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Trying to capture a raccoon that has moved into the neighborhood. I caught him last night but he destroyed thr live trap and escaped. Will they attack ckickens? The neighbor has a bunch of young chickens.
 
west1m said:
Trying to capture a raccoon that has moved into the neighborhood. I caught him last night but he destroyed thr live trap and escaped. Will they attack ckickens? The neighbor has a bunch of young chickens.
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Yes they will as well as ducks and genies
 
RoadRoach said:
Released them inside the coop today. The first 7 had to be persuaded to go out through the auto-door but the 8th got really unhappy about being alone and ran out by itself. Still got some teaching to do so they’ll go in the coop at night and come out in the morning. I can program the door for a later closure, but that sorta defeats the purpose of an automatic door to defend them from predators. Keeping them safe is the hardest part of having them at all.
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their natural instinct will drive them to roost up high off the ground.

I found with my hatchlings Mum didn't get off the nest and start looking to roost with them for a couple of weeks
 
GFHomebrew said:
their natural instinct will drive them to roost up high off the ground.

I found with my hatchlings Mum didn't get off the nest and start looking to roost with them for a couple of weeks
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Turned them loose in the coop again today and instead of coming outside, they just climbed on the roosts and nests after we closed the coop door.. I waited for about an hour and know young chickens aren’t the brightest bulbs in the box, so went out to the coop (which is when I figured out they weren’t coming out on their own volition) and herded them off the roosts to the ramp. They still refused to go out in the yard until I picked them up and put them out. Weird. Yesterday, they came out by themselves, albeit, we were in the coop with them and that probably played at least a part in their decision to go out. (Yes, the coop is large enough for two adults and 8 chickens). The difference today was that we took them out of the‘transport’ box and just put ’em on the ground in the coop, and left them to themselves to decide. They elected more snooze time. Their day/night clocks are probably completely screwed up because we’ve been leaving the garage lights on until we get to bed, giving them a long day instead of a chicken day. I’ve been trying to change thar since we started taking them outside. Having strange temps in the high 60s (F) at night this week, so can’t leave them outside overnight quite yet. That may have been a factor this morning with cooler temps in the coop too. They are growing so fast!
 
RoadRoach said:
Turned them loose in the coop again today and instead of coming outside, they just climbed on the roosts and nests after we closed the coop door.. I waited for about an hour and know young chickens aren’t the brightest bulbs in the box, so went out to the coop (which is when I figured out they weren’t coming out on their own volition) and herded them off the roosts to the ramp. They still refused to go out in the yard until I picked them up and put them out. Weird. Yesterday, they came out by themselves, albeit, we were in the coop with them and that probably played at least a part in their decision to go out. (Yes, the coop is large enough for two adults and 8 chickens). The difference today was that we took them out of the‘transport’ box and just put ’em on the ground in the coop, and left them to themselves to decide. They elected more snooze time. Their day/night clocks are probably completely screwed up because we’ve been leaving the garage lights on until we get to bed, giving them a long day instead of a chicken day. I’ve been trying to change thar since we started taking them outside. Having strange temps in the high 60s (F) at night this week, so can’t leave them outside overnight quite yet. That may have been a factor this morning with cooler temps in the coop too. They are growing so fast!
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All I can say is be prepared for non stop crowing, enjoy the silence while you can
 
Ozarks Mountain Brewery said:
All I can say is be prepared for non stop crowing, enjoy the silence while you can
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Pretty sure we have all pullets. None showing signs of male persuasion yet. But ya never know these days.
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west1m said:
I couldn't quite read that, was that "something" or "someone"?
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We had a wild pack of dogs kill most everyone's animals around here, 2 of my out door cats are gone as well, today I only have one indoor cat, no other animals.....oh and we took care of the dogs
 
Donoroto said:
Oooh! Now there's a place I can sleep if I visit! :p
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The girls are growing very quickly, and so far, being very docile with handling. Might be a bit smelly in there for sleeping, though. Gonna leave them in the pen till after dark tonight to see if they’ll get in the coop before the automatic door closes. If they do, I may leave them overnight. They’re big enough now that it doesn’t take long for the brooder box to really stink. I want that out of the garage.
 
They finally spent their first night in the pen last night. They’re only 4 weeks (maybe 5 for some of them) but the weather has been perfect for getting them outside. (HOT and DRY). Took a little coaxing and a manual override of the automatic door to get them in the coop right at dusk, then had to go back after dark and put them on the roost. They’ve been in a brooder with no roosts, so one more thing to teach them. They have been going in and out of the coop all day, so maybe they’ll be less hesitant about going in tonight. Fingers crossed. I’m also trying to change the water dispenser to the type with small cups and peck valves in a 5 gallon bucket so there’s less waste and contamination where they drink. So far, they like to get on top of it so they’re taller than all the others. . If it wasn’t so hot and the girls were a little older, I’d force the issue by taking the other waterer out. I may just move the one they’re used to inside the coop to make them more likely to check out the new waterer. I did that last night. It’s pretty amazing how fast they learn, but they can be dumber than a bag of hammers about some things that are supposed to be instinct.

Get chickens they said. It’ll be fun they said. So far I’ve had continuous requests for chicken housing, furniture, and toys to take up what used to be my afternoon brewing/nap time.

Unfortunately, chicken math has not been working to my best interest. I’ve already overheard some plotting for larger run space and more birds. This is what normally happens when I cave in about having critters. I’m not sure the missus understands how many eggs 8 prolific layers will produce. Even if it’s just 4 eggs per chicken per week, that’s 1664 eggs per year. Some of the breeds we have are good for up to 8 eggs per week. (2-Rhode Island Red, 2-Australorp, 3-Barred Plymouth Rock, 1-Ameraucana). Dats a lotta eggs, especially since we use less than a dozen per week (624 eggs per year). And she wants more chickens?????? WTH are we going to do with that many eggs? So much for having a beer fridge…..
I’ve already told her that she’s gonna have to be a good egg sales person.

Now that most of the time consuming part of rearing chicken babies is done, MAYBE I can get back to some brewing.
 
I'd tell em hey you want more chickens well you do the chook house choirs like described filling the water seed getting the chicks in on the roost and then there is the matter of raking and cleaning up the poop!


give them a month of that and then ask so you want more chooks :D


we have 4 chooks one more than. there is in our household we don't have to buy eggs.

there is this "egg shortage " arm in Aus that Bird Flu has got into alot of the Broiler farms so they've had to kill thousands.

so it's always good to try and be self sufficient ;)
 
RoadRoach said:
They finally spent their first night in the pen last night. They’re only 4 weeks (maybe 5 for some of them) but the weather has been perfect for getting them outside. (HOT and DRY). Took a little coaxing and a manual override of the automatic door to get them in the coop right at dusk, then had to go back after dark and put them on the roost. They’ve been in a brooder with no roosts, so one more thing to teach them. They have been going in and out of the coop all day, so maybe they’ll be less hesitant about going in tonight. Fingers crossed. I’m also trying to change the water dispenser to the type with small cups and peck valves in a 5 gallon bucket so there’s less waste and contamination where they drink. So far, they like to get on top of it so they’re taller than all the others. . If it wasn’t so hot and the girls were a little older, I’d force the issue by taking the other waterer out. I may just move the one they’re used to inside the coop to make them more likely to check out the new waterer. I did that last night. It’s pretty amazing how fast they learn, but they can be dumber than a bag of hammers about some things that are supposed to be instinct.

Get chickens they said. It’ll be fun they said. So far I’ve had continuous requests for chicken housing, furniture, and toys to take up what used to be my afternoon brewing/nap time.

Unfortunately, chicken math has not been working to my best interest. I’ve already overheard some plotting for larger run space and more birds. This is what normally happens when I cave in about having critters. I’m not sure the missus understands how many eggs 8 prolific layers will produce. Even if it’s just 4 eggs per chicken per week, that’s 1664 eggs per year. Some of the breeds we have are good for up to 8 eggs per week. (2-Rhode Island Red, 2-Australorp, 3-Barred Plymouth Rock, 1-Ameraucana). Dats a lotta eggs, especially since we use less than a dozen per week (624 eggs per year). And she wants more chickens?????? WTH are we going to do with that many eggs? So much for having a beer fridge…..
I’ve already told her that she’s gonna have to be a good egg sales person.

Now that most of the time consuming part of rearing chicken babies is done, MAYBE I can get back to some brewing.
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A local food pantry would love the eggs. But Ben is right, delegate the chores and see what happens. Precondition more chicks on the chores.
 
Donoroto said:
A local food pantry would love the eggs. But Ben is right, delegate the chores and see what happens. Precondition more chicks on the chores.
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amen it always sounds like a great idea when you don't have to do all the work to make it happen.

my daughter already goes and fetches the eggs and checks the seed and water.

she's the Boss of them Chooks.

it's good for the youngsters too to know where their food comes from you know not off the shelf at the local supermarket...
 
It goes without saying that the chores are allocated/shared, or the chickens go. I have no interest in pets I have to get someone else to take care of when I want to go somewhere. I'm quite fine without pets, trust me. My first marriage ruined having pets for me, as well as having a job that required so much travel so I couldn't be there for the critters after they weren't cute fuzzy babies anymore. Travel is not an issue now, but I've made it clear that I didn't get the chickens for me. I was doing just fine without them.

Deb and Makaila check the feed/water regularly and give them electrolytes/probiotics in the water. I just refill it with plain water when I do it. That way, we don't overtreat them for gut health, but their water stays full and fresh. We try not to let the water stay in the waterer for more than a couple days. They're still on starter feed and will be until it's used up (Deb bought 50 pounds of the stuff) or until they start laying or until they're 16 weeks old. Whatever comes first.

One of the Australorps is a little off her game today. Hoping it ain't something serious and we don't lose her. She was quite healthy and active yesterday when I put them in the coop because I thought we were going to get a rain shower. They're not old enough yet to be outside in the rain and probably not smart enough yet to get under cover so I didn't give 'em a choice. The clouds and drizzles (not even enough to wet the grass) didn't clear until late in the afternoon, so I just left them in the coop, and of course moved their feed and water in with them. She's normally the one running around like she's mental, but she's just standing around with her feathers ruffled a bit this morning. She's eaten and drank from the waterer, but she's just not instigating the Aussie Rules footy games (organized chaos) she normally does. She'll usually pick up something and run with it just to get all seven of the others to chase her. Edible or not, doesn't matter. Dunno if she just slept poorly last night or what. Gotta keep an eye on her today.
 
Still had to put the girls in the coop and on the perches last night. They can be so intelligent about some things, but dumber than a bag of hammers about others. I tweaked the setting on the door control to allow it to stay open until it’s pretty much completely dark outside, and the idgit chooks still didn’t go in by themselves. I lifted the door and poked them through one at a time while the missus parked them on the roost. They’re a lot easier to catch after dark for sure.

I made the roosts with some small hickory poles I cut from underbrush so they would be as natural as possible and comfy for the girls to sit on overnight. They’re still working on pecking order too, so maybe not knowing who’s going to get to be on the too roost is part of the problem. They just huddle in a corner and pretend they don’t know where the door is, despite running in and out of it all day. Im thinking I may have to move the feed/water inside the coop so they’re already inside when they’re getting the last meal and drink for the day. Dunno if that’ll do the trick but I don’t really want to be tucking them in every night. Crazy birds.

I did find out which one likes me most, though.

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This one comes to me every time I go in the pen. She gets on my head so she’s ‘bigger’ than all the others. I also learned to wear a hat when I go into the pen. She likes to peck (exploring) my scalp too. I don’t think I want her to decide to change the pecking order for me. They’re a lot of fun when they’re this friendly.
 
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