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Post by dannusmaximus on Jan 17, 2016 2:59:34 GMT
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Post by dannusmaximus on Jan 19, 2016 4:04:23 GMT
450.000 birds 'depopulated' so far to try and contain the virus. Now they're culling chicken farms in the area. Stock up on McNuggets now, folks...
Actually pretty impressed with the state response, so far. Perhaps the phrase "We're from the government and we're here to help..." can actually NOT be used as a punchline this time!
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Post by omegaman on Jan 20, 2016 1:33:02 GMT
Reminds me, I totally need to get off my ass and start raising chickens this year.
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Post by misterdark on Jan 20, 2016 3:02:22 GMT
Reminds me, I totally need to get off my ass and start raising chickens this year. That would be awesome. I live in HOA hell, so chickens are a no go for me. I f you still have the garden pen, just build a coop next to it, and let the chickens keep the garden pests down for you. I remember my grandparents had a setup like that at the farm, waaaaaaaaay back when. Dad says the garden was fenced into 2 sections, and the coop opened into either one, or both, as they needed the "help" with bugs. Very progressive for the 1940's. |
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Post by LowKey on Jan 20, 2016 10:35:04 GMT
Reminds me, I totally need to get off my ass and start raising chickens this year. That would be awesome. I live in HOA hell, so chickens are a no go for me. I f you still have the garden pen, just build a coop next to it, and let the chickens keep the garden pests down for you. I remember my grandparents had a setup like that at the farm, waaaaaaaaay back when. Dad says the garden was fenced into 2 sections, and the coop opened into either one, or both, as they needed the "help" with bugs. Very progressive for the 1940's. Something like this? |
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Post by misterdark on Jan 20, 2016 13:52:22 GMT
Very similar. But as I understand it ,once the plants were growing pretty well, he let the chickens roam thru the active garden side as well. I suppose at some point the birds are more interested in the insects on and around the plants.
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Post by dannusmaximus on Jan 20, 2016 18:26:57 GMT
Reminds me, I totally need to get off my ass and start raising chickens this year. That would be awesome. I live in HOA hell, so chickens are a no go for me. I f you still have the garden pen, just build a coop next to it, and let the chickens keep the garden pests down for you. I remember my grandparents had a setup like that at the farm, waaaaaaaaay back when. Dad says the garden was fenced into 2 sections, and the coop opened into either one, or both, as they needed the "help" with bugs. Very progressive for the 1940's. Do you know for a fact you can't have them, Mr. D.? I did a courtesy check with my neighbors prior to getting ours, and of course checked local ordinances. The neighbors thought it was funny, and never expressed any issues with them. If your HOA doesn't have explicit rules prohibiting them...
Raising chickens is fun, and not a whole lot of trouble if you keep the number down. We only ever had 4 or less, all hens no roosters. They make essentially no noise, and if you tend the coop properly there isn't any smell either. Far less disturbance to the neighbors than having and outdoor dog, frankly.
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Post by misterdark on Jan 20, 2016 18:53:53 GMT
Yea, we have a "no farm animals" clause. I got on the board for a while, and tried to knock a lot of the REALLY stupid stuff out, to no avail. Oh well. We are stuck here for at least 5 more years, after that I am moving to a cabin in the woods.
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Post by dannusmaximus on Jan 20, 2016 19:56:23 GMT
Yea, we have a "no farm animals" clause. I got on the board for a while, and tried to knock a lot of the REALLY stupid stuff out, to no avail. Oh well. We are stuck here for at least 5 more years, after that I am moving to a cabin in the woods. Ah well. Fact of the matter is, human beings are awful creatures, and HOA rules are in place so some jackass doesn't move a herd of cows next door to you (or 20 junked cars, or a dozen or so unneutered pit bulls, or an open pit where they can burn off copper wire to sell, or...). Which they almost certainly would do if it wasn't explicitly forbidden by the HOA. Because, in case I didn't mention it previously, people are awful. ALSO, dead bird count it up to 400,000. Outbreak seems to be contained, but they will continue to test nearby farms for 21 days to make sure. No sighting of zombie turkeys or chickens in my AO as of yet... |
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Post by omegaman on Jan 21, 2016 2:40:57 GMT
That would be awesome. I live in HOA hell, so chickens are a no go for me. I f you still have the garden pen, just build a coop next to it, and let the chickens keep the garden pests down for you. I remember my grandparents had a setup like that at the farm, waaaaaaaaay back when. Dad says the garden was fenced into 2 sections, and the coop opened into either one, or both, as they needed the "help" with bugs. Very progressive for the 1940's. Something like this?I have been pondering a similar setup for awhile. I have 2 large fenced gardens next to each other with wasted space in-between. However, I do want my chickens to be free-range yard-roaming. Probably gonna feed plenty of hawks (which is fine by me), but the survivors will be bad-ass and pass on predator avoidance behavior. You know, Darwin and shit. Yup, that's how I,m gonna roll......just need to be careful when I burn my gardens off in the winter...on second thought, I do like extra crispy. |
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Post by NamelessStain on Jan 22, 2016 18:41:49 GMT
You know it's going to happen OM. Even if I have to sneak down there at night and do it while you sleep.
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Post by LowKey on Jan 22, 2016 19:20:45 GMT
I have been pondering a similar setup for awhile. I have 2 large fenced gardens next to each other with wasted space in-between. However, I do want my chickens to be free-range yard-roaming. Probably gonna feed plenty of hawks (which is fine by me), but the survivors will be bad-ass and pass on predator avoidance behavior. You know, Darwin and shit. Yup, that's how I,m gonna roll......just need to be careful when I burn my gardens off in the winter...on second thought, I do like extra crispy. So put the coop and compost piles in between (as shown), string bird netting over the whole shebang (to keep the hawks hungry and prevent crows from raiding your garden) then just leave the garden side gates open. The birds should be able to take refuge inside/underneath if they sense a threat from hawks. From what I've read, if your chickens were kept confined to the coops when first introduced they'll return there each night to roost all on their own. You'll just need to shut the gates. |
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Post by scbrian on Jan 23, 2016 1:51:49 GMT
Some chickens may return to the roost at night, some decide that they dont like the hen house. I have one that insists on roosting on the rear windowsill. gives me the evil eye when I get coffee in the AM... lol.  |
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Post by dannusmaximus on Jan 23, 2016 22:38:56 GMT
Some chickens may return to the roost at night, some decide that they dont like the hen house. I have one that insists on roosting on the rear windowsill. gives me the evil eye when I get coffee in the AM... lol. I had one that always jumped up on our chainlink fenced and dozed off. Every night when I was closing up the coop I would dutifully walk to the fence (same spot every night), grab said bird under my arm, and tuck it into the coop. It never even woke up. I felt completely ridiculous... |
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Post by scbrian on Jan 24, 2016 0:07:54 GMT
I gave up moving her every night. It's a fenced yard so no predators, and if she feels safer hanging out staring at me eating toast, eggs and morning coffee... meh... so be it... lol
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