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Thread: Chicks !!!

  1. #1
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    Default Chicks !!!

    Chicks, the fuzzy feathery kind, not the babes.
    Arrived this AM, from Meyer Hatchery.
    Ordered 40 sexed hens, and 10 straight run, 52 arrived all healthy.
    USPS tracking sux, they were shipped Monday the 5th, they had one entry stating they were transferred to UPS on the 1st, then they had them arriving yesterday morning and out for delivery last night...
    Here they are, I'm going to be selling free range/organic/fertile/non GMO etc eggs!

    Barred Rock Chicks.jpg Barred Rock in GQF Brooders.jpg

    Rancher


  2. #2
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    I am still amazed that they ship them....LOL...and even more amazed they all made it...

    They ship bees as well.....
    Good luck ad keep us posted.
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    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    You will have eggs in six months at any rate, if you can keep them alive.

    Free range birds are viewed as free lunch my every coyote, dog, raccoon, possum, skunk, weasel, feral cat, hawk and buzzard.

    I will never forget the Great Raccoon War of 2012, or the night I turned on the outside lights at 3am and found two raccoons on top of the cage area, one on top of the chicken house, two coyotes waiting to see if the coons could open the gate and a possum standing off to the side.

    I fought the battle for years until I finally wound up with one lonely little hen that followed me like a puppy and constantly looked and called for her buddies.

    I finally gave her to a lady down the road that was starting a bunch of new chicks, like you, so she would not be alone. She was a good brood hen and adopted the new chicks like she had hatched them herself.

    I generally broke even on the cost of feed and number of eggs collected, but just barely. Fresh eggs are good, but much easier to buy at $3 a dozen from someone that never wants to go anywhere for more than a day, enjoys watching chickens scratch while standing guard or never wants to sleep.

    I also got death threats about the rooster!

    I still enjoyed having the chickens around, and enjoyed the eggs and the occasional thinning of the fryers. I just could not keep the poor birds alive with all the predators in my area and could not afford a fenced area with overhead protection large enough to keep a sizable, productive flock.

    So good luck with that!

    Seriously, good luck!
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

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    Ah yes free range birds, doesn't mean out roaming with the wild animals, you must fence their outside eating/digging area, and herd them in at night, and shoot coyotes, raccoon, and skunks.

    Rancher

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    Quote Originally Posted by cow_rancher
    I'm going to be selling free range/organic/fertile/non GMO etc eggs!


    I remember when they used to just be called eggs. (sigh)

  6. #6
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Never raised chickens....but want to discuss the predators and vermin the feed attracted.
    Hawks (from above), coyotes, coons, possums....and LOTS of mice.
    Also be aware that some s=chickens are just mean...and attack others....those are the first to go in the pot.

    Did keep 10 or more pheasants every year, that I got from a friend who raised them ......for training the dogs.

    Had a 16' X 16' dog pen.....chain link fence,....had a piece of pipe added across the top to hold up a tarp....but rain weighted it down....so added a chain link top under that tarp as well....was about 1/2 covered.

    As soon as I put them in the pen in the fall....the red tailed hawk started hanging out I the big tree nearby...
    Was filled with weeds for about a week when they showed up and scratched the ground to the mud.
    Had feeders and water dispensers...and a old picnic table as a roost.
    Would add a couple of bales of hay for them to scratch....

    So training days would come...take one out let it loose and have the dogs find it......did shoot a couple so the dogs knew what they were doing.....but you could flush the bird when the dogs found them....they would fly, land....so we would do it again.

    If we didn't shoot them that day....and lost them....they would be next to the pen in the morning.....They knew where the food was...

    Parked a trailer next to the pen so they could get away from sight of the hawk....

    I did have a weird problem with the coyotes and coons....they couldn't get in the pen....but would bite the head off if any get close to the fence.
    I would find headless birds.....

    Given they were only there for a couple of months....there was always a few left....so after hunting season....would open the door of the pen and let them run.

    They would keep coming back to the pen even after the door was opened.
    Did have a couple make it to the next year....but couldn't get them to re-populate the valley.

    As I wasn't there(is at our cabin) much after about December 1st....even when the neighbor filled the feeders for the winter every week or so....... it was hard to keep them alive....
    Gave it up, finally after about 10 years.
    Last edited by hunter63; 12-07-2016 at 06:30 PM.
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    So, headless chickens bumped into things a lot, right? Probably easier to catch too.

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    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Well, yeah....so far none have matched "Miracle Mike....The headless chicken"

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_the_Headless_Chicken
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
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    Senior Member cowgirlup's Avatar
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    Congrats on the chickens. Ours have a good size coop and run. But we let them out most of the time. Our house is surrounded by woods and I've seen nearly every kind of local predator come through except coyotes. So far we haven't lost any chickens to predators. We've had 2 attacked by hawks but they lived...one lost an eye though. We keep a rooster for extra protection and have a lot of places they can run to get away from hawks.
    "I enjoy surviving." Yes, well I certainly hope so as the other side of that is "DEATH!"
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    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Oh, man. A tough, one eyed chicken? I can't let this pass. Is his name Rooster Cogburn? You all saw what I did there, right?

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    Even a One Eyed Fat-man could see what you did there Rick. (Wink,wink, nod,nod.)

  12. #12
    Senior Member cowgirlup's Avatar
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    LOL No, It's a hen. She can't walk straight with only one eye on one side of her head. She will go about 6 feet, stop and correct course. But she's is a tough girl. She also had a 3 inch slice on her back that probably could have used a suture too.
    "I enjoy surviving." Yes, well I certainly hope so as the other side of that is "DEATH!"
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  13. #13
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Three inch slice? Sounds like that's where the stuffing should go.
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    Needed a suture and didn't get one? I'll bet she was chicken. (this stuff is just too easy)

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    Rick, you have fowled up this whole thread.
    A man full of grits is a man full of peace.

  16. #16
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Well that's happens when you play chicken, hawk.



    Last edited by hunter63; 12-09-2016 at 08:09 PM.
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  17. #17
    Senior Member cowgirlup's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by crashdive123 View Post
    Three inch slice? Sounds like that's where the stuffing should go.
    Quote Originally Posted by Rick View Post
    Needed a suture and didn't get one? I'll bet she was chicken. (this stuff is just too easy)
    Quote Originally Posted by chiggersngrits View Post
    Rick, you have fowled up this whole thread.

    Yep same ol WSF! I'm glad I got a word in before the comedy de-railed the thread.
    hehehehe
    "I enjoy surviving." Yes, well I certainly hope so as the other side of that is "DEATH!"
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    Quote Originally Posted by chiggersngrits
    Rick, you have fowled up this whole thread.


    Another feather in my cap!

  19. #19
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Keep pecking and scratching......you'll find another.
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    It's really nothing to crow about.

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