this afternoon and found these with the mother still sitting on four more eggs. 

Never hatched eggs before. This is kind of cool. 

They will all be mixed breed since none of the roosters and hens in either coop where we gathered the eggs are of the same breed. The one on top is likely a cross of the Barred Rock rooster and a Buff Orpington hen. The one on the bottom hatched from a white egg, so we know she's 1/2 leghorn (and looks like a leghorn chick) but can't tell which rooster was her daddy. 

Lost the little yellow chick on Sunday night. Dead body was in the coop with the head pulled off, which makes me think a raccoon got him through the steel mesh and could only get the head since it was still small enough to fit. I'm curious why he wasn't roosting up inside with the other birds, but maybe he didn't know better and his mom didn't know he was gone.

My 13 YO was pretty broken up about it after we found the body. That chick was was growing a comb pretty rapidly and appeared to be a leghorn/orpington cross cockerel. 

Ironically, the other chick had injured herself over the weekend and had a bloody scratch on her head, so she got moved into the brooder box to heal and avoid the risk of getting pecked. This probably saved her because I'd think she would have been with the other chick on the ground when the same raccoon came by that night. 

Circle of life and everything... 

Edited June 16, 2020 by crimsonlonghorn

[DDD Dad 14339]

2 hours ago, crimsonlonghorn said:

Lost the little yellow chick on Sunday night. Dead body was in the coop with the head pulled off, which makes me think a raccoon got him through the steel mesh and could only get the head since it was still small enough to fit. I'm curious why he wasn't roosting up inside with the other birds, but maybe he didn't know better and his mom didn't know he was gone.

My 13 YO was pretty broken up about it after we found the body. That chick was was growing a comb pretty rapidly and appeared to be a leghorn/orpington cross cockerel. 

Ironically, the other chick had injured herself over the weekend and had a bloody scratch on her head, so she got moved into the brooder box to heal and avoid the risk of getting pecked. This probably saved her because I'd think she would have been with the other chick on the ground when the same raccoon came by that night. 

Circle of life and everything... 

That and raccoons often will just eat the head and leave the rest.

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

1 hour ago, DDD Dad said:

That and raccoons often will just eat the head and leave the rest.

Yeah, totally agree on that. 

I guess the good news is that all the other birds in that tractor were still alive and fine the next morning and the raccoon(s) never got into the roost itself. I've had my share of coon massacres where you go out there in the morning and dead chicken parts are everywhere. Pretty clear this little 5 week old chick was the only one it (they) could get to for whatever reason. 

[BradInATX 9208]

Do chickens actually clear your yard of scorpions, or is that an old wives' tale? New place in the hill country is scorpionapalooza and looking for ways to control them a bit, besides going rambo on them with the grip end of a golf club while drinking a bourbon. I could free range a few of them in the back yard where I've found the majority of the scorpions. Have a lab that won't mess with them (doesn't care much about birds) that hates furry animals and would scare raccoons and foxes off. I'm sure I'd lose a few here and there, but that's fine, as long as they eat the scorpions. I don't really care much if they're on the rest of the property, we have acreage in the country-ish, they're going to be here. But I want my toddler to be able to play in the yard without getting stung.

PS - golf club + black light to light up scorpions + whiskey = a great way to kill 30 minutes

Before and after glowy, bitch ass scorpion.

Edited August 27, 2020 by BradInATX

[Sam Lin 3559]

They'll clear your yard of basically any pest.

And be careful with the lab, AZ vets regularly get cases of pets stung by scorpions. Severe cases may require antivenin, which isn't any cheaper for a dog than a human. Those can become multi-thousand-dollar vet visits.

[BradInATX 9208]

They'll clear your yard of basically any pest.
And be careful with the lab, AZ vets regularly get cases of pets stung by scorpions. Severe cases may require antivenin, which isn't any cheaper for a dog than a human. Those can become multi-thousand-dollar vet visits.

Aren't AZ and TX scorpions different? I don't think ours are venomous.

[ROFL BOX 6649]

Where "out here" in the Hill Country are you?

& YES, chickens will tear it up on every bug possible.  The horses will benefit from less flies.  The pill bug problem resurfaced after we de-chickened.  Will be getting birds back, but not the volume we had before (were up to around 65 max @ one time, between the dumbass Guinea hens & chickens.  Maybe 20 were Guineas.  Every once in awhile I would get a few birds around a piece of plastic (old piece leftover from a Rubbermaid low shed) & lift that up - Pill-Bug-A-Palooza!
 

The birds got free range access 6 or 7 days a week & the yard was dirt & dust - gonna reduce that to maybe 2 or 3 days when we get back into them.

[BradInATX 9208]

10 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

Where "out here" in the Hill Country are you?

& YES, chickens will tear it up on every bug possible.  The horses will benefit from less flies.  The pill bug problem resurfaced after we de-chickened.  Will be getting birds back, but not the volume we had before (were up to around 65 max @ one time, between the dumbass Guinea hens & chickens.  Maybe 20 were Guineas.  Every once in awhile I would get a few birds around a piece of plastic (old piece leftover from a Rubbermaid low shed) & lift that up - Pill-Bug-A-Palooza!
 

The birds got free range access 6 or 7 days a week & the yard was dirt & dust - gonna reduce that to maybe 2 or 3 days when we get back into them.

New Braunfels area. Between NB and Canyon Lake. 

So they tore your grass up completely? I'm looking at a much lower number of them, like three or four. Is it possible to maintain a decent yard with a small number of chickens in it, or are they going to tear it all to shit?

Was looking at Guinea Hens too. Are they really that loud? Like bothering the neighbors from 200 yards away loud?

Edited August 28, 2020 by BradInATX

[Pato del Muerto 52529]

The chickens will eat damn near anything green. We have 4 now, used to let them free range in the back yard but I had to section them off partly because of eating the grass, and partly because the dogs loved to eat the chicken shit that was everywhere. 

[BradInATX 9208]

Furk. Plan B I guess. I hear guineas don't tear up the yard, but they're annoying as hell from what I understand.

Edited August 28, 2020 by BradInATX

[EvilCaseMcCoy 691]

We have 3 chickens, can confirm they eat the yard and dogs eat their shit.

Also, now a rat comes every night to eat their overflow feed.  No snakes yet. 

[ROFL BOX 6649]

Just don't let the chix out daily & you will do OK.

Are you thinking on a tractor or a permanent house?

[Spaulding Smails 1553]

Chickens will eat the shit out of bugs.  I built our chicken run adjacent to our garden.  Pest count in the garden went way down once we got the chickens.  My only complaint is that they mess up the mulch in the flower beds.  More of an annoyance than anything.  

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

14 minutes ago, Spaulding Smails said:

Chickens will eat the shit out of bugs.  I built our chicken run adjacent to our garden.  Pest count in the garden went way down once we got the chickens.  My only complaint is that they mess up the mulch in the flower beds.  More of an annoyance than anything.  

Not sure about scorpions since we don't have very many (if any) in Fort Bend County, but they do clear out the other crawly bugs. My wife lets ours free range in her vegetable garden in the spring and they go to town on the pests. 

[Spaulding Smails 1553]

1 hour ago, crimsonlonghorn said:

Not sure about scorpions since we don't have very many (if any) in Fort Bend County, but they do clear out the other crawly bugs. My wife lets ours free range in her vegetable garden in the spring and they go to town on the pests. 

I tried that.  Once.  They mowed down the veggies along with the bugs.  Now, they're the perimeter defense and I had to weld on another panel to the bottom of the gate to keep them out of the garden.

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

18 minutes ago, Spaulding Smails said:

I tried that.  Once.  They mowed down the veggies along with the bugs.  Now, they're the perimeter defense and I had to weld on another panel to the bottom of the gate to keep them out of the garden.

Plants definitely have to be big enough. If they are just seedlings or sprouts the birds will for sure wreck the garden, too. 

[BradInATX 9208]

I tried that.  Once.  They mowed down the veggies along with the bugs.  Now, they're the perimeter defense and I had to weld on another panel to the bottom of the gate to keep them out of the garden.

Perimeter defense isn't a terrible idea actually. The fenced in yard part of my lot sits in a way where I could make a chicken run all the way around.
But now I have to get something else for the rats? Like a mongoose? Or a bald eagle (f yeah)?
Starting to feel like the episode of Always Sunny with the cat in the wall.

[Spaulding Smails 1553]

10 hours ago, BradInATX said:

Perimeter defense isn't a terrible idea actually. The fenced in yard part of my lot sits in a way where I could make a chicken run all the way around.
But now I have to get something else for the rats? Like a mongoose? Or a bald eagle (f yeah)?
Starting to feel like the episode of Always Sunny with the cat in the wall.

Mongoose sounds like a solid plan.  Or a bobcat that's trained to avoid birds and only focus on rodents.

[DDD Dad 14339]

Mongoose sounds like a solid plan.  Or a bobcat that's trained to avoid birds and only focus on rodents.

You should look into getting a liger.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4976]

Rat terrier?

[Walden Ponderer 12639]

So, this looks like it musta been painful:

 

 

[Kennythetiger 9393]

A double-yolker. 

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

Any ideas? Head and craw are still attached, that and time of year makes me want to rule out a raccoon. Thinking maybe a dog or coyote? The breast is ripped off and stomach exposed  

Three got out of the tractor yesterday afternoon that we couldn’t catch. Came back after dark and one was sitting on top and got put back inside but the other two were nowhere to be seen. Came back this morning and found this carnage and the other one walking around with PTSD but unharmed otherwise. 
 

 

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

Starting letting my chickens free range during the day over the summer. They are much happier and I'm getting more eggs now.

No problems for the first month or so, but a few started roosting up in the trees instead of going inside the coop at night, so high up that my son and I couldn't reach them.

Then we found a few dead ones a couple of weeks ago so I put out my traps and sure enough.

 

I also think I've lost a couple to owls - including my wife's favorite gardening girlfriend - but there is nothing I can do about those. Either the chickens decide to get back inside the coop at night or they'll all eventually get killed off. 

 

Edited September 15, 2021 by crimsonlonghorn

[Spaulding Smails 1553]

On 9/15/2021 at 8:33 AM, crimsonlonghorn said:

Starting letting my chickens free range during the day over the summer. They are much happier and I'm getting more eggs now.

No problems for the first month or so, but a few started roosting up in the trees instead of going inside the coop at night, so high up that my son and I couldn't reach them.

Then we found a few dead ones a couple of weeks ago so I put out my traps and sure enough.

 

I also think I've lost a couple to owls - including my wife's favorite gardening girlfriend - but there is nothing I can do about those. Either the chickens decide to get back inside the coop at night or they'll all eventually get killed off. 

 

Chickens are looking great!  Free range is awesome.  The only downside for us was messing up the mulch around the flower beds.  But, we loved hanging in the pool and watching the hens peck around in the evening.  Also kept the bugs at bay for the most part.  The only time we lost chickens were when we didn't close the coop early enough.  Lost most of ours to a fox.  Make sure you count em when you put em up.  We had one of ours go broody over a nest down the back hillside of our property.  We didn't realize it and weren't counting chickens, and found a big pile of feathers and a dozen eggs the next morning.  She wasn't leaving that nest to roost and got whacked.  

[DDD Dad 14339]

On 9/17/2021 at 12:54 PM, Spaulding Smails said:

The only time we lost chickens were when we didn't close the coop early enough. 

I finally solved this problem with a Coop Control door opener.  The door is triggered by a light sensor that opens about 30 minutes after dawn and closes about 30 minutes after dusk.  Solar charged deep cycle battery operates the door.

I think I have a clip of it on my phone.  Will look and see if I can post it.

 

Edited October 15, 2021 by DDD Dad

[Spaulding Smails 1553]

15 hours ago, DDD Dad said:

I finally solved this problem with a Coop Control door opener.  The door is triggered by a light sensor that opens about 30 minutes after dawn and closes about 30 minutes after dusk.  Solar charged deep cycle battery operates the door.

I think I have a clip of it on my phone.  Will look and see if I can post it.

 

 

IMG_8684.MOV 10.45 MB · 3 downloads

OK.  That's pretty slick.  F'n brilliant too.  Will definitely have to check it out.  

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

On 10/15/2021 at 3:57 PM, DDD Dad said:

I finally solved this problem with a Coop Control door opener.  The door is triggered by a light sensor that opens about 30 minutes after dawn and closes about 30 minutes after dusk.  Solar charged deep cycle battery operates the door.

I think I have a clip of it on my phone.  Will look and see if I can post it.

 

 

I need one of those!

[DDD Dad 14339]

I need one of those!

It works great. I installed it about 6 months ago.

[hullabelew 3724]

This is the door I have.  

https://www.chickenguard.com/

Easy to set up and adjust.  Maybe once a month, one of them will fuck around and not get in.  I love it.  I have mine set up to open at a given time in the morning and it shuts just before it gets dark.  It can also be set up to open in relation to the sunrise.  The hens are amazing in that as the days are getting shorting, they still make it in about 5 minutes before the door shuts.  

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

Went out this morning and realized one of my girls was missing.

Found a pile of feathers after looking, but no carcass. I’m thinking she didn’t make it into the coop last night and a coyote found her and carried her off. She was also small enough that our resident owl might have been able to pick her up. 

Losing a chicken isn’t that unusual, losing them to predators is part of having free range chickens, but this particular one was a rescue. She and her sister were dropped off by a lady a couple of years ago who said she didn’t want them anymore. They were very distinctive looking mixed breeds who laid small eggs, very unfriendly to humans (hard to catch), and we’re inseparable. But they had also lived in a cage all their life previously and got to run loose at my farm.

Gotta admit, I’m a little bit sad  

Picture below is of the surviving sister. RIP Meena.

 

 

 

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

[Kennythetiger 9393]

Stray dog?  Doesn’t really look like a coyote to me. 

[Mother mopar 3319]

Stray dog?  Doesn’t really look like a coyote to me. 

That's a coyote, look at the ears and how vertical and "V" shaped they are. That's a true sign of a predator. Dog ears are not normally that wide at the base with such a vertical V without ear cropping. Only few breeds get ear crops: pit, Doberman, great dane, or a boxer.....and that picture isn't any of those breeds.

[Spaulding Smails 1553]

Bummer @crimsonlonghorn.  Good lookin chicken.  Hard to tell from the pictures, but are they Bantams?

We've lost our fair share over the years.  To your point, sometime's you understand it's just part of nature.  Other times, it hits hard.  My daughter was heartbroken when we forgot to close the coop and lost our two ducks to a fox.  The other one that my wife was most upset about was a Bantam (Vanilli who's sister was Millie).  We didn't realize she had started laying eggs down the hill.  Didn't count chickens when we put them up one night, and she got whacked while sitting on her nest one night.  Big pile of white feathers right next to a pile of eggs.  Always a bummer.

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

No, not bantams. They were just on the smallish side of normal. Very unusual looking mongrel chickens with so many feathers on their feet they look like feather dusters. 
 

Definitely a coyote since she was carried off. That picture I posted might not be the actual one, but I get plenty of others on my cameras most nights. They are always passing through. 
 

I’ve lost plenty of chickens to raccoons, hawks, and owls, too. Kind of sad, but it’s just part of the game. You can’t get mad at the chickens and you can’t be mad at the predators. That’s just what they do. 
 

 

[Spaulding Smails 1553]

Buttoning up the coop at our new property.  Still need to run power and water to it, add some battens and trim on the exterior and finish up the nesting boxes inside, then add decomposed granite on the ground.  But, the ladies are out of the elements now, so my wife is happy.  We only had two left after the move and are holding off until we have power to buy another round of chicks.  I think we'll be able to keep 20+ in there comfortably.  We'll let the free range during the day while we're home, but I made sure to make the screen area plenty large so we can leave for a long weekend without them being too cramped.  I'll post more pics when 100% completed.

  

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

Man that's sweet. 

[Kennythetiger 9393]

That’s nicer than my house. 

[Zukster 34]

My daughter raises broilers seasonally for various AG shows. This year she raised 50 birds. 5 went to the Houston Live Stock Show and the rest went to the freezer.  The best and worst part is after the shows are over….. processing 45 birds sucks, but a full freezer is a nice reward at the end of the season. 

 

[Spaulding Smails 1553]

8 hours ago, Zukster said:

My daughter raises broilers seasonally for various AG shows. This year she raised 50 birds. 5 went to the Houston Live Stock Show and the rest went to the freezer.  The best and worst part is after the shows are over….. processing 45 birds sucks, but a full freezer is a nice reward at the end of the season. 

 

Any tips for processing?  Do you have a mechanical plucker?  We had a hen get broody a few years back.  Had an employee give me about a dozen fertilized eggs.  We ended up butchering the half dozen roosters from that hatch.  It was manageable, but kind of a pain.  Would've been a real chore with 45 birds.  And, they were by no means broilers, so the yield wasn't much, but damn they sure were tasty.

[BabaYaga 15301]

On 8/27/2020 at 9:35 PM, BradInATX said:

Was looking at Guinea Hens too. Are they really that loud? Like bothering the neighbors from 200 yards away loud?

Aunt raised them at her ranch.  Yes they are loud and annoying and if one gets separated from the flock they will never shut up.  They are also voracious.  Beyond just bugs, they will team up on snakes, lizards, and vermin.  They roost up high, so at night if not the coop they'll be in the trees.  They are also not great mothers, so be careful with that.  

[Kennythetiger 9393]

They’re very entertaining, but I tried them for several years and couldn’t keep them around. Seemed like their loud squawking attracted the attention of curious predators. 

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

I have one rule when it comes to killing snakes: You are free to wander around the farm all you want and I'll even stop and watch you and think you are cool.

But if I catch you inside the coop, then you're considered irredeemable and may god have mercy on your egg thieving soul. 

[Hornbeliever 712]

On 4/13/2022 at 7:10 PM, crimsonlonghorn said:

I have one rule when it comes to killing snakes: You are free to wander around the farm all you want and I'll even stop and watch you and think you are cool.

But if I catch you inside the coop, then you're considered irredeemable and may god have mercy on your egg thieving soul. 

 

 

Great philosophy.....what kind is that?  I like seeing snakes at our ranchito but still can't identify worth shit.

Also, how did you kill it?

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

On 4/15/2022 at 6:19 PM, Hornbeliever said:

Great philosophy.....what kind is that?  I like seeing snakes at our ranchito but still can't identify worth shit.

Also, how did you kill it?

It was just a big rat snake. I have them all over my place. I saw him the other day in the grass next to the coop and he ran off and I figured he would be back.

As soon as I opened the door last Wednesday and didn't see any eggs in the nest, I knew who was responsible. Opened the door a little bit more and he was coiled up in the corner digesting his meal in the shade.

I keep a 22 revolver in my mule loaded with rat shot. Hard to miss from 3 feet away and easy to pop 2-3 shots in a row. 

I hate killing snakes but I like my chickens and eggs more and once they get in the first time they just keep coming back for more free meals. 

[kurioster 66]

Any recs on netting or the best hawk deterrent? 

Edited April 29, 2022 by kurioster