Chickens

[Somebody]

Those of you who have or had a backyard flock of chickens, what kinds of chickens did you like best?

We like having a colorful egg basket and have some easter eggers. We also got a mix of brown egg layer and a mix of white eggs layers, both hatchery choice. Next time I think we will choose the ones we want instead, as some of these birds are quite flighty.

One flew over the fence today and in the process of helping me catch the chicken, the dog managed to get most of her - (the chicken!) - tail feathers pulled out.

[nett]

Those of you who have or had a backyard flock of chickens, what kinds of chickens did you like best?

We like having a colorful egg basket and have some easter eggers. We also got a mix of brown egg layer and a mix of white eggs layers, both hatchery choice. Next time I think we will choose the ones we want instead, as some of these birds are quite flighty.

One flew over the fence today and in the process of helping me catch the chicken, the dog managed to get most of her - (the chicken!) - tail feathers pulled out.

We have australorps, rhode Island reds, and golden comets. They are all excellent layers, and foragers, but they are not the smartest about going back into the coop at night. We get great eggs from them. And we don't have to feed them in the summer.

Comets are probably the most entertaining breed we've had. One of our roosters was convinced he belonged in the house, and would attempt to come in frequently.

I'd like to butcher all of our chickens, and start a flock of icelandic chickens. I understand to be one of the naturally broodiest breeds, capable of raising chicks without any intervention. Apparently they can forage more effectively than any other breed, needing very little food in the winter, and tolerating snow very well.

[Somebody]

Do you allow your birds to roam freely or are they fenced in?

We have a fox who thinks she can come catch a chicken for dinner in broad daylight. Our old hens roamed freely, but now that we have young ones we fenced off some pasture area for them.

[nett]

Do you allow your birds to roam freely or are they fenced in?

We have a fox who thinks she can come catch a chicken for dinner in broad daylight. Our old hens roamed freely, but now that we have young ones we fenced off some pasture area for them.

Our birds our 100% free-range all day. We have a livestock dog in our pasture who keep predators at bay. When the chickens sense a threat, they tend to flock around her.

They go into a locked coop at night. We had a large dysfunctional contingent of our flock that decided to roost in trees at night instead of going in to the coop, They all have gradually disappeared...

[Somebody]

What kind of dog do you have as your livestock guard?

How do you teach your dog to guard the animals / birds? Does the dog have a house in the meadow or sleep in the barn with the animals its guarding?

[nett]

What kind of dog do you have as your livestock guard?

How do you teach your dog to guard the animals / birds? Does the dog have a house in the meadow or sleep in the barn with the animals its guarding?

We have an Anatolian shepherd. We got her when she was 6, and she had been guarding chickens for a few year, she has attacked a few chickens for eating her food, but that's kind of unavoidable.

Our dog has a lean to on our barn that she lives in.

We're planning to start breeding Kangal dogs, they are similar to Anatolian Shepherds. We have found a shock collar is the best method for training puppies not to chase chickens. they don't have a prey drive, they just want to play, and chickens are fun to chase. That has to be broken early on, otherwise they can get a taste for chickens when they accidentally kill one.

another option to hang a dead chicken around their neck if they kill one. It does work, but it's not very fun.

[steve-in-kville]

If you keep a flock and raise them from chicks, weed out all the roosters but one. You really need one good rooster for protection.

[Ernie]

Monday evening after supper, I went out to our chicken coop to get some chickens ready for slaughter in the morning. Lo and behold, something had gotten into the coop and killed four chickens. (Something had obviously gotten them by the neck and killed them.) One was almost completely eaten. A fifth one had a very bloody neck but was still alive. We've never had anything like this before. I suspected a weasel. So I put a dead chicken in a box trap near the small opening where the animal got in. (The opening was small enough that it couldn't have been a very big animal.) Tuesday morning the trap was unsnapped and the dead chicken was still in the trap. This morning we caught a long, brown, slender animal who was not happy to be in the trap! It was not a weasel. Can you guess what it is?

[Ken]

Monday evening after supper, I went out to our chicken coop to get some chickens ready for slaughter in the morning. Lo and behold, something had gotten into the coop and killed four chickens. (Something had obviously gotten them by the neck and killed them.) One was almost completely eaten. A fifth one had a very bloody neck but was still alive. We've never had anything like this before. I suspected a weasel. So I put a dead chicken in a box trap near the small opening where the animal got in. (The opening was small enough that it couldn't have been a very big animal.) Tuesday morning the trap was unsnapped and the dead chicken was still in the trap. This morning we caught a long, brown, slender animal who was not happy to be in the trap! It was not a weasel. Can you guess what it is?

feral housecat?

[Neto]

Monday evening after supper, I went out to our chicken coop to get some chickens ready for slaughter in the morning. Lo and behold, something had gotten into the coop and killed four chickens. (Something had obviously gotten them by the neck and killed them.) One was almost completely eaten. A fifth one had a very bloody neck but was still alive. We've never had anything like this before. I suspected a weasel. So I put a dead chicken in a box trap near the small opening where the animal got in. (The opening was small enough that it couldn't have been a very big animal.) Tuesday morning the trap was unsnapped and the dead chicken was still in the trap. This morning we caught a long, brown, slender animal who was not happy to be in the trap! It was not a weasel. Can you guess what it is?

mink