|
Post by sandipaws on Sept 1, 2019 13:47:50 GMT -5
I live in the country and my next door neighbors have chickens. They often offer some of the eggs to me.
|
|
wb6yyz
Champion Member
Wilkes Barre/Scranton Area
Posts: 5,546
|
Post by wb6yyz on Oct 14, 2019 18:30:56 GMT -5
Well I haven't posted for awhile. Gone though quite a few hens. Last time I bought two weird hens with feathers on their feet and five toes. They were real "nervous nellys". I thought I'd try my luck at free ranging agian, and it was a month before I lost any birds. But this time a fox, or more likely more than one wiped out the whole flock while I was away getting groceries. I guess I'll just have to keep them cooped up all the time or at least in the chicken tractor during the day. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to replace them now, or wait till spring now that cold weather has set in and any new ones are likely to molt and stop producing eggs anyway.
|
|
wb6yyz
Champion Member
Wilkes Barre/Scranton Area
Posts: 5,546
|
Post by wb6yyz on Nov 8, 2019 19:22:50 GMT -5
I was going to wait till Spring, but Harold missed the chickens out back and there was a gal on Craig's List blowing chickens of all ages and sexes out the door for just five dollars each! So I bought two pullets and two mature hens. The mature hens are in their fall molt, so they aren't laying and the pullets must be younger than I thought, because it's past Halloween and they still aren't laying. Only one is a good pure New Hampshire Red, the others look like a cross between a New Hampshire Red and a Rhode Island Red, their combs are too big. Hopefully they don't get frostbite this Winter.
|
|
wb6yyz
Champion Member
Wilkes Barre/Scranton Area
Posts: 5,546
|
Post by wb6yyz on Mar 4, 2020 19:12:06 GMT -5
The chickens all lived through Winter and now all four are stating to lay again.
|
|
wb6yyz
Champion Member
Wilkes Barre/Scranton Area
Posts: 5,546
|
Post by wb6yyz on Mar 20, 2022 13:31:06 GMT -5
Wow. Hardly any activity here. Since my last post a bear attempted to get a chicken dinner. He did not get any, the birds actually flew out of reach. After making repairs to the coop I went to Tractor Supply and bought a fence charger and some insulators and electrified the coop, as that is the only thing that will stop a bear, unless you build the coop out of concrete block with a steel door.
|
|
geezer
Senior Member
Posts: 757
|
Post by geezer on Mar 20, 2022 16:13:23 GMT -5
We have several cats. Chickens wouldn't survive here. Good luck with the bear.
|
|
wb6yyz
Champion Member
Wilkes Barre/Scranton Area
Posts: 5,546
|
Post by wb6yyz on Mar 21, 2022 7:49:49 GMT -5
The bear is going to get a 7000 volt surprise if he makes another attempt. I only free range them if I'm out with them with my .22 varmint rifle to dispatch any smaller predators that might make an attempt.
|
|
wb6yyz
Champion Member
Wilkes Barre/Scranton Area
Posts: 5,546
|
Post by wb6yyz on Mar 26, 2024 3:10:22 GMT -5
Well I was down to one hen. She did start laying again the 1st day of Spring. The other one died of natural causes. Well, "natural causes" really means, "I don't know why the critter died, but it's dead." But she was getting kind of old. In any case I bought four possibly week old Rhode Island Red pullets from Tractor Supply last week. It will be six to eight weeks before they get their adult feathers and are ready to go outside.
|
|