I checked the little flock of chickens I have been raising for egg layers
this morning and found all that was left was a one legged rooster. { And I
thought there was nothing in this world could be more worthless than a
congress person ;>) }
I had the chickens in a 2x8 foot range cage that was setup on a shelf
attached to the support poles in the barn. The chicks were too young to
follow the cage when it was moved so I put them in the barn until they got
older.
The cage rested on plywood and was tied off to the posts to keep the coons
et al from pulling it off the shelf. What I did not figure on was the
coons pulling it back towards the stall fence such that it rotated around a
support post and opened up a 2 inch gap between the cage and the floor
plywood at one end of the cage. As I have said before, Coons are a very
worthy adversary.
May understanding is that chickens need increasing day length when they
grow up to trigger the laying cycle. Given that this is June 10 and the
summer soltice is just around the corner, am I right to assume I would have
to use artifical light to get them to lay if I were to start with new
chicks now?
I gather from my experience so far that I really need to build a secure
chicken coop with a totally enclosed or electric fenced group of runs
opening from different sides of the hen house. I suppose I should have a
dog, but the liability risk is too great here. I don't want, like happened
to a friend of mine, to pay for some joker's college just because they
trespass on the place, approach a dog chained on the porch and, oh duh, get
bit.
Any advise you all may have is appreciated. Mike Miller
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