Chickens for Tick Control

[Mabouya]

Begs the question, which came first: Dummy egg, or dummy chicken?

The Easter Bunny, dummy!

[rmplum]

We gave in and got a handful about 3-4 weeks ago.

They assisted with remote schooling this morning - boy are they hilarious to observe.
em with charlie.jpg

jenson with charlie.jpg

Any tips on introducing them to the dog when they are large enough to roam the yard? He's not a killer, but he's very playful. Squirt bottle?

[ides1056]

Guinea fowl are the champions in this department, but they are noisy.

Your dog might be fine, it's all your friends who imagine they have theirs under control and don't heed your warning to keep them leashed.

[caleb]

If ever a thread needed to be a sticky, this is it.

I had chickens in Connecticut many years ago, but the ratio of tick to chicken was about 2.37 million to one. If you have ticks bad, I'd spray once to knock them back and worry, as pointed out above, about the mice. Get rid of small rodents and you get rid of the ticks. It's really that simple. If you try to kill ticks without dealing with the rodents, you'll never win.

This does make me think that there's been a rough correlation in Minnesota between the crash of our red fox population (mouse predators) and the explosion of all manner of little ticks.

[j44ke]

We've spent a lot of time removing a key plant in the mouse-tick co-dependent life cycles. Barberry creates thickets to maintain moist soil and the arched branches are stiff enough to support snow load - so they are like mouse igloos in the winter with the moisture levels that ticks like. The bush is also sharply spined - like needles - so deer don't walk through it and don't eat it. A lot of forests around here have no undergrowth except barberry. It is actually prohibited from being sold in nurseries and garden stores in some states. People like it because it turns red in the fall and has a red berry that over winters. However, it is invasive and tough to get rid of. Massive root with runners.

White-footed mouse is the primary vector around here.

[j44ke]

We gave in and got a handful about 3-4 weeks ago.

They assisted with remote schooling this morning - boy are they hilarious to observe.
em with charlie.jpg

jenson with charlie.jpg

Any tips on introducing them to the dog when they are large enough to roam the yard? He's not a killer, but he's very playful. Squirt bottle?

What was said - introduce the dog to the chickens while he is on the leash. Reward proper behavior and remove the dog immediately when there is bad behavior. Good also to create a chicken-only outdoor area surrounding or connected to the coop, so that if things don't work out, you can allow the chickens out for exercise without having to worry about the dog. Also ask you neighbors (as mentioned also) about their dogs and whether their dogs have any experiences with chickens. "He likes to chase them" is bad because it usually means the dog just hasn't quite figured out that he could catch this thing if he wanted to. And once they do catch one, it is really hard to get them to stop doing it.

[bbillington]

Starting my own chicken journey this week with 3 barred rock pullets and a single buff Orpington. I’m putting a coop together over the next few days with a small run attached to it and I’m going to do some moveable enclosure so they have more room to spread out and scavenge. Our entire property is fenced off to just over 5 feet to keep the deer out but I worry the girls might be able to clear it if so inclined. Is 5 foot enough?

[Will Neide]

Starting my own chicken journey this week with 3 barred rock pullets and a single buff Orpington. I’m putting a coop together over the next few days with a small run attached to it and I’m going to do some moveable enclosure so they have more room to spread out and scavenge. Our entire property is fenced off to just over 5 feet to keep the deer out but I worry the girls might be able to clear it if so inclined. Is 5 foot enough?

Once they get old enough, they could pretty easily clear the 5ft fence, IMO. We put netting over ours to keep hawks out and to keep the chickens in. If we let them out we keep an eye on them. They are pretty resourceful and can fend for themselves pretty well, but our neighbors loose a chicken here and there due to hawks. We've been lucky so far.

[j44ke]

Cracked corn is sort of like candy for chickens. And they love habits. So you can make a routine where you toss a handful of cracked corn down outside the coop just before lockdown and magically the hens will be there once they learn the routine.

Roosters can be really hard on hens, but if you get a good one who treats the hens well, he will keep everyone sorted and do some pretty good defensive work as well. But hens don’t need a rooster. They are just convenient if there are hazards around. A friend likes to get bantam roosters for her larger hens. They listen to him but won’t take any gruff. Makes him more of a personal assistant. Minus the clipboard.

[bbillington]

Once they get old enough, they could pretty easily clear the 5ft fence, IMO. We put netting over ours to keep hawks out and to keep the chickens in. If we let them out we keep an eye on them. They are pretty resourceful and can fend for themselves pretty well, but our neighbors loose a chicken here and there due to hawks. We've been lucky so far.

Thanks, will! We have hawks, bald eagles and owls here so I’ll likely do the same.

[ides1056]

Starting my own chicken journey this week with 3 barred rock pullets and a single buff Orpington. I’m putting a coop together over the next few days with a small run attached to it and I’m going to do some moveable enclosure so they have more room to spread out and scavenge. Our entire property is fenced off to just over 5 feet to keep the deer out but I worry the girls might be able to clear it if so inclined. Is 5 foot enough?

5 is enough.

[rmplum]

Our chicks have a fully enclosed 3' x 8' coop that sits inside a 10' x 10' chain link kennel (that I've also "roofed" with small gap poly fencing) all to themselves. Once outside of that structure we have about an acre or slightly more of fenced in property (7.5' tall). The thought is to transition them from the coop to then access to the whole 10' x 10' kennel, then eventually access to yard.

[j44ke]

Our chicks have a fully enclosed 3' x 8' coop that sits inside a 10' x 10' chain link kennel (that I've also "roofed" with small gap poly fencing) all to themselves. Once outside of that structure we have about an acre or slightly more of fenced in property (7.5' tall). The thought is to transition them from the coop to then access to the whole 10' x 10' kennel, then eventually access to yard.

That’ll work just fine. Palatial.

[rmplum]

Our chicks have a fully enclosed 3' x 8' coop that sits inside a 10' x 10' chain link kennel (that I've also "roofed" with small gap poly fencing) all to themselves. Once outside of that structure we have about an acre or slightly more of fenced in property (7.5' tall). The thought is to transition them from the coop to then access to the whole 10' x 10' kennel, then eventually access to yard.

[crumpton]

you let your chickens in this house?

[rmplum]

you let your chickens in this house?

Mine? One of them was carried in for a few minute visit - they definitely live outside.

[ides1056]

I used to come home to find the door ajar and dust piles in the kitchen where the chickens had shaken off after bedding down in a crater on the lawn.

Neighbors have come home to find bears in their homes.

Country living...

[Tom]

My sister let her ducks in the house so they could bathe in the tub. Not kidding.

[j44ke]

My sister in law raises her chicks in a kiddie pool full of sawdust warmed by heat lamps on photographic light stands in her basement office/studio. When they get stronger and able to jump higher, she puts a chicken wire dome over it, Buckminster Fuller style. Keeps them safe until they are big enough to fend for themselves in the coop.

[cny rider]

I used to come home to find the door ajar and dust piles in the kitchen where the chickens had shaken off after bedding down in a crater on the lawn.

Neighbors have come home to find bears in their homes.

Country living...

Our hens appear to be total morons.
And yet......if the wind blows the door of their coop shut while they are out roaming and foraging they will come to the back door of the house and "knock" with their beak to tell us to come open it back up.