how many of you on here keep a few chickens

[bdcasto]

Amen to golden comets as a breed. Ground predetors are history with Premier electric netting, a good fence charger and locking birds up at night. Expensive at first but the protection pays back over and over and leaves only flying predators to worry about. We free range birds inside the netting and move when turf gets beat up. Moving netting is not the most enjoyable job on the farm but 20 minutes is pretty good insurance to keep birds where you want them and 4 legged predators out.

BD Casto
New Carlisle, OH

[Robert MoonShadow]

Got a total of 27 chicks (“mystery breed”) from Sand Hills Preservation yesterday…one died, but the other 26 are doing well…only 14 actual ‘mystery’ birds – various genetic crossed he does – so he filled in with the rest in various other breeds he’s got – Golden Lakenvelders, Auburn Sumatra, etc., – I got $68.80 (by my calculations) worth of birds for $17.50. Plus, the day before, I bought 2 Rhodies & 2 Australorps that are about 2-year-olds…getting eggs every day, although the big dog killed a Rhodie that got out, after I dealt with her, the other Rhodie got out…walked right by all 3 dogs, right up to me…and the dogs cringed away from her! I’m really interested in the posts here – it’s exactly what I have in mind.

[jen judkins]

@Robert MoonShadow 34782 wrote:

getting eggs every day, although the big dog killed a Rhodie that got out, after I dealt with her, the other Rhodie got out…walked right by all 3 dogs, right up to me…and the dogs cringed away from her!

LOL, Robert…what the hell did you say to that dog?

Seriously, we have about 40-50 chickens, a dozen muscovy ducks and 4 guinea hens. We have chicks and ducklings every spring and summer. With 8 roosters of a variety of breeds, we have developed a very hardy brood of birds. We have had losses to predators, for sure, but over the years less and less. The fittest survive and procreate. Most of the birds we have now are mixed breeds, great flyers and high roosters. They absolutely free range over our farm without fences. I take a philosophical approach. We are allowing the strongest traits for our farm emerge over time.

[Robert MoonShadow]

Jen – It’s not so much what I said, but how I said it = with ‘force’!!

And now, I can show people the difference, when they ask me what’s the dif between a pirate & a pirate-farmer:
Pirates have parrots on their shoulders…
…Pirate-Farmers have…um…a rooster?!?

[Author]

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