Chickens and all things fowl

[redman2006]

I have no other roosters. I went to the feed store and asked for one that would be good for protection of the then free ranging hens. He said that he had one that would work. Might peck a little, but that is all.

Bullshit! That evil little bastard leaves bruises and likes a sneak attack while you are otherwise occupied.

For some reason, my wife has a soft spot for him.

[W.Lynn]

Some roosters will defend the hens without being an arse, I think you got one that's an arse.

[Boston_Joe]

If we were just a little closer I'd deliver a couple to you. None of mine attack humans.

[redman2006]

I will ship mine to you so you can experience the joy.

[W.Lynn]

I would experience the dumplings, you may as well break the news to the Mrs, next time he draws blood, you need to replace lost proteins.

A better rooster will be happy to take on the job.

[Joyce Hoffman-Gayley]

I would be surprised if a snake was able to get your guineas. Mine seem to be pretty wily when it comes to ground level predators. I've only lost one and that was when they were only about 3 weeks old. It was a Cooper's hawk that got it. I actually saw it happen......not a pretty sight.

[Joyce Hoffman-Gayley]

Redman, I AM close enough to deliver to you. Want a new Roo? My latest batch of chicks have at last count 4 roosters. 2 Austrolorps and 2 Rhode Island reds. So far (they're 13 weeks old) they're all pretty easy going. Just say the word and one (or more) is all yours!

[redman2006]

My JAR jackass rooster is a silver lace Wyandotte. Always hear they were decent.

[W.Lynn]

They are decent to look at, but no matter what their general behavior is likely to be, there's always going to be a few exceptions around.

[0utlaw]

My Americana met his maker Sunday, he'd been getting rougher with the hens so we turned him out as a yard bird. He thought he'd be a little rough with the wife...fatal mistake.

[olfart]

Howdy from Northeast Texas! After raising a bunch of chickens off and on over the past 37 years and fussing about the way chicken feeders and waterers allow the chickens to waste/poop in water and feed, I've found what for me is a great solution. Chicken nipples! Yeah, I never knew chickens had nipples, either. These, however, are small plastic and metal devices that snap onto a PVC pipe to provide polution-free water to the chickens. After building a chicken tractor (portable house), I hung a 48 quart Coleman ice chest on a shelf on the back of it and plumbed the drain from the ice chest into the house via PEX tubing to a 3' piece of PVC pipe. The nipples snap onto pre-drilled holes in the pipe, and the chickens jiggle the little metal gizmo on the bottom to get water. No problem with teaching them to use it. The ice chest holds about 12 gallons of water, so I only have to refill it about once a week.

The feeder solution was even simpler. I bought a 25-pound dog feeder box and set it inside the house near the door. When it gets low, I slide it to the door and pour half a 50-pound bag of lay pellets into it, then slide it back into its place. It keeps the chickens from pooping in the feeder, and it limits the amount they can scratch out onto the floor. Heckuva deal!

Here's the chicken tractor.

Chicken Tractor.JPG

[W.Lynn]

Outlaw, dumplings? Soup? Fried? Or violent hawk, dog, raccoon, etc?

[olfart]

We have hawks, owls, coyotes, stray dogs, 'possums, raccoons and snakes that would love to munch on our birds. I moved the chicken tractor into the garden with the idea that I'd assign them to bug patrol, but they preferred tomatoes and beans over bugs.

[Boston_Joe]

Yeah, we've had a real hard time gardening with our birds free ranging. Even with fences or netting they find a way to get in and eat what they shouldn't.

[0utlaw]

Outlaw, dumplings? Soup? Fried? Or violent hawk, dog, raccoon, etc?

Unfortunately he hemmed my wife up and she was hollering for me while fending him off with an empty bucket, I ended him from about 25 yards with a .40 S&W Speer Gold Dot. While it is a fine defensive round it is brutal on a chicken. We used him for coyote bait.