Does any body raise chickens

[MO_cows]

I round that a shot from a .22 stops roosters from flogging pretty quick.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But where's the fun in that???? Rooster golf was more entertaining. I gotta admit, the current one was kind of a slow learner, he'd come right back the next evening at chore time and try again. Took several whacks with the shovel, plus getting put down by the dog a couple times, until he learned the "pecking order" around here. Of course, if we had kids around, we would have killed him off immediately and not taken a chance on a little one getting hurt.

 

[brandonm_13]

That's why I shot him. I had a family come up to look at buying goats from me and the rooster flogged one of them. I figured it was better to shoot it than have it flog someone in the eye while they were leaning down to look over a goat or something. Plus, we had already played chicken football about a dozen times. He was half bantam so he thought he owned the place.

 

[peg4x4]

This worked for me---grabbed the attacking rooster by the saddle and hackle feathers and shook him him really hard for a while,until I got tired,then threw him as far as I could...He was real respectful from then on..Had another come over 3 fences after my kids playing in the backyard...Met him at the last fence with a pipe--- had him for supper--My son asked if that was tha ol' mean rooster--when told "yes,thats him" said Gimme anoder piece ,please.. :lol2: As old as I am and as old as they are,don't ever mess with my kids :devil2:

 

[Keren]

I just got my first chickins ... four, four day old chicks. Two Rhode Island Red, two Australorp. I like the RIRs better. Basically we are just wanting a few eggs for us to eat. We have a brooder set up in the kitchen, a mesh topped cat cage with a heat lamp on the top, they are happy little guys - girls actually - they are all supposed to be pullets. Hopefully they got it right. They come from one of the best commercial hatcheries in the country. And they are purebreds, so I can show em at our local show, not that I expect them to do any good considering they arent from a show breeder, but just for a bit of fun.

 

[bigbull338]

theres only 1 way to take care of a fogging rooster.an thats with a shot gun.been there done that.had a rooster that would hunt me down an flogg the snott out of me.tryed kicking 2 by4s nothing worked.

 

[MO_cows]

Congrats, Keren. I hope you enjoy them.

We are waiting on an order of Aracaunas or however you spell it. "Easter Egg" chickens, they lay colored eggs.

 

[bigbull338]

youll really enjoy the EEs.but know this oct or nov they will quit laying.an wont start laying again till jan or feb.least ways thats how my EEs did.i have 2 EEs now so im waoting on oct to see if they quit laying.

 

[Keren]

Thanks, MO. I am definitely enjoying them. I'm liking the RIRs more than the Australorps - the RIRs seem to have a much better temperament, they walk over to talk to me, they dont freak out as much if I need to catch them, they are bolder and will interact with me while the Australorps are much more aloof. We lost one of the Australorps at about 7 days, bought another one from the same hatch and havent had any problems since. They are looking a bit scruffy at the moment with half feather and half fluff but its very, very cute!

Oh boy, those little boogers can eat :shock: The four of them go through about 1kg of chick starter each day

 

[MO_cows]

Well, our chicks finally came. 10 "Ameracauna" hybrids and they are all healthy and growing well. They are different colors/markings, but they all look like they will have the distinctive "muff" of Aracaunas. The purple spot on their heads appears to be some sort of marking done at the hatchery, it's fading. The instincts that baby chicks have is really something, they go right to eating, drinking and scratching, and when a fly got in there they were all after it!

 

[kerley]

Kathy and I have a problem with our Chickens. We have lost some to yotes but not lately. We found a dead chicken in our yard yesterday. The head was bitten off and laying next to the dead hen.We Googled the Internet and it sounds like Wiesels or Racoons. We have a metal varmit trap and I will set it out today. What puzzles me is this predator killed between 10:am and 2m on a bright sunny day. We have trapped Skunks before but they always come at night. My question is...
What would be the best bait. Thanks you,
Tom

 

[dun]

Kathy and I have a problem with our Chickens. We have lost some to yotes but not lately. We found a dead chicken in our yard yesterday. The head was bitten off and laying next to the dead hen.We Googled the Internet and it sounds like Wiesels or Racoons. We have a metal varmit trap and I will set it out today. What puzzles me is this predator killed between 10:am and 2m on a bright sunny day. We have trapped Skunks before but they always come at night. My question is...
What would be the best bait. Thanks you,
Tom

A can of cheap fishy cat food. I would saw sardines but they're too good to eat to waste on a varmint

 

[farmwriter]

Maybe canned catfood? Seems stinky enough.
My MIL has chickens, so I'll ask her at church this morning what critter in our area would take the head off at that time of day.

 

[bigbull338]

theres 3 varmitts thatll take their heads off maybe more.those are coons possums skunks weasels.

 

[tobemeghan]

We have 20 guineas (free range) and 60 chickens. Thirty of those are Silkie Bantams the rest are laying hens and include: Silver Laced Winged Wyondots, Production Reds, and Plymouth Rocks. The Silkies are used in the garden for bug control and egg setting the rest are lying hens. All of our poultry is free range but go back into the barn where we lock them in at night.

 

[makemfat]

Just don't get carried away with your quantity of chickens. My parents always had 20 - 30 when I was growing up, and that wasn't too bad. Then Dad gets the idea that there's money to be made in the commercial layer business. Next thing you know there's one of those 500 foot long monsters blocking the view, stinking up the place, and causing 7 day work weeks for the next 27 years! I wouldn't wish one on my worst enemy! Actually, now that I think about it....that's the only one I would wish it on! We had up to 9000 eggs a day to deal with. It sucked! Stay small!

 

[Jogeephus]

Kathy and I have a problem with our Chickens. We have lost some to yotes but not lately. We found a dead chicken in our yard yesterday. The head was bitten off and laying next to the dead hen.We Googled the Internet and it sounds like Wiesels or Racoons. We have a metal varmit trap and I will set it out today. What puzzles me is this predator killed between 10:am and 2m on a bright sunny day. We have trapped Skunks before but they always come at night. My question is...
What would be the best bait. Thanks you,
Tom

Most likely a cat. I used to raise lots of quail and we could always tell when a stray cat was around cause they would simply eat kill the birds and remove the heads. Other varmints would usually kill to eat. Cats do it for fun. Sometimes we would find scores of them piled up in the corners without their heads. I have to admit I don't exactly care much for a cat but I pitied them in the presence of my old boss.

 

[peg4x4]

No--that is NOT the way a cat kills.
You have a possum.
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or a chupacabra

 

[Jogeephus]

I disagree Peg. I've picked up thousands of cat killed quail. As soon as the cat met its maker the problem went away. Of course this was quail but I don't see where this would be different. Boss also had a $25 bounty on cats and this was a lot of money then. About 25% of my weekly paycheck.

 

[3waycross]

I disagree Peg. I've picked up thousands of cat killed quail. As soon as the cat met its maker the problem went away. Of course this was quail but I don't see where this would be different. Boss also had a $25 bounty on cats and this was a lot of money then. About 25% of my weekly paycheck.

For that kind of money I would have been importing them.

 

[Jogeephus]

I disagree Peg. I've picked up thousands of cat killed quail. As soon as the cat met its maker the problem went away. Of course this was quail but I don't see where this would be different. Boss also had a $25 bounty on cats and this was a lot of money then. About 25% of my weekly paycheck.

For that kind of money I would have been importing them.

I was watchful for cats but I can't say I ever got one. I do remember relocating one though since I didn't like the way my boss would treat them. He had a gauntlet of traps and these did a pretty good job of ridding the area of pests. IMO, quail are the stupidest birds on earth. If distressed, they will huddle in a corner and smoother themselves. Each night I would have to shovel piles of wood chips in the corners of the flight pens to keep them from huddleing during the night. Cats would use this trait and sit in a corner of an outside pen and just stick their paws through the wire and kill them. While a cat may only kill a dozen or so the quail's tendency to huddle would end up causing a higher death loss through suffocation and this wouldn't just be limited to the one pen.