Frozen chicken

[Ashful]

That is not good timing, losing all your feathers in mid january. Go show them a calendar.

Yeah, I mentioned that to my wife when the rest of them were doing it in the fall, but she said that’s normal timing. It was colder then, than it is now.

 

[Tegbert]

I have a 24' x 12' outdoor run outside the coop. The first 8' is roofed and then 16' is unroofed.

When it snowed, even after a couple days, you could go out there and find them confined to the 8x12 section with no snow on the ground. Not one set of tracks where a bold chicken tried to walk on the snow.

I went out one day and scattered some corn, which they will do nearly anything for. Some got scattered on the first 6" of the snow, where they could stand out of the snow and still reach it.

The next day, that little bit of corn was still sitting there in plain view.

They do NOT like the white stuff!

Mine usually stay where there is no snow either. But will venture out after a while.

Huh, our egg supply slowed down a little but is right back to 5-6 a day now. They're currently wandering between the overhang and being underneath the coop as it's raining.

View attachment 221455

What are the dimensions of your coop? Have you posted an outside shot?





Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

 

[jetsam]

Mine usually stay where there is no snow either. But will venture out after a while.

View attachment 221524



What are the dimensions of your coop? Have you posted an outside shot?





Lopi Rockport
Blaze King Ashford 25

Roughly 5x6, with an attached fully enclosed 12x24 run outside.

The plastic around the bottom is a winter thing to keep the wind off their crawlspace. In the summer it's open air (enclosed by hardware cloth).

 

[AlbergSteve]

Roughly 5x6, with an attached fully enclosed 12x24 run outside.

View attachment 221536

The plastic around the bottom is a winter thing to keep the wind off their crawlspace. In the summer it's open air (enclosed by hardware cloth).

Nice setup, we did this at our last place. If we had mink slinking around we could keep them in a predator proof run until I caught the mink.

 

[jetsam]

One really useful thing we learned from the internet when we were trying to figure out how to keep the dogs in a large fenced area:

Lay a piece of 24" hardware cloth down along each side of the run and coop, then lay a 2x4 on it at 18" and bend it into an L with 6" sticking up and 18" lying flat on the ground. Staple and hogring the 6" to the bottom of the existing vertical hardware cloth, and lay the 18" flat on the ground. Grass grows over it completely in a year or so.

Small predators can't dig under because they walk up to the vertical wire and start a tunnel within 6" of the barrier- but they're standing on hardware cloth and can't dig down. It's a lot easier than digging a big deep trench to bury the wire in, and apparently just as good. (It's worked for me for most of one extra-cold winter so far.)

This also works great if you want to keep dogs in a fenced yard. Tie chicken wire to the bottom of the fence and lay it flat on the ground around the inside. It'll be overgrown in a year, and dogs really can't seem to dig under it (I have 3 years of testing in on this one). I did 18" on that as well using 24" rolls of chicken wire.

 

[AlbergSteve]

One really useful thing we learned from the internet when we were trying to figure out how to keep the dogs in a large fenced area:

Lay a piece of 24" hardware cloth down along each side of the run and coop, then lay a 2x4 on it at 18" and bend it into an L with 6" sticking up and 18" lying flat on the ground. Staple and hogring the 6" to the bottom of the existing vertical hardware cloth, and lay the 18" flat on the ground. Grass grows over it completely in a year or so.

Small predators can't dig under because they walk up to the vertical wire and start a tunnel within 6" of the barrier- but they're standing on hardware cloth and can't dig down. It's a lot easier than digging a big deep trench to bury the wire in, and apparently just as good. (It's worked for me for most of one extra-cold winter so far.)

This also works great if you want to keep dogs in a fenced yard. Tie chicken wire to the bottom of the fence and lay it flat on the ground around the inside. It'll be overgrown in a year, and dogs really can't seem to dig under it (I have 3 years of testing in on this one). I did 18" on that as well using 24" rolls of chicken wire.

We did a similar thing, except we buried a 16'' skirt of hardware cloth about 6'' down and then turned it up to meet the above grade fencing - your way is easier!

 

[AlbergSteve]

Last year I had set a live trap beside the coop. My wife went down at dusk to collect eggs and thought we had a large rat in the trap. She picked up the trap and much to her fright...

 

[jetsam]

We have raccoons and possums. I have never seen a weasel or mink out here. We do have the biggest fattest groundhog I have ever seen. He has his burrow maybe 100 feet from the coop. I saw him in a mulberry tree one time and thought he was a badger at first! (This misidentification was aided by my belief that woodchucks did not climb trees.)

 

[AlbergSteve]

Came home to a missing bird yesterday, nothing but a fine layer of feathers in a 15 foot radius. The other 22 birds were huddled against the fence afraid they might be next! We have lots of birds of prey around here, redtail hawks, falcons, eagles and lots of great horned and barred owls that aren't afraid to enjoy buffet in the middle of the day. The bird they took was about 8 pounds, wouldn't have been an easy lunch.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Last year I had set a live trap beside the coop. My wife went down at dusk to collect eggs and thought we had a large rat in the trap. She picked up the trap and much to her fright...

View attachment 221559

Looks too big to be a mink. Fisher or Martin?

 

[AlbergSteve]

Looks too big to be a mink. Fisher or Martin?

No fisher on the island, and the marten tend to have large, prominent ears compared to mink. There are a lot of mink on the island and historically there were a couple of mink farms close by, reportedly with some inadvertent releases over the years.

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

No fisher on the island, and the marten tend to have large, prominent ears compared to mink. There are a lot of mink on the island and historically there were a couple of mink farms close by, reportedly with some inadvertent releases over the years.

Sounds like the Mrs. could use a nice new mink coat.

 

[jeanw]

luv the pics guy. keep them free ranging as much as possible.Please I luv the wonderful gals. I know each of mine(were mine) by their whine, voices and faces
I miss mine. we stop and visit them at new home. once or twice a week... Hubby said he didn't want them here. at this other house back in December. /At least they are still alive . They are NOT AS well cared for like I did. and NOW THEY have to deal with a dog and several cats, We went by tonight to visit and take treats, on way to other house to pick up more stuff ....
Roo roo lost top of his comb ,first it was bloodied by fighting with a Banty ROO, too they already had. but I believe frostbite from the last week or two of real cold temperatures and being in a real big barn area with lots of goats, too.
we Know the cats (underfed) are stealing their Organic feed we buy and take by....
Also and prob nite time possums and mice etc in such a big barn with many "doors" I would have retrained them to their treadle feeders I bought quite a while ago. Those will help keep out mice and rats. but Im sure those dam cats would fig out the treadle part. So we also take some cat food.
I gave them (my Feather babies, Trail mix and some canned salmon today ...mixed with little flax, teff and wheat....Had to keep pushing away the blank blank terrier and the 3 cats. LOL
Their combs are a bright red. Hubby thinks from the goat mineral and feed that gets spilt in the barn... The young boys showed me three eggs they found in the barn. Im glad...
Sure miss my organic free ranging eggs though. Im going to offer the new owners fake eggs and several of the kitty litter enclosed boxes I have that they used for nest boxes ,,,,,,we already took them the fabulous portable roost Hubby built... and the mineral feeder "dishes" that they used with and couple of water bowls. It been hard for the owners to keep water throughs etc open. I saw them using sledges to break up the ice for the goats and couple of cows lately. It was close to 40 today and sunny. My crew was out digging in front of the barn in piles of dirt and straw.

good luck guys with you flocks. Makes me smile and y'all have great healthy eggs esp when they can beomnivous. I just hate seeing "vegetarian fed" on store bought egg cartons. RAH... been trying to buy Pasture raised eggs like $6 a dozen. because the few people around I met may have "fresh eggs" but definitely not pasture raised. all confined to muddy "runs"....which breaks my heart.
Good luck y'all and thanks for listening.

 

[jeanw]

luv the pics guy. keep them free ranging as much as possible.Please I luv the wonderful gals. I know each of mine(were mine) by their whine, voices and faces
I miss mine. we stop and visit them at new home. once or twice a week... Hubby said he didn't want them here. at this other house back in December. /At least they are still alive . They are NOT AS well cared for like I did. and NOW THEY have to deal with a dog and several cats, We went by tonight to visit and take treats, on way to other house to pick up more stuff ....
Roo roo lost top of his comb ,first it was bloodied by fighting with a Banty ROO, too they already had. but I believe frostbite from the last week or two of real cold temperatures and being in a real big barn area with lots of goats, too.
we Know the cats (underfed) are stealing their Organic feed we buy and take by....
Also and prob nite time possums and mice etc in such a big barn with many "doors" I would have retrained them to their treadle feeders I bought quite a while ago. Those will help keep out mice and rats. but Im sure those dam cats would fig out the treadle part. So we also take some cat food.
I gave them (my Feather babies, Trail mix and some canned salmon today ...mixed with little flax, teff and wheat....Had to keep pushing away the blank blank terrier and the 3 cats. LOL
Their combs are a bright red. Hubby thinks from the goat mineral and feed that gets spilt in the barn... The young boys showed me three eggs they found in the barn. Im glad...
Sure miss my organic free ranging eggs though. Im going to offer the new owners fake eggs and several of the kitty litter enclosed boxes I have that they used for nest boxes ,,,,,,we already took them the fabulous portable roost Hubby built... and the mineral feeder "dishes" that they used with and couple of water bowls. It been hard for the owners to keep water throughs etc open. I saw them using sledges to break up the ice for the goats and couple of cows lately. It was close to 40 today and sunny. My crew was out digging in front of the barn in piles of dirt and straw.

good luck guys with you flocks. Makes me smile and y'all have great healthy eggs esp when they can beomnivous. I just hate seeing "vegetarian fed" on store bought egg cartons. RAH... been trying to buy Pasture raised eggs like $6 a dozen. because the few people around I met may have "fresh eggs" but definitely not pasture raised. all confined to muddy "runs"....which breaks my heart.
Good luck y'all and thanks for listening.