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Laying Hens and Eggs

We had a “chicken bowl” in the fridge and I filled an outside pan for them in the mornings. Sadly, with them locked up, I don’t dare do it because it’ll attract rats. I really hope we can have them out again sometime soon so they can share the leftovers. Chickens also seem much happier when they can eat greens.

My chickens eat them up so fast I don’t worry about that. Also chickens eat mice! I’ve seen my girls swallow them whole.

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In short, yes. With the fox and hawks specifically, you’re going to lose a lot during the day if you let them free range. You basically have three options: get a LOT of chickens so you still have some left, get a pair of livestock guardian dogs that are trained to poultry (they need to be over 2 years old before they should be left outside to guard, and also need extensive fencing of their own because they will not learn to stay home, ever), or you can build a coop with a large predator proof run (covered, using hardware cloth wire and not poultry netting, also probably with an apron of wire around the bottom too) and only let them out to range when you’re going to stay with them.

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This is good advice. Chicken wire is only good at keeping chickens in, it doesn’t keep anything out.

knock on wood I’ve never lost any chickens to predation. They only get to go out in the open 30’x50’ area when we’re out or the dog is out. The dog patrols for fox, raccoons, etc. The sumac stand and longer grass along the fence line helps to protect them from birds of prey. Although the biggest deterrent to hawks, eagles, etc at my house is the healthy crow population. The odd time that I do see one I’ll lock the girls up for a couple days.

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I have another silkie rooster that belongs to an elderly couple and he sits on their lap while they feed him treats!

I free range my big hens and we only lose one every now and then. I keep the silkies penned because they are slow and dumb.

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I’ve never lost any to hawks, eagles, or owls (and we have a LOT) but I have had a bear of a time with raccoons, opossum, and what I am pretty sure was a mink (possibly weasel, a mustelid for sure anyway). Got myself a Pyrenees mix pup mostly because I was sad after I lost my mom and thought he might be useful. He is not, at least not in the way I intended, BUT it does seem as though his mere presence and enthusiastic marking all around the barn have worked out - zero night predators so far this year, and February is often when the raccoons especially will hit.

I hate chicken wire so much. I’m using it for pen panels in the barn because it’s cheaper, but man is it a pain to work with. Of course, so is hardware cloth, so there’s that…

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Thank you for the additional information @Mosey_2003 and @GoodTimes

I don’t think I have chickens in my future. :tired_face: The cost to get a LGD, fencing, building a coop with large predator proof run will outweight the eggs I would get in return.

I will just covet your chickens.

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I mean, you could do a small coop and run, or maybe even the electric netting fence from Premier1, and have a few hens. But if what you really want is a bunch of them free ranging, sadly that probably won’t be super duper.

Oh but also, to be fair, the eggs will never really repay you for even a modest investment :laughing: Chickens are like horses that way, it’s just a much smaller tax bracket, lmao.

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Oh yea, I know I would never properly recoup cost; but I have to justify all of the spending some how to DH. :rofl:

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No chickens for me, as I live in a townhouse community. However, I think I have the best deal….clients that have flocks and I buy my eggs from them. One advantage to living in a townhouse complex is knowing all my complex neighbors (we are a smallish group and most of them save me their commercial egg cartons to take to clients). I off-load the saved cartons to the chicken folks and they love it as I buy two dozen, but also drop off 12-24 cartons back to them. “Reduce, reuse, recycle”.

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Stalk Facebook Marketplace. I bought my 6x8 chicken shed on there for $400, which wouldn’t even cover the cost of the metal it took to build it. It was a PITA to get home, but you can get some good deals that will lessen the cost.

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My mom had chickens, ducks, and pheasants at the farm for quite a few years. She lost lots of chickens to fox predation so she quit free ranging. Then an ermine popped a knot out of one of the floor boards and took out most of the flock in one night. She finally went about a year without losing any and a mama bear and three cubs took everyone out in the middle of the afternoon. She gave up after that.
The only birds that never got attacked were the ducks. They lived in the big pond and slept on a raft. They were so smelly and wasteful though, and none of us really liked eating duck.

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I’m not even a chicken owner yet, but I saw so many different setups when I had my farm sitting business. You can make it work for any budget.

A coop and an electric chicken fence (they are like $100-200 for a kit) will deter a lot of predators.

My set-up right now includes a coop made of pallets that I got off one of my students and some old dog kennel panels we had on hand. I’m in the process of covering the top and bottom with hardware cloth.

A lot of people build moveable chicken tractors from scrap.

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Try to get heavy breeds though if you plan to use the electric net fence as your run, because the lighter ones will absolutely fly on out (and later panic because they can’t figure out how to get back in). If you buy from hatchery types go for Brahmas and Cochins, for example, maybe even Jersey Giants. Most of the hatchery birds that are supposed to be dual-purpose and less likely to fly off are a lot smaller than the true Standard bred versions because they mix Leghorn into basically everything to increase their laying, so they’re always lighter. My Barred Rocks wouldn’t fly over a 3 foot fence most likely (as adults) but I’ve had hatchery birds get out of my 6’ dog pen before I covered it.

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I have 45 hens ( i think) 3 different breeds and I sell my excess eggs.

I don’t think keeping them confined will protect them from the avian flu? It is just something you take a chance on and hope for the best. It is ramping up again and sadly something that ( like Covid) that is here to stay.

My chickens don’t free range ( although they would like to) but they have a large fenced yard they access during daylight hours.

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I was just going to mention the possibility of a chicken tractor, for keeping chickens safely grazing daily. They are pretty easy to build, just a 2X4 frame, A frame, and about 6X10 footprint. We have one. You just lift two corners, and place some roller rails (cut 12 inches off an old fence post or jump rail to make the rollers), and move the chicken tractor to new grazing daily. The chickens just walk along as the tractor moves. Put your nest boxes UP off the ground, and a perch at that same elevation. Part roof over the top of the A frame structure. Wire on the sides. Access to nest boxes from outside hinged door. Not expensive or difficult to build for someone just a little bit of expertise with building. Many different plans available. Chickens fully protected always, fresh grazing daily.

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I just spoke with the extension agent. Keeping them in a coop, where songbirds cannot get in, is how to keep them safe from bird flu. It’s spread from wild birds.

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The extension agent advised me not to let my guard down until summer. If bird flu cases go down, and no outbreaks in our area, then the girls get a run. Waterfowl are big carriers and get very sick from it. Songbirds carry it, but don’t get as sick. We need to get through the migration this spring before we know how bad it is.

I thought about a chicken tractor. With the exception on where the house sits, the property is at a 45 degree slope. There is not one flat spot to but a coop or a chicken tractor.

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I had free range hens for years and rarely lost any until 2 years ago. A fox discovered our flock. It took 7 chickens during broad daylight with people around and two big dogs. And came back the next day for more. I rehomed the lone survivor and have not had chickens since. They were in a locked coop at night, but this fox was brave enough to come by at high noon. It kept coming by for the next month looking for more (I put out a game camera to figure out what was taking the birds).

I really want to get more, but all the ways of discouraging this fox did not seem to work… He jumped the electric netting we had set up. I don’t want to keep them in all day as they are just so much happier to get out into the pasture.

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