Got me some McNuggets

[Sasquatch]

Well we got some chickens. Don't plan on eating them, just getting eggs.

3 Rhode Island, 3 Buff Orpington and 2 Americana. Any advice is appreciated because the only thing I know about chickens is they taste good with BBQ sauce.

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[Kusa]

The eggs taste good with Texas Pete.

[SOCOM42]

Well we got some chickens. Don't plan on eating them, just getting eggs.

3 Rhode Island, 3 Buff Orpington and 2 Americana. Any advice is appreciated because the only thing I know about chickens is they taste good with BBQ sauce.

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The few things I can mention are from long ago.

First is the guano needs to be cleaned out every day,

they can contract all kinds of shit from the shit(pun intended).

Second is protecting from predators, they will come.

I use to sit with my silenced 22 rifle and cap the bastards, day and night.

Each unit had a 100' X 100' wire fenced in area for them to peck in.

The 5K of active layers we had were RI Reds.

Another, put the grain in galvanized garbage cans to keep out the rodents and coons.

[Inor]

I cannot offer much advice since I am only about 3 months ahead of you experience-wise. But the last month or so we have been letting ours out of the chicken yard to run around during the day and they have done an amazing job of killing the bugs. Mrs Inor got the last of the 'maters out of the gardens today so we left the garden fence open for them. They thought that was the greatest thing ever. Also, they are not eating nearly as much feed as they were when they were just in the chicken yard. So far, (knock wood) we have not had any hawk problems although we did have an owl get one of guineas a few weeks back.

Have fun with them. They are an absolute comedy show to watch!

[T-Man 1066]

Get some grit and oyster shell. Grit to keep their crop healthy and oyster shell to supplement calcium for strong egg shells. 1x weekly. small handful is all you need.

If running chicks on ground in the spring when it is cold, you must break ground or they will lay in cold puddles of water and perish. They only have twice the brain of a typical democrat.. pretty stupid.

Good way to get rid of bad food in the fridge. Stuff that would make us sick does not bother chickens. Rotten hamburger, moldy cottage cheese, expired leftovers are perfectly safe for chickens.

[Sasquatch]

Get some grit and oyster shell. Grit to keep their crop healthy and oyster shell to supplement calcium for strong egg shells. 1x weekly. small handful is all you need.

If running chicks on ground in the spring when it is cold, you must break ground or they will lay in cold puddles of water and perish. They only have twice the brain of a typical democrat.. pretty stupid.

Good way to get rid of bad food in the fridge. Stuff that would make us sick does not bother chickens. Rotten hamburger, moldy cottage cheese, expired leftovers are perfectly safe for chickens.

Good to know. Appreciate the info.

[T-Man 1066]

The other thing is that chickens like the taste of chicken. If they get eating on open sores of the others they will kill them. Separate pen until they are healed if you can, or smear Vick's Vaporub on the sores about every 3-4 hours. Chickens hate the taste, about the only way we found to break them...

Good luck, they are fun!

[Piratesailor]

They love mealy (sp) worms.

We saved a chicken from a HUGE hawk yesterday. Surprised she lived. Massive red tail hawk.

2 weeks go my wife stitched up a chicken attacked by a hawk. The chicken survived much to my surprise.

Our chickens free range but make sure your coop is predator proof. Chicken wire buried so they coon can’t dig under. If they range in a small area run fishing line in various places. Hawks will see it.

[KnuteFartne]

I was wondering about airborne predators. They area they are going to free range in is about 25x20. I was going to put up netting about 8ft off the ground. Is that enough to keep them safe of will a hawk swoop in from the side? We have lots of hawks.

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[Piratesailor]

I was wondering about airborne predators. They area they are going to free range in is about 25x20. I was going to put up netting about 8ft off the ground. Is that enough to keep them safe of will a hawk swoop in from the side? We have lots of hawks.

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You can do netting but the simple solution is just fishing line. Doesn’t have to be a lot. The hawks will see it and not dive through it.

[T-Man 1066]

When fencing, take about 2' of fence and lay it flat on the ground outside of the enclosure, like a Christmas tree skirt. Predators can dig under a fence pretty easily, unless you trench 6-10" deep. They start at the edge of the fence, so if the horizontal part of the fence is out 2', they are standing on the fence where they would start digging. A single hot wire on the top, about 3" above the fence will slow down the climbers. Get a spring coil hot lead to go across the top of your gate.

[KnuteFartne]

When fencing, take about 2' of fence and lay it flat on the ground outside of the enclosure, like a Christmas tree skirt. Predators can dig under a fence pretty easily, unless you trench 6-10" deep. They start at the edge of the fence, so if the horizontal part of the fence is out 2', they are standing on the fence where they would start digging. A single hot wire on the top, about 3" above the fence will slow down the climbers. Get a spring coil hot lead to go across the top of your gate.They are housed in, basically, an aviary. It has wire mesh all around, a roof and wire mesh under the dirt on the bottom. Not really worried about predators getting in. I'm more concerned when they are in the yard free ranging. During the day the only real threat is the hawks.

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[Ricekila]

You can do netting but the simple solution is just fishing line. Doesn’t have to be a lot. The hawks will see it and not dive through it.

Yep ---- 20 + years ago I worked for the maintaince company that took care of about 10 high end properties -- one morning my boss said take the bucket truck & a bunch of lamps & meet him -- I replaced every pole lamp with fresh ones while some guy was running around with fishing line --- I tied off the ends to the poll tops ----- no more goose & ducks craping in the pond --

https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/v667/RICEKILA/pond.png?width=180&height=180&fit=bounds (https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/v667/RICEKILA/pond.png?width=180&height=180&fit=bounds)

After standing right under them --- could barely see the lines ----- but they can --

[KnuteFartne]

That's weird because while fishing I've had ducks hit my line as they strafe the shoreline.

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[Ricekila]

That's weird because while fishing I've had ducks hit my line as they strafe the shoreline.

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? --- blind --- ?

[Inor]

When the hawks are around, our chickens just go into the brush under some mesquite trees. So far, it has not been an issue.

[Sasquatch]

When the hawks are around, our chickens just go into the brush under some mesquite trees. So far, it has not been an issue.

I do have a big lime tree where they will be so maybe that'll help.

[bigwheel]

When they go away get ducks. Kindly tell Slippy too. Thanks.
https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/gardens/animals-and-wildlife/raising-ducks-or-chickens

[Sasquatch]

When they go away get ducks. Kindly tell Slippy too. Thanks.
https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/gardens/animals-and-wildlife/raising-ducks-or-chickens

Cool read, thanks for sharing. I think we might get a duck too. I have heard they will alert your chickens to predators.

[Prepared One]

I know nothing about chickens, except they taste real good when smoked on the grill with spicy BBQ sauce and a cold beer. :chef:

[Slippy]

Well done Sas my boy!

Pretty soon you'll have more damn eggs than you can imagine. Sounds like you've got the "predator proofing" aviary thing so that is step 1. Keep the predators out!

Don't forget to keep plenty of water available. Our chickens drink a lot!

Kitchen scraps are a great way to supplement their diet as we all as Meal Worms and Crickets. You've already gotten great advise on things like Oyster Shells and cleanliness. Chicken Shit is a great fertilizer but very "hot". We let ours compost for a few months then scatter in the raised beds when we rotate the crops. Look into clipping their wings just in case. the little bastards can fly so don't underestimate their ability to escape enclosures.

Good luck!



Well we got some chickens. Don't plan on eating them, just getting eggs.

3 Rhode Island, 3 Buff Orpington and 2 Americana. Any advice is appreciated because the only thing I know about chickens is they taste good with BBQ sauce.

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