I know this is kinda silly but...

I know this is kinda silly but... (Full Version)

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peppermint -> I know this is kinda silly but... (8/20/2016 10:18:26 AM)
One of my chickens just hatched out 10 little chicks. I have never had baby chicks before. Usually buy them at the store when they are several days old. These are tinier than I have ever bought. What's strange is that I didn't know I was going to have any chicks at all. Yes, Momma was sitting on a nest of eggs. Have hens that do that all the time. However, Daddy got beheaded over a month ago for being a mean motherfucker and attacking my grandson. Two weeks before the beheading Daddy was in solitary confinement for again being a mean motherfucker. So there was only a small window of opportunity available. I had read that a hen can stay fertile for 2 weeks. Guess what I read is right and Daddy was a very fertile mean fucker. Anyway, I have 10 adorable teeny tiny pale yellow chicks. Got them and Momma inside where they are safe for the moment. We have munch and a party today but tomorrow I'll set up my small outside coop for them. Did I mention that they are soooooooo cute? Momma is a run of the mill mutt chicken. Daddy was a buff Polish which means he had an afro hairdo. My old picture here (before the collarchat gods changed it) was Daddy. Downside of all this is that out of the 10 chicks 5 are probably boys. That means chicken dinners this winter and I HATE plucking feathers.

NookieNotes -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/20/2016 11:23:29 AM)
OMG! Babies! Fuzzy yellow butts!

ShaharThorne -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/20/2016 8:03:22 PM)
You should really post a pic of them so we can go "AWWWWW".

peppermint -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/20/2016 10:12:18 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: ShaharThorne You should really post a pic of them so we can go "AWWWWW". Might have to do that tomorrow. Still have to send a pic to the grandson as Daddy rooster was originally his rooster. Kittens made the mistake of going out into the screen porch this afternoon. Mamma made it perfectly clear that those kittens were NOT welcome. Kittens can run really fast when they're scared and running from a protective hen. They must have been traumatized as neither one wants to go outside today.

WhoreMods -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/21/2016 4:12:05 AM)
I'd be more worried about weasels than kittens: we lost a load of eggs a chicken was brooding to one of those little bastards.

jlf1961 -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/21/2016 5:59:40 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: WhoreMods I'd be more worried about weasels than kittens: we lost a load of eggs a chicken was brooding to one of those little bastards. you have politicians and lawyers raiding your hen house?

WhoreMods -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/21/2016 6:44:20 AM)
[:D] Not a metaphor, sadly.

peppermint -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/21/2016 7:25:34 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: WhoreMods I'd be more worried about weasels than kittens: we lost a load of eggs a chicken was brooding to one of those little bastards. Weasels are just about impossible to keep out of a coop from what I've read. Thankfully we haven't had to deal with any around here yet. We have fox and skunks. What I'm worried about are the geese. I'm sure they'd kill the little chicks. I'm not really set up for babies as I have never planned on having babies. All my birds are in a big area that is surrounded by electric poultry netting to keep the nasty critters out. So today I'll get my old little coop, put it inside the netting, and get it all set up for Momma and babies. In a month or so the little ones should be fast enough and wise enough to stay away from the geese. By then I should know if any of the chicks inherited the crest on the head like their Daddy.

WickedsDesire -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/21/2016 7:56:36 AM)
Pictures or I will show you the glory of the birch So, are you worried about the weasels or the chicken & weasel eating geese.

DesFIP -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/21/2016 12:55:36 PM)
A friend lost most of her birds to a fisher. He didn't just kill a couple for dinner, he tried to kill them all.

dcnovice -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/21/2016 2:59:15 PM)
FR God, I feel so urban! I can't even recall the last time I saw a chicken that wasn't on a plate. [:)]

MAINEiacMISTRESS -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/21/2016 3:43:10 PM)
Not silly at all. I had been warned about something called "chicken math" but I brushed it off as nonsense. My original plan was to have just NINE happy hens free ranging around the yard and pastures... somehow I now have TWENTY SEVEN (and two of the "guaranteed females" ended up being roosters). My condolences on having to sacrifice your Polish boy. They have a very endearing appearance with all that "rockstar big hair wig" on their head! Don't mess with fishers, or anything else getting into your coop. Wire up any openings with 1/2x1/2" hardware cloth. Most predators will kill EVERYTHING (ooo look, SQUEAKY TOYS!) weasels and neighbors' dogs are the WORST culprits! YouTube has many predator vs chicken videos to educate yourself what they are capable of. We just finished building FORT KNOX to keep EVERYONE out.

peppermint -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/21/2016 4:50:35 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: MAINEiacMISTRESS Not silly at all. I had been warned about something called "chicken math" but I brushed it off as nonsense. My original plan was to have just NINE happy hens free ranging around the yard and pastures... somehow I now have TWENTY SEVEN (and two of the "guaranteed females" ended up being roosters). My condolences on having to sacrifice your Polish boy. They have a very endearing appearance with all that "rockstar big hair wig" on their head! Don't mess with fishers, or anything else getting into your coop. Wire up any openings with 1/2x1/2" hardware cloth. Most predators will kill EVERYTHING (ooo look, SQUEAKY TOYS!) weasels and neighbors' dogs are the WORST culprits! YouTube has many predator vs chicken videos to educate yourself what they are capable of. We just finished building FORT KNOX to keep EVERYONE out. My neighbor with the chicken killing dog built my Fort Knox. Half inch hardware cloth and a 2 foot hardware cloth apron around the bottom. The whole thing surrounded by 400 feet of electrified poultry netting. So far our worst predator here is still a fox. From the time Gary yelled that there was a fox outside till I got dressed and outside was less than 3 minutes. They had already killed 3 hens and were after my rooster. That was when I realized the cheap hardware store coop was not gonna work. I know all about chicken math myself. Originally wanted 4. Ended up with 8. Fox took those the next year. Built a coop for 12, ended up with 15. With these chicks I'm gonna be crowded this winter until I can cull the cockerels. Plus I added 5 geese (which was supposed to be 3, the hatchery sent an extra and neighbor begged me to take in an orphan) to let me know when MR or MRS Fox is in the neighborhood.

peppermint -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/21/2016 4:52:32 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: DesFIP A friend lost most of her birds to a fisher. He didn't just kill a couple for dinner, he tried to kill them all. The problem with chickens in coop is that they can't get away from the predator. By flapping around they are just causing the predator to have that killer instinct. In the wild the chickens would run away to another area and the predator would take just one, at least that day.

peppermint -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/21/2016 5:00:11 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: dcnovice FR God, I feel so urban! I can't even recall the last time I saw a chicken that wasn't on a plate. [:)] I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, DC. However, I've been coming to Montana for 10 years now. Animals here equal food. Across the street Gary's sister had meat goats, milking goats, rabbits, a steer, ducks, geese, chickens, turkeys. They all end up being dinner at one time or another. I've gotten used to it. I'd used a rifle when I was young for target practice. Living here I killed my first living thing, a rabbit that refused to stay away from my chicken feed. Doesn't take long for a city raised girl to turn country. We're planning on doing a turkey, duck, and goose for Thanksgiving. They'll be fresh, not frozen.

MAINEiacMISTRESS -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/21/2016 7:26:11 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: peppermint quote: ORIGINAL: DesFIP A friend lost most of her birds to a fisher. He didn't just kill a couple for dinner, he tried to kill them all. The problem with chickens in coop is that they can't get away from the predator. By flapping around they are just causing the predator to have that killer instinct. In the wild the chickens would run away to another area and the predator would take just one, at least that day. True, but a total massacre is just as likely to happen out in an open front yard while they are free ranging. Chickens seem to RUN and flap hysterically when they are panicking when they would be safe if they'd just think to take to the trees. The poultry forums are filled with posts from people who left for a quick errand in broad daylight only to come home to a lawn covered in feathers and corpses (neighbor's dog, fox, or gang of raccoons).

peppermint -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/21/2016 7:41:48 PM)
When I lost my chickens a few years ago it was late summer/early fall. The fox had built her den in the state park that abuts the property here. I think she was teaching her pups how to hunt. Early the next spring one of the girl pups was shot and killed when she went after a neighbor's chickens. She was only doing what her mom had taught her to do. Although we get pictures of fox on the game cam none have dared to enter the electrified yard so far.

DesFIP -> RE: I know this is kinda silly but... (8/22/2016 9:53:14 AM)
Another friend used to bring her birds into the coop around 5. Then the raccoon figured that out so she would put them in at 4. He just moved his dinner time up. Got to the point she only could let them out if she was going to be out in the yard also.

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