Wee!!! Our baby Buffs finally came in so I can finally post on the poultry forum...lol
I've been lurking for a bit now and trying to learn a lil. Hubby decided on what chickens he wanted to start with but I've seen some others I'd lke to add later on. Hope you guys don't mind another newbie asking dumb questions...
Enjoy MsC
Hi MsC: Welcome to the forum, no stupid questions. We all started at the same place. It's a pleasure and the good people of this forum will enjoy helping out...Love the pic. There is nothing like babies around here. We all love em...Haystack
Welcome! Yup, Haystack's right, we're always happy to see newbies, it means The Addiction is spreading . And anyone who comes bearing baby pictures is more than welcome:)
Yes Welcome! Never ever any dumb questions on here.We all take delight in being able to answer questions.
MsC!! Welcome! You didn't have to wait till you had chicks to post here!! We love all chicken heads, in possession or not! :) I'm so glad you joined us.
Your babiez are darling!! You got a bunch of em and a really nice set up there! Can't wait to get to know you. I'm jazzed. :)
Welcome and congrats on your beautiful new babies!! I love Buff Orps and have two of them, they're my yard girlfriends, follow me every where and talk nonstop. You're going to love them! Looking foward to more pics and having you on the forum!
Welcome Mscritterkeeper! We always need new Chicken people here! It keeps us on our toes and we get to meet you and your babies. Im another Buffy O lover....just one of my many breeds. I just havent found a breed yet that I didnt love! Welcome again !
Welcome. Welcome. Welcome.
Thank you all so much!
This will be kinda long post but...I guess you guys can pick & choose what you want to offer advice on. I'm open to all suggestions.
Well these are our first chickens, but not our first critters...lol. I've raised birds for a long time but never had a place for all the poultry & water fowl I wanted. We recently bought a nice older country home w/ small acreage and are in the process of deciding what to fix first.
The coop was already here, but it's no prize . So we decided to start there.
One of my first questions is about the type of wire for the coop. The structure is in pretty good shape and has a concrete floor and is metal on 3 sides and the roof. The front is open to the south.The chicken wire & some of the boards need to be replaced. I'm thinking perhaps rabbit fencing for the house and the chicken yard just enclosing it with chicken wire??? I already have a chicken tractor of sorts.
Snakes seem to be a concern for my neighbor & her chickens but I have only seen one in 8 months out in the back pasture. Some say you can't keep them out, so want do you guys think would give me the best results???
Thanks for the warm welcome.
MsC
My chicken pasture is fenced with 2" x 4" wire mesh, but the chicken coop which needs to be predator-proof for night time has 1/2" hardware cloth. Chicken wire is not very secure and rusts away in a couple of years here. I find snakes occasionally in the nest boxes. They steal eggs but leave the hens alone.
Thanks Porkpal, That's kinda our plan...So they snakes wont bother the hens?? I'm not crazy about snakes in my hen house . Is there anyway you can snake proof them without raising the chickens in the house?? My animal room is pretty full right now...lol
I think my coops are snake-proof when they are closed up. The snakes come in during the day along with the hens. I chase them out when I close up at night.
Uhm, you chase the snakes out ??? The only way I'm chasing a snake out is with a shot gun..haha I'm a bigger chicken than my chickens..:)
If I used a shotgun I'd have mangled chickens! I usually scoop snakes up with my little coop-cleaning rake and toss them. I'm a live and let live sort.
Hi MsCk, and welcome to the chicken house:)
I have found the only thing chicken wire (even with the more high-falutin' name of poultry netting) is good for is keeping chickens in. It does nothing to keep any predator out. I hate working with hardware cloth (but will be today) and have gone the 1/2"x1" welded wire fencing for the coops. The only rabbit fencing I'm familiar with has variable sized holes, smaller at the bottom and larger at the top, and I don't think will work very well. My perimeter fencing is field fencing, but individual runs are 2"x4" welded wire. I haven't put tops on anything, but am considering options for that.
Some chickens kill snakes. I have never had any issues with them, but then again, I like snakes. I would like to have more, as they are helpful in controlling rodents. My cats do their best (and are very diligent) but there are places snakes can go that cats can't.
I do ask that you try to let the snakes live, they are in general just as eager to avoid you as you are to avoid them :)
I've never had a snake problem here, but it wouldn't be a problem to me.. I love snakes! Catmad is right.,., they are more scared of you than you are of them.
I think it would be hard to make a coop snake proof.. If it were me, I'd just carry something to shoo them away.. :) (not really, I'd be tryin to catch them) LOL I could really use the help with rodents! Snakes also eat scary bugs..
I liked snakes until about ten years ago when I saw this big bull snake with a half eaten young rabbit in his mouth. Half the rabbit was in and half hanging out. That upset me and gave me pause to think about snakes.
Thanks guys! Well I guess a shotgun in the coop would be a bit over kill..pun intended.
I don't really want to hurt the chickens .
So the next best thing is to make it as secure as we can and then send hubby after the eggs..lol
Thanks Catmad...I think the 1/2 X1/2 inch is what I had in mind, but I figured the feathers would make a mess at moulting time??? We're planning to enclose it on the top, too. We have a few hawks and I know we have a nice coon population,too.
They sure grow fast!
MsC
I just bury feathers or put them in the compost.. No way around that kind of mess. :)
