Any of ya'll have problems with day-time predators on full size chickens? Not going to try bantams as I'm sure they'd be hawk bait in my neck of the woods. I plan on locking them up each night in a coop.
LMAO #MeToo
GD rooster hated me too. Kicked him good once. That didn't deter him one bit
Ya can't beat White Leghorns for laying. That's what the Mahard Egg Farm chickens were. 
Only coyotes, and that's usually early morning or late evening if you pen the chickens at night.
My wife was the chicken person. Ever since I was a kid with my folks having chickens, I've not liked them. Partly because they poo everywhere. Oh, wait. That was when we let them free range on the farm.
When I was a kid, I had a problem with the rooster. I had that problem until I got ticked one day and took my little cotton rope out and roped the dirty devil. Sly sucker choked down and I thought I had killed it. I got my rope off of him and took off. I'd slip back to see if he had moved every now and then. Finally, about an hour later the rooster got up.
Never had a problem with him again. I just can't remember if he served the "rooster" function after that.
When I was a kid, I had a problem with the rooster. I had that problem until I got ticked one day and took my little cotton rope out and roped the dirty devil. Sly sucker choked down and I thought I had killed it. I got my rope off of him and took off. I'd slip back to see if he had moved every now and then. Finally, about an hour later the rooster got up.
Never had a problem with him again. I just can't remember if he served the "rooster" function after that.
Is that hatchery in Stillwater still going? Roper, maybe? I always heard good things about them. I haven't had chickens since I was a kid, and those got started with two chicks my brother and I got for Easter one year! When we finally got rid of them, we had fifty!
We had chickens several years ago. There's just the 2 of us, and 4 hens was more than enough. You want more then 2 birds, they are flock animals, and need company. We let them out in the land (which is part of the reason we don't have them anymore....more later) to graze. They came back into the coop at night (early evening, really) on their own. They ate anything that they could catch - grasshoppers, ticks, snakes, lizards. They actually make good mousers too.
The problem - everything eats chickens, or eggs. If it doesn't eat chickens, it kills chickens for sport (dogs). The biggest reason we no longer have hens - I got tired of shooting dogs. Dogs digging into the coop, dogs getting on the roof of the coop and breaking in from there, dogs chasing the hens on my property. Most of them died of lead poisoning (the dogs, not the hens), and the rest got scared off.
The problem with shooting dogs - now you've got a dog corpse on your hands. There's only so many ditches to throw them in. After a while, it's easier to get rid of the birds.
One thing I did learn - when you shoot your neighbors dog(s) for killing your chickens, DO NOT tell them. When the neighbors come around asking about the missing dog(s), the correct answer is "... well, now, I haven't seen that dog (those dogs) in several days....".
Never lie, just answer a different question.
The problem - everything eats chickens, or eggs. If it doesn't eat chickens, it kills chickens for sport (dogs). The biggest reason we no longer have hens - I got tired of shooting dogs. Dogs digging into the coop, dogs getting on the roof of the coop and breaking in from there, dogs chasing the hens on my property. Most of them died of lead poisoning (the dogs, not the hens), and the rest got scared off.
The problem with shooting dogs - now you've got a dog corpse on your hands. There's only so many ditches to throw them in. After a while, it's easier to get rid of the birds.
One thing I did learn - when you shoot your neighbors dog(s) for killing your chickens, DO NOT tell them. When the neighbors come around asking about the missing dog(s), the correct answer is "... well, now, I haven't seen that dog (those dogs) in several days....".
Never lie, just answer a different question.
You don’t need a Rooster to collect eggs, only if you want to fertilize and breed.
Yep, chickens ovulate either way. And that's what those delicious eggs are.
Nope, no problem with predators but their entire area is covered by branches from the neighbor's trees hanging over the fence line. I've heard from the neighbor he found a couple of possums in his back yard but I've never seen but one. He was up in some of those overhanging branches. I used to go out and shut the door on the hutch they sleep in but haven't in quite a while.
The rooster is the permanent scar on my psyche. I got the chicken thing down.
What comes first the Chicken or the egg?
Who cares, it should be the axe and that takes care of both.
Similar threads
