[Homestead] Chickens

eureka at hctc.net eureka at hctc.net
Tue May 20 13:55:39 EDT 2008


We have a mixed flock of Dark Brahmas, Buttercups, 
Fayoumis, Lakenvelder, Polish, Faverolle, Americanas. They 
free-range during the day on three acres, but stick mostly 
in the shaded creek where they can scratch for bugs and 
eat the mulberries that fall on the ground. We supplement 
with feed year round but they don't eat too much of it 
when they are ranging. We are fortunate that the place 
came with welded wire 6' and 8' pole fencing. The girls 
put themselves up in the coop at dark and we faithfully 
are there to lock them in since we know predators do make 
it under the fence at night. We have not lost any to 
predators in the two years we've had chickens. There are 
hawks around, but I think our dogs keep them away.

The Brahmas are about the best natured chickens I've met, 
and the Fayoumis the most annoying. The latter fly very 
well, have an "attitude" that probably explains how 
they've fended themselves for centuries on the Nile.

Our friends who ran a CSA (now out of business) would lose 
hundreds of chickens to birds of prey but they were in 
open grassland with electric fencing. I think having brush 
and tree cover is important.

--Sage
Way Out in Texas


On Tue, 20 May 2008 05:24:51 -0500
  Gene GeRue <genegerue at ruralize.com> wrote:
> 
> On May 19, 2008, at 10:43 PM, Marie McHarry wrote:
> 
>>  It's only necessary to feed chickens in winter in my
>> experience. The rest of the year, they'll get fat on 
>>bugs, grubs,
>> weeds, and whatever else they can get their beaks 
>>around.
> 
> Happy to hear that. I am currently experimenting. Now 
>withholding  
> grain and trying to train them to come into the Taj 
>Mahen at night  
> when I call and rattle a small container with egg 
>pellets in it. Like  
> all teens, they want to stay out after dark and I want 
>them secured so  
> I can stop thinking about them.
> 
> With only three hens, this fenced yard might be enough 
>to feed them.  
> And I am scheming an overhead wire design to thwart the 
>hawks, like  
> the cheeky one that flew right up to and perched in the 
>walnut tree  
> directly above where the hens were lounging under their 
>raised porch.  
> And which flew away so fast when I went out that I was 
>sent to the  
> bird ID book and determined that it was a peregrine 
>falcon, the first  
> I have ever seen. Too small, certainly, to carry a hen 
>away but big  
> enough to kill. Beautiful bird.
> 
> I bought these three RIReds about a month ago. They had 
>apparently  
> been raised in a building and for days would not even 
>come outside. I  
> finally forced the issue with the water pan. Now they 
>are scratching  
> and pecking away almost as if they know what they're 
>doing. Ain't  
> instinct wonderful.
> 
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