I've belonged to chicken forums for years and have never read anything bad about the Sweeter Heater since it's not a heat lamp. It's made more like a heating pad but sits above the chickens. I'd never use a heat lamp but I'm considering the Sweeter Heater.
@@zsuzsuspetalsI'm using a 100w ceramic bulb inside a bell shaped cover and a tote, secured the lamp with wire above, not had any problems and expect to remove the heat soon as the chicks are growing. Weather may not allow putting chicks in the coop for another month.
Don't use poison for vermin, use hot red pepper flakes mixed in the feed. Chickens aren't bothered by it, but vermin generally hate it and won't revisit.
Before I knew about the plant, three of mine demolished a small cherry tomato plant in a couple of days. None showed any ill effect. But of course, now that I know, I keep them away from tomato plants. They do get cherry tomatoes from time to time.
@@margaretgraham1336 what happened to your chicken? I had chickens as pets and that was the best money I ever spent. They provided lots of entertainment for me. They couldn't do any tricks but they did the best they could. Unfortunately hawks ended up getting them as well a a fox. I was upset about it, but the hawks may have had babies they were trying to take care of. I would consider getting some guineas too. they stay wild and are always eating bugs. if their heads are down. they are eating a bud, and they will search your yard for ticks to eat. I'm sorry to hear you lost your chicken. to some people they are just things, but I understand how easy it is to get attached to your animals. take care and thank you for being so nice.
I'd like to add for hawks, if you're in an area where you know crows or ravens are nearby, if you leave out food they like (pretty much anything you'd feed a chicken, peanuts I've heard are a favorite, I've used bits of old bread) in an area where they can easily see it, you can convince them to make your yard part of their territory and they'll help keep hawks away. I haven't had a single hawk attack since the crows moved into this area.
I can add to this, we had some crows make our property part of their territory, and during the nesting season they would regularly chase off many would-be intruders. One particularly interesting spectacle (which got the attention of all of us, including the smaller birds and wildlife who watched from afar) was when a hawk came and tried to raid their nest, and an hours-long aerial battle ensued with the male crow going after it without hesitation. Crows are literally the smartest of all animals besides humans and as such are one of the few that can go toe-to-toe with just about anything that flies. Even Eagles find them not worth the trouble most of the time. Also they like hard dog food, apparently; easy for them to pick up and store for later since it's dried, they just have to add water.
I will also add that crows and chickens sometimes are mortal enemies and I watched a video earlier today of chickens pecking crows to death as the latter often steal chicken chicks. Chickens, hawks and crows are like a 3 way hate fest. That said, ive heard birds of Prey are less likely to attack black chickens as they look more like crows
@@lizxu322 I think this is more of an issue when crows can easily see/access chicken eggs. Chickens become much more dangerous to anything trying to eat them or their eggs. But definitely not a "throw them together and hope for the best" situation.
Yes!@@lizxu322 I have crows (not on purpose) that eat my horse's feed, and they guard my property but do not have access to my chicken area. My neighbors free range their chickens, and when they have chicks "my" crows will carry them off.
@@WC3fanatic997the crows in my neighborhood love scones. They come to the door caw for them, and carry them away. They are a local murder for over 13 years now.
For over 20 years we've thrown all of our kitchen scraps in the chicken yard; coffee grounds, tomatoes, avocado, onions, citrus peels... if you keep your hens well fed, they only eat the scraps that interest them, everything else is made into compost
Empty buckets are one of the most dangerous rookie mistakes. At night when they try to perch on empty plastic buckets. As a result the bucket flips on them which typically suffocates them it cooks them alive too if it’s in summer. So be very very careful around big empty plastic buckets.
1 HUGE thing that you forgot to mention is proper ventilation for the coop, especially during winter because if it isn't ventilated enough then ammonia gas will build up in the coop and kill all the chickens.
Birds in all types of aviaries need three things: space, ventilation, and light. I build coops with partial solid and transparent panel rooves. The biggest mistake people make in general, is putting too many birds in one space. Crowding is a continual source of trouble. 🎉
@jeanettecook1088 yes, it creates a lot of stress for the animals and unhealthy living conditions with manure and waste. So you end up creating this bad situation with too many in a small space and they start pecking 1 another and diseases spread very quickly, by trying to save money on space it frequently ends up costing you MORE money.
@@LuluDumpling ammonia gas is something many people that are just starting out with poultry don't know about and how deadly it can be, not just to the birds but people as well. It only takes a small vent at the top because ammonia gas is lite and raises to the highest point, so the gas can escape.
Appreciated this; thank you. I've been keeping hens 20-some years. I'm mindful of overfeeding treats like scratch, but in the winter when they need a few extra calories, spreading a little scratch on a couple of boards right when they come off the roost is an easy way to check each bird's behavior. If everyone is active and eating, great. Birds who aren't are worth a second look. (Bonus: The pecking and soft talk of hens first thing in the morning has to be one of nature's sweetest sounds.)
I have 6 chickens I am raising now and I can tell you I never knew how happy a chickens sound can make you feel, for me it’s therapeutic ❤ I’m absolutely in love with my gals🐓🐥🐣❤
hi im about to have some hens definitely not 20 i dont have enough land for that to be legal but will have 4 or 3 of them for a school project, do u have any tips on bedding ? i watched a lot of videos but they say something is good and then immediately say its not good and idk what to do i was thinking like straw or wood shavings but idk
I accidentally killed a chicken That was sick by giving it water with a syringe. Not aware that they have a hole in their tongues. She took it fine, but the last one I was going to give her evidently was too much or too fast and she threw it up and choked to death very quickly . Was devastating to watch and will never forget that vision.
Stop being an idiot Mark! This info is from a large corporate unhealthy operation! This channel is exact opposite of how a healthy free range flock should be managed!
That’s a good goal, I’m sure you’ll be a great vet. That being said, you should not be commenting on the internet at your age. There are very bad people on the internet that will say very nasty things for no reason.
lol my male rottweiler raised and cleaned up after my baby chicks. we had our neighbor’s puppies behind our house, sneak under the fence and chase our (now grown chickens) all around the yard. my rottie cornered the 2 puppies and corrected them, they were so scared 😭. (they were returned safely to their owners !) he also gets along with our bunnies aswell
What a great video! Thank you so much. A lot of people don't realize how awesome chickens are. You have no idea how many times I've heard someone tell another person who has lost a pet, "Oh, it was just a dog/cat/chicken." Animals are absolutely incredible. Every single one of my chickens are amazing and I love them. Thank you for making this video to help keep our babies safe.
Cassiejo - I was glad to read your comment about the value our pets & chickens have. I am a first time chicken owner (4 Easter Eggers, 4 Barnevelders - raised them all from 2 day old chicks & got them with the idea to have continual eggs) and I can't believe it but I think I've come to love my chickens! Surprised me. I can't believe myself.... lol!! The Easter Eggers come to my feet, look up at me, & wait for me to pick them up and cuddle them.... & the Barnevelders act like they are going to die if I touch them.... go figure! Lol!!! Difference in breeds I guess. I gently pick them all up throughout the week and find myself kissing their heads.... with the Easter Eggers cooing back at me and the Barnevelders clucking or schreeching in panic as I gently stroke them. (They started laying eggs in late Sept. They taste 'pure' if that makes sense. Only been 3 days with no eggs since they started laying.) Anyway, have a good one, ma'am. Sorry for my long winded comment. Didn't feel so silly after reading your comment. Blessings.
I use some old chainlink fence (free on CL) under the run about 6" inside and the rest outside. Planted grass on top of the fencing to make it easier to walk on.
I left a bowl in the chicken run since I was busy doing other things to go back and get it. When I came back to get it one of my 2 month old chicks was suffocated underneath it. 😱😱😭 we have all of the above toxic wild plants and flowers including tons of elderberry and our chickens seem to never have a problem with any of them. Like you said, chickens are smart about what they can and can’t eat.
Chickens are very good at hiding injuries and illness since they’re prey animals, so don’t want to show any signs of vulnerability to predators. Unfortunately this means it’s harder for humans to spot the warning signs before it’s too late :(
I had my chickens get out of their run and eat my roses, which are okay. However, one got into my front yard where my hydrangeas grow and ate a bunch of petals and she just laid down and after a few hours she was dead. So I make sure that none of my landscaping is deadly for chickens: no hydrangeas, azaleas, allium, daffodils or tulips, or wisteria. I have lots of hostas and roses. They can also have a lot of the flowers that you grow in your vegetable gardens such as marigolds, nasturtiums, petunias and zinnias.
If you keep the chickens well fed, they won't usually go for flowers they know are toxic for them. I've grown azaleas in hydrangeas in the yard where I keep all of my chickens, and they've never done anything but use the plants as shade and protection.
We've had solar flood lights that are motion activated at night when fox and other predators in our area immediately leave when activated. We also have a thicker wire for our coop that goes under the fence border with small boulders covered with dirt for added security.
Yes, we added solar alarms as well as solar lights, which are pretty loud, after a bob cat attack, but we live in the country, so the alarms don't disturb neighbors.
I built my coop with pig penwire and qtr inch hardware cloth on a concrete slab and a tin roof. Added bracing and supports until I felt I would feel safe in there if surrounded by zombies. It's a good benchmark for construction standards and keeps like a little more whimsical and exciting.
another strategy is: don’t feed your chickens inside the coop. The coop is just for sleeping and laying. keeps the coop a lot cleaner too; u know, if you have that option. Also I planted my apple trees in their ranging area, and they often eat windfall apples, but never the seeds they always leave the core. They can also eat milkweed and poke weed and bitter nightshade berries. As long as you’re feeding them they know what they can, and can’t eat.
I have found hanging my feeders from either string or rope works well. I have also switched from crumbles to pellets quite a while ago. Its easier to get them on pellets as soon as they are done with starter. But hang your feeders just below head high, and they sit around like they have manners and simply eat. Where as if you feed them off the ground they swing their heads down and fling food everywhere attracting rodents. I bring the outside feeders inside every night and do have an area in my yard I throw stuff out for them to scratch, but no where near the coup or house. Believe it or not I switched to this method about 3 years ago and havent seen even a trace of a rodent since.
Ok im guilty of how this video started off i did absolutely no research cuz i thought it'd be common knowledge and now im finding out that everything i did was wrong so now im here trying to fix my mistakes
Cannibalism. Chickens in an overcrowded coop will kill and then eat each other in a neglected coop, usually the smallest and most shy in the flock, or the one hen that's different color. My neighbors consistently say it's weasels but we don't have any, or raccoons, but here's no sign of entry. But the chicken that dies has usually been bullied because they take a 5 chicken coop and buy more chicks so there's 15 in there. And they don't clean the floor so they live in a constant cloud of methane. And there's 6 broken down nesting boxes for 15 hens and one roost bar that's only 5 feet long. The bullied hens never get up there and live in the methane cloud all winter. Winter is the worst. The water freezes over because the boy doesn't want to put on his boots and check on them and I find the food dispenser empty at least once every two months. I feed and water them and I'm just the renter neighbor. They've had about 25 hens in the time I lived here and always lose enough down to six, after which she buys more chickens because she thinks they're cute and pretty. Fortunately, they seem to be coming around after all my badgering, cleaning up the coop a little, and allowing them to free range at least twice a week (we have eagles). Thank goodness they're realizing these are living creatures utterly dependent on their captors and not just egg factories. I was afraid I'd have to call animal rescue on them. But anyway ... cannibalism. Chickens will do it without a second thought.
@@SopranoJessi There are people who love the IDEA of raising chickens, but when it comes to the inconvenience of caring for a dependent creature, they lose interest. :( lol. She's jealous when she lets them out and they all run to me when they see me. :D
You left out a very destructive chicken killer, the Bear. I just had a black bear kill all 8 of mine, 2 Roosters, 6 hens. I had an upper enclosed coop with a hardwired bottom coop with an exit door into an outside pen area. The upper coop had hardwired doors on it with lift up doors to open in the summer and close down in the winter. The Coop design worked really well for 4 years allowing the chickens to stay warm in winter, cool in summer, locked up while I was gone and freed when I was home. Then one night while I was asleep around 3-4 am the bear ripped the door off the upper Coop and apparently some of the birds got caught others went down in the hardwired part of the Coop and the bear ripped it open getting them. I found a place in the woods with feathers and all sixteen sets of wings were left. I've been wondering if it was more than one bear since all of the birds were killed and eaten.
Same thing happened to my friend. A bear tore down a Chain link fence like it was made of paper. Got all of her silkies. I’m so sorry that happened. Your coop sounded awesome.
We live in Fl so let's of predators. We lost a flock before, so now we built a small barn out of T1-11 lumber, which is almost indestructible, as before we used a thin lumber, and Bob cats literally chewed through it. the chickens, ducks sleep in there at night, and we have a chicken heater for cold nights, which turns off at a set temp. We also have solar lights, solar alarms, double fencing on runs, and solar electric wire running around the perimeter of the enclosed yard area.
So when the heat lamp 250 watt bulbs that you buy gets so hot the solder melts and shorts out and bulb blows out of the the fixure and burns your place down. I have seen it many times. That's why a friend's barn burned down.
FENCES. If you have a fence with just enough space to put chicken's head between boards (or metal parts, whatever) they can HANG themselves, please, pay attention to that! I was surprised it wasn't said in the video.
I had less problems with my dog than the cat. She wanted to hunt them so bad. So I kept her away till they were bigger than her. As far as digging my chickens are the only ones that tend to dig.
I lost two chickens by drowing in my sheep livestock waterer, despite putting in a ladder. Two separate instances. I also lost one that I could not find anywhere. I looked for hours. She had fallen behind the hay bales (very very narrow opening) and couldn't get out and died. I only found what was left of her after I used most of hte hay stack. If I had only thought to move the hay bales until I could see all the way to the bottom!
@@sharilynremington78 We have added young hens to the existing flock a few times now. Our hens have a good sized coop. We never just add 1 or 2, 3+ is best. We cover up all incoming light from the windows. After it is dark & all are roosting, slip in the new birds. When morning comes, uncover the windows. They wake up thinking the new birds should be there. This has worked for us.
I had to learn the hard way introduced 2 new hens I bought to replace 2 I had lost & didn’t quarantine for a month working a week 2 of my fine laying good mothers hens dies all of a sudden now I have to pray that it doesn’t go to the rest of the flock and yes now I kept them far away
@@candyarthur8568 Oh dear.. we got two Easter eggers to add to our 4 buff orpingtons that we've had for 3 years. They are around 13 weeks old. Right now they're in a separate temporary coop. We've tried putting them together but it hasn't been successful. We also have 2 new buff orpingtons that are about 4 weeks old that are in a tote... I'm wondering how to go about putting them all with the older hens.
Lost a chicken to a hawk and had a couple of other near misses. Then we strung a thin red ribbon back and forth over the run, in random zig zag patterns. I've seen a hawk flying overhead, sometimes causing the chickens to squawk, but it did not come down. Not sure if this will last through snow and ice or will have to be rehung in the spring; will find out soon!
In Florida, despite my efforts, my chickens have run out of water in the summer heat. If you think a chicken is seriously dehydrated, put a small amount of salt or baking soda in the first water you give them. I had one hen have convulsions after I refilled her water bowl in the summer.
Don't use poison ever. There are way better alternatives with trapss and more. Poison gets into other wildlife and ALWAYS a risk for pets and livestock too. Potatoes and tomatoes themselves are not toxic but the plants are.
I have just subscribed after watching your channel from start to finish. I just aquired a coup with seven chickens and really enjoy taking care of them. Thanks for posting this video.
My chickens ate the heck outta my tomato plants leaves. All six of them were a ok and did this throughout 110 degree heat, they are way more tough to kill than you guys think
I put a small amount of DE in my chickens’ dust bath without mixing it in and it gave one a cough immediately and several got a runny nose. They all survived, but it was something I’ll never risk again.
@@surferduderocks200 Diatomaceous earth. There are two types. Only use the food grade for chickens. DE is also sold at large box stores to kill ants etc, but that is not food grade and the particles in it can kill, be careful and wear a mask.
My chickens live in a winter-free country together with parrots and rabbits. The only enemy is the bad chicken feed from the shop. I have now deleted that. Now I only feed boiled potatoes, rice, some oatmeal, salads, papaya, grapes and banana. The aviary is huge and the floor is covered with grass. In an extra part of the aviary there is a compost heap and stones and wood to turn because the delicious worms and termites are underneath. Sometimes a rat snake snakes its way through the aviary, but I'm always quicker at collecting the eggs. I have 2 plastic tubs in the aviary that always provide clear water through aquatic plants. the chickens love it
Me, a chicken owner who has thrown tomatoes apples and just about everything out into the yard for them to snack on. I've also emptied out my espresso machine puck into my garden and turned around to see that our ladies had just completely obliterated that puck in seconds. They were...very active that day. Hubby has also been out enjoying an afternoon bonfire with friends and spilled some IPA on the ground and they drank it. None of them died, all of them had a great time. I'm not saying you're wrong. Maybe I have some really hearty ladies...idk.
Worth noting for drinkers: there are automatic-refilling options and chicken drip-feed drinkers available now (called the "chicken fountain") which seem to work well. They're directly attached to a hose so they pull water from there.
Yeah you definitely need to keep an eye on the chickens that are at the bottom of the pecking order I have a Polish rooster that was not getting enough food because all the hens and ducks are greedy so I separated him just so he can get enough to eat
Yep heat lamps can totally be dangerous I should know because I lost 7 animals plus my coop, food and supplies to a fire two months ago right now I just use the heating plate don't worry about heat lamps right now because it's summer but securing the heat lamp is one thing definitely gonna fix when the coop is done
I remember seeing an episode of something like 20/20 cant remember like 30 years ago of a kid that developed a brain tumor. His mother sought after a fix. Eventually she heard about apple seeds. Kid ate apple seeds daily and his tumor vanished. Ever since then when I eat an apple, I eat the entire thing minus the stem.
apple seeds have cyanide I believe, in them but it is typically so minute that you would have to eat a lot of them to get sick as an adult. wouldn't give to young children though.
Very practical informative and compact video, really love to see the precautions we should follow on our farm, extra care can make things better and profitable 😊😊😊
Here are 2 more. 1. having too many roosters. In 1 flock you should only have 1 rooster, even 2 roosters in 1 flock is too much and they fight each other every time, and if you have more than that they may gonna try to jump on 1 chicken as a pack of roosters, so when there are 10 roosters that means hell for chickens. So keep the rooster count low. 2. dropping food above the fence to them. If you have small chicken try to give them food not above fence, otherwise you may gonna hit 1 of them and have the chance of it being fatal if you giving them water melons and similar big or bulkier foods. So be careful giving them bigger foods.
Super helpful. We had two dogs kill numerous hens even though we trained them. A dog is a dog and it’s their nature to kill hens. I also once left twine in the coop and the chicken got entangled in it and was hanging upside down on one of the hottest days of the year. She survived but I felt so bad!! 😭😭😭
you can train dogs to avoid chickens with e-collars after you've had the training on how to use them Properly. Dogs won't chase squirrels after this training, so they won't go after your chickens either.
I don’t use DE anymore because I put a big scoop on some maggots that were eating the chicken manure and it didn’t do anything. Even after 2days covered in DE. Use a regular dewormer.
DE isn't a poison. It works by creating holes in exoskeletons. It works much better on adult insects or at least ones that have a hard exoskeleton throughout their lifecycle. It doesn't work on eliminating maggots living in manure very well. New eggs get laid in it daily and you'd have to use A LOT, an entire 50lb bag or more mixed in to affect maggot numbers depending on how much manure we're talking about. The reason it works inside the gut is because of their inability to escape and it has to be ingested daily for a week to 10 days to work. Those maggots were obviously living in manure and could escape it, I'm sure some died but by shear numbers it would have looked like it did nothing. The best way to prevent maggots in manure is to compost it. Or make sure it completely dries. The high temperatures in a good compost pile kills maggots. 😊 Hope this was useful info for you.
i had a bunch of whole mixed grains i gave to my mum to feed my chickens when i went on a trip. I came back and my mum told me she cooked thr grains into porridge and ate it herself, and said that the chickens can find their own food. The chickens laid less eggs than they used to for that time period. Shes never looking after my chickens again, and yes, this is the same woman who said goldfish doesnt need food either, they eat particles in the water. Guess who'll be living in a nursing home by herself (she is quite malicious and refuses to learn unless she faces consequences)
"Guess who'll be living in a nursing home by herself (she is quite malicious and refuses to learn unless she faces consequences)" Remember that God commands us to love our (human) neighbors -- not our chickens and goldfish.
I've read so many people say elderberry is toxic. The deer have plenty of yummy things to eat around here but prefer to eat my elderberry bushes to the ground, and the wild birds strip an elderberry bush of fruit as soon as they're barely ripe...
I cook for my girls on a bi weekly basis one week their diet is supplemented with cooked rice and veggies and opposite weeks is fruits and salad greens! They love watermelon rinds! I leave a lot of the red fruit on the rinds 😋🐓diatometious earth food grade is used every six months on their body’s as well as dusting the coops. I don’t use poison on mouse control, my cats don’t harm my chickens and catch mice with ease!
Great video... however, just a note, most veterinarians won't treat chickens. Surgery on birds is a very tricky business, because their body temperature is very high and hard to regulate under anesthesia.
Ive seen elderberry listed as toxic in several videos and on a few online lists, but all the real world accounts say that their girls were fine living with an elderberry shrub in their run for a decade and other similar accounts. I think there is something more to look at with this issue given the disparity between the literature and real life.
@@LeafyWalnut im seeing RUclips videos and experts say its bad but with no actual evidence to that end. I think they are assuming toxicity based on the compounds present. But people with elderberries in with their chickens say that the chickens know to avoid them and that they havent had issues
Agreed. People out here wanting to make click able content, but not actually researching information or real world experience. Just repeating some junk off the net
I agree. I have a large elderberry tree in my run and the girl love to eat to berries when they're rip. But haven't touched them when they are unripe. We have yet to see any adverse effects from this.
YOU CAN ALSO USE HALF BAKING SODA, AND HALF CORNBREAD OR HALF CHOCOLATE CAKE MIX. PUT IT IN A BAG FIRST AND SHAKE IT UP TO MAKE SURE ITS MIXED THEN PUT IT IN A CONTAINER THAT YOU PUT HOLES IN SO THE RODENTS CAN ACCESS AND OTHER ANIMALS CAN'T. IT ISN'T DANGEROUS TO OTHER ANIMALS AND THE DEAD RODENTS ALSO AREN'T DANGEROUS TO OTHER ANIMALS . IT WORKS.
Great video! Informative and enjoyable, a tough combination to create. Thank you for your efforts to educate new chicken owners. It's almost Easter and a lot of innocent new owners are out there, waiting to be disappointed when their new chicks don't make it past the first week.
our garden used to have one elderberry bush and the chicken would just ignore that place completely lol. this is the first time i learned about elderberry being a bad idea of them. thankfuly they knew what not to peck
I do a weekly health check on all our chickens. These are some of the questions from my health assessment: Have you had any changes to bowel or bladder elimination? Have you been feeling like life is not worth living? Are things you used to enjoy doing no longer pleasurable? Have you used any tobacco products in the last week? How many drinks have you had in the last week? Do you wear a seatbelt while in motor vehicles? Have you seen a dentist in the last 6 months? Do you feel safe in the coop? Are there any firearms in the coop? How many hours per day do you spend on social media? What are your main sources of news? Have any of the other chickens expressed any extreme views or conspiracy theories such as humans wanting to steal their eggs or eat them? Have any chickens mentioned possible violence against humans? If you encounter an extremist chicken, do you know how to report them to the humans? Would you feel safe doing so? Are you aware of the 'Segregated for Safety' program the humans offer to avoid retaliation? Is there anything else the humans could be doing to facilitate your laying more or gaining weight? What are the 5 nicest things humans do for you? How have humans improved your life? Which human is your favorite, and why? What 3 things can you do to help the humans? Do you feel qualified to apply for the 'Superior and Gifted Chicken' program taking place behind the barn? What 5 things can you do in the next week to make you better qualified for the 'Superior and Gifted Chicken' program? Our chicken Wellness Center has been providing an optimal, healthy free-range environment for chickens to actualize their most productive selves by leveraging the full range of psychological, physical, and spiritual development since 1984. We envision continuing to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in poultry to support Agenda 2030 and perfecting sustainable inter-species relationships and mutually-beneficial outcomes across the full agricultural-business spectrum.
I have 6 dogs. 3 are large breeds. G. Shepherd, Husky, and English lab/chow mix, and one of my small dog is a rat terrier which is a known killer breed. My husky is a straight killer (possums beware 😅). My husky was bringing headless chickens home for a while. We live in the country and don’t know where the nearest chickens are? Anyway we have now had chicken for 2 years and all my dogs protect and are super gentle with my gals and rue. My shepherd especially has taken to being their protector! He now prefers to sleep outside and watch the property.
My chickens eat tomatoes all of the time. In fact my neighbor gathers leftover tomatoes from my garden for hers every year and sometimes her turkeys come to eat out of my garden.
They need heat if raised in a brooder to mimic the temperature under the mother hen (90°s F). The chicks we hatched from our hens were developing feathers by day 3.
My chickens love tomatoes, they go for the seeds first, then the fruit. I only let them have once a week. ACV in their water is also good for them. ACV -Apple Cider Vinegar. One tablespoon per gallon. I use even less, 1 tsp per quart watering bottle.
I used heavy gauge wire mesh with a 6" bend facing out on the bottom 2' of the coop, which I buried 6-8" below the ground. If an animal tries to dig around the perimeter they hit that mesh and it stops right there. I've seen several attempts over the years but haven't lost one to a critter yet in 8 yrs.
Zip tie the heat lamp to the chain for extra security but the heat plate & if needed a coop heater are definitely safer & much less expensive to operate than heat lamps
@@annap62407many waterers have a recessed bottom. I had a baby chick accidentally get trapped under one and it killed it. For about two years now I keep saying, “I really hate learning things the hard way.” It was very disheartening 😢. I’m so tired of all the cheap products.
Iv seen alot of peope recommend diatomaceous earth and not really calrify how little should be used. I personaly use general purpose sand. Its super dusty. Put it in a wide low edge bin, a kiddie pool or an already dirt spot in your yard and bring the chickens over 2 or 3 times a day (however much they seem to enjoy) They love it and cluck like nuts when they do it. Hope this helps.
You know I should get a puffer and do that. They get enough on their own in the dirt around the yard, but I like to use the earth at least once a month for extra parasite control. Thanks for the comment!
Old heat lamp bulbs can explode and cause fires. I replace the bulbs every three months, if used only at night, and monthly if used 24/7. I use the older bulbs during freezes to save sensitive trees and plants that aren't in coops or barns. For new hatchlings, I now only use brooder plates...because they also love the security of being underneath the plate. Even with the plates, do NOT pile up hay or wood shavings to where it touches the plate....it's not necessary. A thin layer of shavings is sufficient to absorb droppings (which should be cleaned once or twice daily. Raccoons can/will reach in and grab chickens too....and kill them by trying to pull them through the wire. Foxes jump and climb like a cat...and can jump up to six feet high...so a four foot fence will not keep them away. Best deterrent for predators is a well trained dog...Pyrenees and Maremmas are bright white and visible deterrent.
Folks are swiching over from heat lamps to heated brooder plates. Much safer and much easier for the chicks to keep themselves as warm as they wan to be.
Funny you say that. I was just watching a video the other day where this RUclipsr uses an infrared heating plate hung on chains too. Said the same, more reliable, and safer
Don't have or raise chickens, but a couple of my friends do. I just don't have the space for doing this kind of thing. Thanks for the video information.
1- Farmerboy Ag sells safety lamps that wont catch your coop on fire. Use thick glass bulbs to prevent shattering. 2- If you don't trust your dog, keep them away. simple. you don't need to bury wire mesh - just lay it on top of the ground, affix to a fence, min 18" from the fence. 3- Racoons - Hot wires help a lot. Same as movable electric net fence. Wacky Wavy arm men help with hawks on 15-30min intervals. 4- Newer rat poisons wont kill birds. Keep baits away from birds, and clean up dead animals. 5- Chems... i've watched chickens drink gasoline and hydro oil and survive it. not saying they should drink it... Chickens like shiny, so yeah. clean up nails. 6- Auto waterers. Hauling water is miserable, and freezing weather stops them drinking. 7- Chickens are incredibly dumb, but generally they wont eat things they don't like. Potato and Tomato is fine to feed. 8- Neglect... Don't neglect your birds. 9- Garden plants... again, chickens will generally not eat things they don't like. Jimson week, and Devils trumpet are halucigenic thru toxicity. so, they'll go wack then die. 10- Mites, treat with sevin dust or bifenthrin. Gape worm - Worm your birds with levimisole when each time the grass comes on, and goes(spring and fall). Red spider mites, burn down the coop. 11- DE doesn't work for anything. Don't use it. huge waste of time.
Please dont use chemicals like Sevin on or around your chickens! It's a known carcinogen. DE absolutely does work. And its much safer than anything else.
Thanks for this information but I have a question about the dried, raw beans: does this include dried raw legumes? Asking because I’ve been researching alternative, homemade feeds and legumes are in a majority of the recipes. Thx
There's plenty of information online about which legumes contain lectins or other toxins and which are safe raw. It's kind of complicated to it's worth reading up on.
Heres my only tip i can give. I live somewhere that is cold in the winter and HOT in summer. I feel like my girls did worste in summer and had some rough days in over 100 degree weather. On days that were too hot a great way to cool them down was to use a cheese grater on a cold cucumer. The amount of water and how cold it is, is a great summer treat
I just planted a Hall's honeysuckle to have grow up and over the poultry yard fence. Never heard they were poisonous , do I need to remove the vine? Birds need some shade.
We have fishing line hanging over the chicken yard! It confuses predatory birds because the line flashes in the sunlight or just light! Works like a charm…….the only problem is we have a bit of ribbon on the line so that my husband and sister-in-law do not walk into them! Lol!
Very informative, thank you sir! My young Scout took great pleasure in destroying all four of my chickens. I feel so bad bc this adventure was totally preventable, a mistake I won’t ever make again.
@@nowirehangers2815My dog eats cat poo out of her litter box when the gate is accidentally left open. Most dogs I've known would roll in dead + discusting things +think they are wonderful; the stickier, the better they relish it ! Discusting. You can train a dog to leave chickens alone in your presence, but they cannot be trusted not to sneak after them when you aren't nearby to able to stop them. Even the most Nobel dog doesnt posess a conscience so they have no reliable integrity unless they have been highly trained, so it's not worth the risk of the greif of finding out you wrongly trusted your dog not to be a opportunist. So please 1/4" hardware cloth every inch you can of your coop AND run. Free ranging is for folks who don't really care if their bird(s)get picked off or wiped out completely. It's not a matter of IF, but WHEN a preditor will happen by +make you regret leaving them vunerable - if you love them like the dear pets they should be to everyone who deserves to own them.
I have 9 assorted breeds of dogs have introduced them to my chickens always on a lead also hold a chicken on you lap and let them sniff it but make it clear it is not for biting or play .do this a couple of days and then remain vigilant till you are sure the lesson has sunk in.
I built my henhouse with welded poly coat 1 inch screen made of #10 wire attached to the 4x4 post with fender washers and 2 inch screws. I have had no animal attacks. I have a 6 foot wide brick patio that goes around the outside and all food stored inside out of reach of rodents.
My coupe is even bear proof while giving them plenty of fresh air. I free range them during the day. So They get plenty of sunlight when it's available.
We used to do that too, but eggs were all over the place and when we find them and collect them, they just send me hunting again for their new laying spot.
@@Mindlyft I actually ended up keeping them in a pin. But that was because my neighbor started complaining. Later on, he washed where my chickens went. As if he wasn't the reason I kept them locked up. Either way, they did fine up until I gave them away so I can move across the country. This time I'll do it better.
Yep we had a coop malfunction and one of the new adolescent chickens got out and the dog got ahold of her. She is safe he only had her in a grip thankfully but it was a bit of scare.
Newbie question here; when you say “bury hardware cloth” do you mean extend it straight down into the earth, or bend it (inward or outward) at base of coop walls?
You can do either. Outward from the coop walls is easier, plus, you should check on it from time to time, as metal in the damp ground is likely to rust away.
Exactly what Davina said. I personally have never done inward, I was always taught bury it down and bend it outward. I could see bending the wire inward not being as discouraging to predators that dig but again I have no personal experience bending inward
Just to clarify, I think I quickly read the question, and took 'inward' to mean straight down. It was probably late at night... LOL Other things you can do- put heavy rocks or pavers around the outside perimeter. At least they won't rust.
We have trees in our yard and tarps for chickens to hide under and an automatic 60 pound chicken door and an human door with a spining handle so raccoons don't get in we once had a passes twice in the nesting box waiting for the chickens to go to sleep but thankfully we got him out
![[#2024MAMA] BIGBANG (빅뱅) - 뱅뱅뱅 (BANG BANG BANG) + FANTASTIC BABY | Mnet 241123 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EQsYfiPR9uM/mqdefault.jpg)
As a firefighter I have seen coops and barns burn with the lamp still secured. Dust stirred up by flapping wings, etc. can ignite easily. Good video!
Great point
I was about to say, didn't think a lamp falling down would be the only reason
I've belonged to chicken forums for years and have never read anything bad about the Sweeter Heater since it's not a heat lamp. It's made more like a heating pad but sits above the chickens. I'd never use a heat lamp but I'm considering the Sweeter Heater.
wow -- would not have thought of that; thanks for that tip!
@@zsuzsuspetalsI'm using a 100w ceramic bulb inside a bell shaped cover and a tote, secured the lamp with wire above, not had any problems and expect to remove the heat soon as the chicks are growing. Weather may not allow putting chicks in the coop for another month.
Don't use poison for vermin, use hot red pepper flakes mixed in the feed. Chickens aren't bothered by it, but vermin generally hate it and won't revisit.
Like this idea!
Hot pepper also gets rid of worms in your animals.
Rats actually don't care
This works cos pepper evolved to let birds eat them ,fly and spread seeds but to stop animals eating the seeds
Hmm!
Been feeding tomatoes for 25 years. The plants are the poisonous part not the fruit
My chicken loves ripe tomatoes!!
Thanks for sharing, i feed mine cherry tomatoes and they love them, i only give them a few every other day and none of the plant
Before I knew about the plant, three of mine demolished a small cherry tomato plant in a couple of days. None showed any ill effect.
But of course, now that I know, I keep them away from tomato plants. They do get cherry tomatoes from time to time.
Yeah I give my chickens tomatoes all the time in the summer
Yeah, I've fed tomatoes to my chickens for 58 years. I call bullshit.
Never let your chickens have access to firearms. A chicken with a shotgun is a bad combination.
Oh my word!!!
And alcohol. Terrible combo
😂
Speaking of chickens my chicken just died and you are the first comment i see😢
@@margaretgraham1336 what happened to your chicken? I had chickens as pets and that was the best money I ever spent. They provided lots of entertainment for me. They couldn't do any tricks but they did the best they could. Unfortunately hawks ended up getting them as well a a fox. I was upset about it, but the hawks may have had babies they were trying to take care of. I would consider getting some guineas too. they stay wild and are always eating bugs. if their heads are down. they are eating a bud, and they will search your yard for ticks to eat. I'm sorry to hear you lost your chicken. to some people they are just things, but I understand how easy it is to get attached to your animals. take care and thank you for being so nice.
I'd like to add for hawks, if you're in an area where you know crows or ravens are nearby, if you leave out food they like (pretty much anything you'd feed a chicken, peanuts I've heard are a favorite, I've used bits of old bread) in an area where they can easily see it, you can convince them to make your yard part of their territory and they'll help keep hawks away. I haven't had a single hawk attack since the crows moved into this area.
I can add to this, we had some crows make our property part of their territory, and during the nesting season they would regularly chase off many would-be intruders. One particularly interesting spectacle (which got the attention of all of us, including the smaller birds and wildlife who watched from afar) was when a hawk came and tried to raid their nest, and an hours-long aerial battle ensued with the male crow going after it without hesitation.
Crows are literally the smartest of all animals besides humans and as such are one of the few that can go toe-to-toe with just about anything that flies. Even Eagles find them not worth the trouble most of the time.
Also they like hard dog food, apparently; easy for them to pick up and store for later since it's dried, they just have to add water.
I will also add that crows and chickens sometimes are mortal enemies and I watched a video earlier today of chickens pecking crows to death as the latter often steal chicken chicks. Chickens, hawks and crows are like a 3 way hate fest. That said, ive heard birds of Prey are less likely to attack black chickens as they look more like crows
@@lizxu322 I think this is more of an issue when crows can easily see/access chicken eggs. Chickens become much more dangerous to anything trying to eat them or their eggs. But definitely not a "throw them together and hope for the best" situation.
Yes!@@lizxu322 I have crows (not on purpose) that eat my horse's feed, and they guard my property but do not have access to my chicken area. My neighbors free range their chickens, and when they have chicks "my" crows will carry them off.
@@WC3fanatic997the crows in my neighborhood love scones. They come to the door caw for them, and carry them away. They are a local murder for over 13 years now.
A had a couple of hens that were past producing eggs so I retired them to the hay barn where they became excellent mousers.
should just retire them to the frying pan.
Too tough.
@@eledhwenmare2403 slow cooker then
For over 20 years we've thrown all of our kitchen scraps in the chicken yard; coffee grounds, tomatoes, avocado, onions, citrus peels... if you keep your hens well fed, they only eat the scraps that interest them, everything else is made into compost
Totally agree.
So these things aren't poisonous to them?
@@hazeleyez9144 They are but if they have enough of everything else to eat then they'll avoid it
Empty buckets are one of the most dangerous rookie mistakes. At night when they try to perch on empty plastic buckets. As a result the bucket flips on them which typically suffocates them it cooks them alive too if it’s in summer. So be very very careful around big empty plastic buckets.
We had this happen this year. I would never have thought about this before. Very upsetting that we lost our best layer.
Sorry for you Lose
😢
I had a heated water bucket in the run and my fave silkie drowned. I still have not forgiven myself. Now it’s full of bricks so no one can fall in.
@@michaelsasse8427 same here but it was a heated water bucket. My favorite silkie drowned. I still feel horrible. Sorry you lost your girl too.
wow -- would not have thought of that; thanks for the tip!
1 HUGE thing that you forgot to mention is proper ventilation for the coop, especially during winter because if it isn't ventilated enough then ammonia gas will build up in the coop and kill all the chickens.
Birds in all types of aviaries need three things: space, ventilation, and light. I build coops with partial solid and transparent panel rooves.
The biggest mistake people make in general, is putting too many birds in one space. Crowding is a continual source of trouble. 🎉
@jeanettecook1088 yes, it creates a lot of stress for the animals and unhealthy living conditions with manure and waste. So you end up creating this bad situation with too many in a small space and they start pecking 1 another and diseases spread very quickly, by trying to save money on space it frequently ends up costing you MORE money.
Thank you for the terrifying yet helpful comment & replies I will always keep this in mind
@@LuluDumpling ammonia gas is something many people that are just starting out with poultry don't know about and how deadly it can be, not just to the birds but people as well. It only takes a small vent at the top because ammonia gas is lite and raises to the highest point, so the gas can escape.
Appreciated this; thank you.
I've been keeping hens 20-some years. I'm mindful of overfeeding treats like scratch, but in the winter when they need a few extra calories, spreading a little scratch on a couple of boards right when they come off the roost is an easy way to check each bird's behavior. If everyone is active and eating, great. Birds who aren't are worth a second look. (Bonus: The pecking and soft talk of hens first thing in the morning has to be one of nature's sweetest sounds.)
I have 6 chickens I am raising now and I can tell you I never knew how happy a chickens sound can make you feel, for me it’s therapeutic ❤ I’m absolutely in love with my gals🐓🐥🐣❤
hi im about to have some hens definitely not 20 i dont have enough land for that to be legal but will have 4 or 3 of them for a school project, do u have any tips on bedding ? i watched a lot of videos but they say something is good and then immediately say its not good and idk what to do i was thinking like straw or wood shavings but idk
I accidentally killed a chicken That was sick by giving it water with a syringe. Not aware that they have a hole in their tongues. She took it fine, but the last one I was going to give her evidently was too much or too fast and she threw it up and choked to death very quickly . Was devastating to watch and will never forget that vision.
😢 I'm sorry for both you and the chick.
This happened to me & my hen too. I’m felt so bad afterwards 😢
So sorry....😢
Never heard this thanks
Why wouldn’t you cpr it
In todays times…. We need and appreciate videos like this one. Informative, clear and no bull crap to bore us with babbling phrases. Great content.
Amen!!! Absolutely
Stop being an idiot Mark! This info is from a large corporate unhealthy operation! This channel is exact opposite of how a healthy free range flock should be managed!
Or mentioning over and over to “like and subscribe.”
I check my chicken's for parasites every day, I'm 9 yrs old,I want to be a vet when I grow up.
Might not be a good idea depending on how you're checking
That’s a good goal, I’m sure you’ll be a great vet. That being said, you should not be commenting on the internet at your age. There are very bad people on the internet that will say very nasty things for no reason.
Good job :)
💯💯💯💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾
go you ❤
lol my male rottweiler raised and cleaned up after my baby chicks.
we had our neighbor’s puppies behind our house, sneak under the fence and chase our (now grown chickens) all around the yard. my rottie cornered the 2 puppies and corrected them, they were so scared 😭. (they were returned safely to their owners !)
he also gets along with our bunnies aswell
What a great video! Thank you so much. A lot of people don't realize how awesome chickens are. You have no idea how many times I've heard someone tell another person who has lost a pet, "Oh, it was just a dog/cat/chicken." Animals are absolutely incredible. Every single one of my chickens are amazing and I love them. Thank you for making this video to help keep our babies safe.
"It's just a kid, you can always have another."
Imagine if we said this to them.
Cassiejo - I was glad to read your comment about the value our pets & chickens have.
I am a first time chicken owner (4 Easter Eggers, 4 Barnevelders - raised them all from 2 day old chicks & got them with the idea to have continual eggs) and I can't believe it but I think I've come to love my chickens! Surprised me. I can't believe myself.... lol!!
The Easter Eggers come to my feet, look up at me, & wait for me to pick them up and cuddle them.... & the Barnevelders act like they are going to die if I touch them.... go figure! Lol!!! Difference in breeds I guess.
I gently pick them all up throughout the week and find myself kissing their heads.... with the Easter Eggers cooing back at me and the Barnevelders clucking or schreeching in panic as I gently stroke them. (They started laying eggs in late Sept. They taste 'pure' if that makes sense. Only been 3 days with no eggs since they started laying.) Anyway, have a good one, ma'am. Sorry for my long winded comment. Didn't feel so silly after reading your comment. Blessings.
No chicken would ever compare to my dog.
My grandson helped me name my chickens 😂
They’re annoying as hell tho and just make noise & shit on everything , I came here to find out how to get rid of them 😅
Thanks for this direct, no nonsense video without unnecessary chatter. Every new chicken owner needs to see this
But it is nonsense.
False, this is a huge corporate operation and does not have healthy free range chickens, do your research before commenting!
I use some old chainlink fence (free on CL) under the run about 6" inside and the rest outside. Planted grass on top of the fencing to make it easier to walk on.
I left a bowl in the chicken run since I was busy doing other things to go back and get it. When I came back to get it one of my 2 month old chicks was suffocated underneath it. 😱😱😭 we have all of the above toxic wild plants and flowers including tons of elderberry and our chickens seem to never have a problem with any of them. Like you said, chickens are smart about what they can and can’t eat.
Wow there's a lot of care that goes into raising those little guys. Thanks
True that! He just talked me out of raising them. Glad I know the precautions 😅
Chickens are very good at hiding injuries and illness since they’re prey animals, so don’t want to show any signs of vulnerability to predators. Unfortunately this means it’s harder for humans to spot the warning signs before it’s too late :(
Interesting and very logical
I had my chickens get out of their run and eat my roses, which are okay. However, one got into my front yard where my hydrangeas grow and ate a bunch of petals and she just laid down and after a few hours she was dead. So I make sure that none of my landscaping is deadly for chickens: no hydrangeas, azaleas, allium, daffodils or tulips, or wisteria. I have lots of hostas and roses. They can also have a lot of the flowers that you grow in your vegetable gardens such as marigolds, nasturtiums, petunias and zinnias.
If you keep the chickens well fed, they won't usually go for flowers they know are toxic for them. I've grown azaleas in hydrangeas in the yard where I keep all of my chickens, and they've never done anything but use the plants as shade and protection.
We've had solar flood lights that are motion activated at night when fox and other predators in our area immediately leave when activated. We also have a thicker wire for our coop that goes under the fence border with small boulders covered with dirt for added security.
That's awesome sounds like a chicken fortress
My hubby did the same thing!! Works great! We have flood lights too! Our coop and run is like fort knox!😆
Flood lights are a great idea. I used large wire staples every 2 to 3 inches to pin down the fencing around the chickens. So far, it's worked.
@@MelCarter9 Great idea!
Yes, we added solar alarms as well as solar lights, which are pretty loud, after a bob cat attack, but we live in the country, so the alarms don't disturb neighbors.
Excellent knowledge and guidance to secure the poultry. Sending you love all the way from Zambia.🇿🇲❤️
I built my coop with pig penwire and qtr inch hardware cloth on a concrete slab and a tin roof. Added bracing and supports until I felt I would feel safe in there if surrounded by zombies. It's a good benchmark for construction standards and keeps like a little more whimsical and exciting.
another strategy is: don’t feed your chickens inside the coop. The coop is just for sleeping and laying. keeps the coop a lot cleaner too; u know, if you have that option. Also I planted my apple trees in their ranging area, and they often eat windfall apples, but never the seeds they always leave the core. They can also eat milkweed and poke weed and bitter nightshade berries. As long as you’re feeding them they know what they can, and can’t eat.
It might keep it cleaner but it also brings squirrels if you keep it out side
@@EquineHorses_official and racoons, I get that😄
I have found hanging my feeders from either string or rope works well. I have also switched from crumbles to pellets quite a while ago. Its easier to get them on pellets as soon as they are done with starter. But hang your feeders just below head high, and they sit around like they have manners and simply eat. Where as if you feed them off the ground they swing their heads down and fling food everywhere attracting rodents. I bring the outside feeders inside every night and do have an area in my yard I throw stuff out for them to scratch, but no where near the coup or house. Believe it or not I switched to this method about 3 years ago and havent seen even a trace of a rodent since.
@@christopherjohnson769 excellent 😊
i try but the pigeons always get to it and theyre left without food until i notice.
Ok im guilty of how this video started off i did absolutely no research cuz i thought it'd be common knowledge and now im finding out that everything i did was wrong so now im here trying to fix my mistakes
Cannibalism. Chickens in an overcrowded coop will kill and then eat each other in a neglected coop, usually the smallest and most shy in the flock, or the one hen that's different color. My neighbors consistently say it's weasels but we don't have any, or raccoons, but here's no sign of entry. But the chicken that dies has usually been bullied because they take a 5 chicken coop and buy more chicks so there's 15 in there. And they don't clean the floor so they live in a constant cloud of methane. And there's 6 broken down nesting boxes for 15 hens and one roost bar that's only 5 feet long. The bullied hens never get up there and live in the methane cloud all winter. Winter is the worst. The water freezes over because the boy doesn't want to put on his boots and check on them and I find the food dispenser empty at least once every two months. I feed and water them and I'm just the renter neighbor. They've had about 25 hens in the time I lived here and always lose enough down to six, after which she buys more chickens because she thinks they're cute and pretty.
Fortunately, they seem to be coming around after all my badgering, cleaning up the coop a little, and allowing them to free range at least twice a week (we have eagles). Thank goodness they're realizing these are living creatures utterly dependent on their captors and not just egg factories. I was afraid I'd have to call animal rescue on them.
But anyway ... cannibalism. Chickens will do it without a second thought.
Oh wow.....that is horrifying....those poor creatures! Thank you for what you have done to help save the lives of the survivors.
@@SopranoJessi There are people who love the IDEA of raising chickens, but when it comes to the inconvenience of caring for a dependent creature, they lose interest. :(
lol. She's jealous when she lets them out and they all run to me when they see me. :D
You left out a very destructive chicken killer, the Bear. I just had a black bear kill all 8 of mine, 2 Roosters, 6 hens. I had an upper enclosed coop with a hardwired bottom coop with an exit door into an outside pen area. The upper coop had hardwired doors on it with lift up doors to open in the summer and close down in the winter. The Coop design worked really well for 4 years allowing the chickens to stay warm in winter, cool in summer, locked up while I was gone and freed when I was home. Then one night while I was asleep around 3-4 am the bear ripped the door off the upper Coop and apparently some of the birds got caught others went down in the hardwired part of the Coop and the bear ripped it open getting them. I found a place in the woods with feathers and all sixteen sets of wings were left. I've been wondering if it was more than one bear since all of the birds were killed and eaten.
So sad, so sorry you lost all of them🐔🙏
Same thing happened to my friend. A bear tore down a Chain link fence like it was made of paper. Got all of her silkies. I’m so sorry that happened. Your coop sounded awesome.
My chickens are surrounded by an electric fence. It keeps ground predators away.
We live in Fl so let's of predators. We lost a flock before, so now we built a small barn out of T1-11 lumber, which is almost indestructible, as before we used a thin lumber, and Bob cats literally chewed through it. the chickens, ducks sleep in there at night, and we have a chicken heater for cold nights, which turns off at a set temp. We also have solar lights, solar alarms, double fencing on runs, and solar electric wire running around the perimeter of the enclosed yard area.
We lost some through high temps.
So when the heat lamp 250 watt bulbs that you buy gets so hot the solder melts and shorts out and bulb blows out of the the fixure and burns your place down. I have seen it many times. That's why a friend's barn burned down.
FENCES. If you have a fence with just enough space to put chicken's head between boards (or metal parts, whatever) they can HANG themselves, please, pay attention to that! I was surprised it wasn't said in the video.
I had less problems with my dog than the cat. She wanted to hunt them so bad. So I kept her away till they were bigger than her. As far as digging my chickens are the only ones that tend to dig.
I lost two chickens by drowing in my sheep livestock waterer, despite putting in a ladder. Two separate instances. I also lost one that I could not find anywhere. I looked for hours. She had fallen behind the hay bales (very very narrow opening) and couldn't get out and died. I only found what was left of her after I used most of hte hay stack. If I had only thought to move the hay bales until I could see all the way to the bottom!
I’d add something about introducing new chickens to the flock. Surprising how many just throw them together and expect good results. Helpful video!
Really need that video soon
@@sharilynremington78 We have added young hens to the existing flock a few times now. Our hens have a good sized coop. We never just add 1 or 2, 3+ is best. We cover up all incoming light from the windows. After it is dark & all are roosting, slip in the new birds. When morning comes, uncover the windows. They wake up thinking the new birds should be there. This has worked for us.
I had to learn the hard way introduced 2 new hens I bought to replace 2 I had lost & didn’t quarantine for a month working a week 2 of my fine laying good mothers hens dies all of a sudden now I have to pray that it doesn’t go to the rest of the flock and yes now I kept them far away
Where I live we have two separate flocks but when they're turned out together there's no problems.🤷♀️ Guess we have weird chickens 😂
@@candyarthur8568
Oh dear.. we got two Easter eggers to add to our 4 buff orpingtons that we've had for 3 years. They are around 13 weeks old. Right now they're in a separate temporary coop. We've tried putting them together but it hasn't been successful. We also have 2 new buff orpingtons that are about 4 weeks old that are in a tote...
I'm wondering how to go about putting them all with the older hens.
Lost a chicken to a hawk and had a couple of other near misses. Then we strung a thin red ribbon back and forth over the run, in random zig zag patterns. I've seen a hawk flying overhead, sometimes causing the chickens to squawk, but it did not come down. Not sure if this will last through snow and ice or will have to be rehung in the spring; will find out soon!
In Florida, despite my efforts, my chickens have run out of water in the summer heat. If you think a chicken is seriously dehydrated, put a small amount of salt or baking soda in the first water you give them. I had one hen have convulsions after I refilled her water bowl in the summer.
Get a bigger water reservoir. That’s your responsibility. AND buy poultry electrolyte mix at the supply store when temperatures are high.
I freeze treats and give it them. Especially watermelon
Mine like to drink their water from the ground, so in the heat of the summer I make little puddles they can stand in while they drink.
Don't use poison ever. There are way better alternatives with trapss and more. Poison gets into other wildlife and ALWAYS a risk for pets and livestock too. Potatoes and tomatoes themselves are not toxic but the plants are.
I have just subscribed after watching your channel from start to finish. I just aquired a coup with seven chickens and really enjoy taking care of them. Thanks for posting this video.
My chickens ate the heck outta my tomato plants leaves. All six of them were a ok and did this throughout 110 degree heat, they are way more tough to kill than you guys think
I put a small amount of DE in my chickens’ dust bath without mixing it in and it gave one a cough immediately and several got a runny nose. They all survived, but it was something I’ll never risk again.
whats DE?
@@surferduderocks200 Diatomaceous earth. There are two types. Only use the food grade for chickens. DE is also sold at large box stores to kill ants etc, but that is not food grade and the particles in it can kill, be careful and wear a mask.
I use it in food as well
Mix it not just on top
But I use a Mobil chicken coop too so I don’t have to clean it just move it
I bought 2 bags from Amazon of the food grade and I haven't even used up one yet. It's truly great to prevent ants. 😁
My chickens live in a winter-free country together with parrots and rabbits. The only enemy is the bad chicken feed from the shop. I have now deleted that. Now I only feed boiled potatoes, rice, some oatmeal, salads, papaya, grapes and banana. The aviary is huge and the floor is covered with grass. In an extra part of the aviary there is a compost heap and stones and wood to turn because the delicious worms and termites are underneath. Sometimes a rat snake snakes its way through the aviary, but I'm always quicker at collecting the eggs. I have 2 plastic tubs in the aviary that always provide clear water through aquatic plants. the chickens love it
Me, a chicken owner who has thrown tomatoes apples and just about everything out into the yard for them to snack on. I've also emptied out my espresso machine puck into my garden and turned around to see that our ladies had just completely obliterated that puck in seconds. They were...very active that day. Hubby has also been out enjoying an afternoon bonfire with friends and spilled some IPA on the ground and they drank it. None of them died, all of them had a great time. I'm not saying you're wrong. Maybe I have some really hearty ladies...idk.
Worth noting for drinkers: there are automatic-refilling options and chicken drip-feed drinkers available now (called the "chicken fountain") which seem to work well. They're directly attached to a hose so they pull water from there.
Only problem I've had is in the heat the water in the lines heats up and freezes in the winter
Hardware cloth is the absolute best and safest for our girls! Another great tip is to bury the hardware wire, so important!
Yeah you definitely need to keep an eye on the chickens that are at the bottom of the pecking order I have a Polish rooster that was not getting enough food because all the hens and ducks are greedy so I separated him just so he can get enough to eat
Yep heat lamps can totally be dangerous I should know because I lost 7 animals plus my coop, food and supplies to a fire two months ago right now I just use the heating plate don't worry about heat lamps right now because it's summer but securing the heat lamp is one thing definitely gonna fix when the coop is done
I give mine spent elderberries after making syrup, they love it. Where did you find information saying they were toxic? Please and thank you ☺️
If you check with an elderberry group, I don't think they are toxic once they are cooked.
I expect he means the other bushes that look just like elderberries except the leaves are different. Can't remember the name.
us and my grandparents fed and feed our chicken raw potato skins with out ever having any issue's. Just thought I would share
Hello Christine where are you from?
I remember seeing an episode of something like 20/20 cant remember like 30 years ago of a kid that developed a brain tumor. His mother sought after a fix. Eventually she heard about apple seeds. Kid ate apple seeds daily and his tumor vanished.
Ever since then when I eat an apple, I eat the entire thing minus the stem.
Apricot seeds are a cancer reducer I've read
apple seeds have cyanide I believe, in them but it is typically so minute that you would have to eat a lot of them to get sick as an adult. wouldn't give to young children though.
Very practical informative and compact video, really love to see the precautions we should follow on our farm, extra care can make things better and profitable 😊😊😊
Here are 2 more. 1. having too many roosters. In 1 flock you should only have 1 rooster, even 2 roosters in 1 flock is too much and they fight each other every time, and if you have more than that they may gonna try to jump on 1 chicken as a pack of roosters, so when there are 10 roosters that means hell for chickens. So keep the rooster count low. 2. dropping food above the fence to them. If you have small chicken try to give them food not above fence, otherwise you may gonna hit 1 of them and have the chance of it being fatal if you giving them water melons and similar big or bulkier foods. So be careful giving them bigger foods.
Super helpful. We had two dogs kill numerous hens even though we trained them. A dog is a dog and it’s their nature to kill hens. I also once left twine in the coop and the chicken got entangled in it and was hanging upside down on one of the hottest days of the year. She survived but I felt so bad!! 😭😭😭
you can train dogs to avoid chickens with e-collars after you've had the training on how to use them Properly. Dogs won't chase squirrels after this training, so they won't go after your chickens either.
Ive had chickens for years. It is sad when you lose a bird. The headline on this vid is so funny!
Both my dogs were old when i got my first chickens, they learned very fast and now are part of the flock.
I have completely stopped using heat lamps for my chicks. I know use. The Mother heating pad method. Even outdoors. Works great.
I don’t use DE anymore because I put a big scoop on some maggots that were eating the chicken manure and it didn’t do anything. Even after 2days covered in DE.
Use a regular dewormer.
DE isn't a poison. It works by creating holes in exoskeletons. It works much better on adult insects or at least ones that have a hard exoskeleton throughout their lifecycle. It doesn't work on eliminating maggots living in manure very well. New eggs get laid in it daily and you'd have to use A LOT, an entire 50lb bag or more mixed in to affect maggot numbers depending on how much manure we're talking about. The reason it works inside the gut is because of their inability to escape and it has to be ingested daily for a week to 10 days to work. Those maggots were obviously living in manure and could escape it, I'm sure some died but by shear numbers it would have looked like it did nothing. The best way to prevent maggots in manure is to compost it. Or make sure it completely dries. The high temperatures in a good compost pile kills maggots. 😊 Hope this was useful info for you.
I use food grade DE sparingly, food grade Lime and food grade pdz. Knock on wood haven't had any issues. Just a sprinkle with pine and cedar shavings.
Cedar is poisonous to chickens
i had a bunch of whole mixed grains i gave to my mum to feed my chickens when i went on a trip. I came back and my mum told me she cooked thr grains into porridge and ate it herself, and said that the chickens can find their own food. The chickens laid less eggs than they used to for that time period. Shes never looking after my chickens again, and yes, this is the same woman who said goldfish doesnt need food either, they eat particles in the water. Guess who'll be living in a nursing home by herself (she is quite malicious and refuses to learn unless she faces consequences)
My mom is a narcissist.
"Guess who'll be living in a nursing home by herself (she is quite malicious and refuses to learn unless
she faces consequences)"
Remember that God commands us to love our (human) neighbors -- not our chickens and goldfish.
Jesus 😮
😂
Yikes,,!
I've read so many people say elderberry is toxic. The deer have plenty of yummy things to eat around here but prefer to eat my elderberry bushes to the ground, and the wild birds strip an elderberry bush of fruit as soon as they're barely ripe...
I have a 14 year old one eyed New Hampshire hen that appears to be immortal. Great video
I put a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar per gallon of water, it really does help the chickens
How does it help them?
@@theknockoutladysaint23 it helps there digestion and boots there immune system
@@lindaburrows509 cool, thank you
It also helps keep the waterbourne bacteria from growing in that 24 hr period.
I cook for my girls on a bi weekly basis one week their diet is supplemented with cooked rice and veggies and opposite weeks is fruits and salad greens! They love watermelon rinds! I leave a lot of the red fruit on the rinds 😋🐓diatometious earth food grade is used every six months on their body’s as well as dusting the coops. I don’t use poison on mouse control, my cats don’t harm my chickens and catch mice with ease!
Hello Christine where are you from?
I have a domestic and a cared-for feral cat. My chickens go after them!
Thank you for the tips
Great video... however, just a note, most veterinarians won't treat chickens. Surgery on birds is a very tricky business, because their body temperature is very high and hard to regulate under anesthesia.
Yep. That's why we've ended up doing most vet care ourselves. I keep poultry wound spray and save-a-chick electrolyte powder stocked at all times.
Ive seen elderberry listed as toxic in several videos and on a few online lists, but all the real world accounts say that their girls were fine living with an elderberry shrub in their run for a decade and other similar accounts. I think there is something more to look at with this issue given the disparity between the literature and real life.
I heard the whole plant is bad for them, except the berries, but the berries must be either fully ripe or cooked. Of course only given in moderation
@@LeafyWalnut im seeing RUclips videos and experts say its bad but with no actual evidence to that end. I think they are assuming toxicity based on the compounds present. But people with elderberries in with their chickens say that the chickens know to avoid them and that they havent had issues
Agreed. People out here wanting to make click able content, but not actually researching information or real world experience. Just repeating some junk off the net
I agree. I have a large elderberry tree in my run and the girl love to eat to berries when they're rip. But haven't touched them when they are unripe.
We have yet to see any adverse effects from this.
Yup , mine love a few ripe berries and they definitely love the ones left over from making syrups. (Not tinctures)
YOU CAN ALSO USE HALF BAKING SODA, AND HALF CORNBREAD OR HALF CHOCOLATE CAKE MIX. PUT IT IN A BAG FIRST AND SHAKE IT UP TO MAKE SURE ITS MIXED THEN PUT IT IN A CONTAINER THAT YOU PUT HOLES IN SO THE RODENTS CAN ACCESS AND OTHER ANIMALS CAN'T. IT ISN'T DANGEROUS TO OTHER ANIMALS AND THE DEAD RODENTS ALSO AREN'T DANGEROUS TO OTHER ANIMALS . IT WORKS.
A BUCKET TRAP?
Thought chicken couldn't have chocolate nor anything with caffeine
Does it work on squirrels?
Great video! Informative and enjoyable, a tough combination to create. Thank you for your efforts to educate new chicken owners. It's almost Easter and a lot of innocent new owners are out there, waiting to be disappointed when their new chicks don't make it past the first week.
our garden used to have one elderberry bush and the chicken would just ignore that place completely lol. this is the first time i learned about elderberry being a bad idea of them. thankfuly they knew what not to peck
I do a weekly health check on all our chickens. These are some of the questions from my health assessment:
Have you had any changes to bowel or bladder elimination?
Have you been feeling like life is not worth living?
Are things you used to enjoy doing no longer pleasurable?
Have you used any tobacco products in the last week?
How many drinks have you had in the last week?
Do you wear a seatbelt while in motor vehicles?
Have you seen a dentist in the last 6 months?
Do you feel safe in the coop?
Are there any firearms in the coop?
How many hours per day do you spend on social media?
What are your main sources of news?
Have any of the other chickens expressed any extreme views or conspiracy theories such as humans wanting to steal their eggs or eat them?
Have any chickens mentioned possible violence against humans?
If you encounter an extremist chicken, do you know how to report them to the humans?
Would you feel safe doing so?
Are you aware of the 'Segregated for Safety' program the humans offer to avoid retaliation?
Is there anything else the humans could be doing to facilitate your laying more or gaining weight?
What are the 5 nicest things humans do for you?
How have humans improved your life?
Which human is your favorite, and why?
What 3 things can you do to help the humans?
Do you feel qualified to apply for the 'Superior and Gifted Chicken' program taking place behind the barn?
What 5 things can you do in the next week to make you better qualified for the 'Superior and Gifted Chicken' program?
Our chicken Wellness Center has been providing an optimal, healthy free-range environment for chickens to actualize their most productive selves by leveraging the full range of psychological, physical, and spiritual development since 1984. We envision continuing to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in poultry to support Agenda 2030 and perfecting sustainable inter-species relationships and mutually-beneficial outcomes across the full agricultural-business spectrum.
I keep telling the girls no firearms but they always somehow manage to smuggle one in 🙄
😂😂😂
🤣🤣
Cluck Around and Find Out
I have 6 dogs. 3 are large breeds. G. Shepherd, Husky, and English lab/chow mix, and one of my small dog is a rat terrier which is a known killer breed. My husky is a straight killer (possums beware 😅).
My husky was bringing headless chickens home for a while. We live in the country and don’t know where the nearest chickens are?
Anyway we have now had chicken for 2 years and all my dogs protect and are super gentle with my gals and rue.
My shepherd especially has taken to being their protector! He now prefers to sleep outside and watch the property.
My chickens eat tomatoes all of the time. In fact my neighbor gathers leftover tomatoes from my garden for hers every year and sometimes her turkeys come to eat out of my garden.
Always the controversy but my understanding is they can eat tomatoes just fine; however, any other part of the tomato plant is toxic.
@@aliciaspears7847 thank you.
Plant is poisonous. Not the fruit. Night shade family.
I used a heat lamp for 4 days, thats it.
Chicks do NOT need a heat lamp. Added heat can and does slow their feathering out.
Hello Denise where are you from?
They need heat if raised in a brooder to mimic the temperature under the mother hen (90°s F). The chicks we hatched from our hens were developing feathers by day 3.
Thanks for this--it's good to know what to expect when I get chickens. So looking forward to it :D
Hi Carolyn where are you from?
Excellent informative video. Dixie general store Heflin Alabama
My chickens love tomatoes, they go for the seeds first, then the fruit. I only let them have once a week.
ACV in their water is also good for them. ACV -Apple Cider Vinegar. One tablespoon per gallon. I use even less, 1 tsp per quart watering bottle.
I used heavy gauge wire mesh with a 6" bend facing out on the bottom 2' of the coop, which I buried 6-8" below the ground. If an animal tries to dig around the perimeter they hit that mesh and it stops right there. I've seen several attempts over the years but haven't lost one to a critter yet in 8 yrs.
Zip tie the heat lamp to the chain for extra security but the heat plate & if needed a coop heater are definitely safer & much less expensive to operate than heat lamps
I also recommend not using open water bowls around chicks, we’ve had babies fall in when trying to drink out of a bowl with their mamas
@@annap62407many waterers have a recessed bottom. I had a baby chick accidentally get trapped under one and it killed it. For about two years now I keep saying, “I really hate learning things the hard way.” It was very disheartening 😢. I’m so tired of all the cheap products.
I use brooder lamps that have the cage around the open bulb.
Also make sure dust is present so they can bathe and groom themselves without getting fleas and other bugs on their feathers.
Iv seen alot of peope recommend diatomaceous earth and not really calrify how little should be used. I personaly use general purpose sand. Its super dusty. Put it in a wide low edge bin, a kiddie pool or an already dirt spot in your yard and bring the chickens over 2 or 3 times a day (however much they seem to enjoy)
They love it and cluck like nuts when they do it. Hope this helps.
Dust if u must..but less is best..an old saying of exterminators. We have a puffer that gives a fine dust...only works if it's dry.
You know I should get a puffer and do that. They get enough on their own in the dirt around the yard, but I like to use the earth at least once a month for extra parasite control. Thanks for the comment!
Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge
Thanks. This is a great video for a starter like me
I don’t use a heat lamp ANY longer. I only USE the heat plates so I don’t have to worry
Old heat lamp bulbs can explode and cause fires. I replace the bulbs every three months, if used only at night, and monthly if used 24/7. I use the older bulbs during freezes to save sensitive trees and plants that aren't in coops or barns. For new hatchlings, I now only use brooder plates...because they also love the security of being underneath the plate. Even with the plates, do NOT pile up hay or wood shavings to where it touches the plate....it's not necessary. A thin layer of shavings is sufficient to absorb droppings (which should be cleaned once or twice daily. Raccoons can/will reach in and grab chickens too....and kill them by trying to pull them through the wire. Foxes jump and climb like a cat...and can jump up to six feet high...so a four foot fence will not keep them away. Best deterrent for predators is a well trained dog...Pyrenees and Maremmas are bright white and visible deterrent.
Water is definitely a challenge in summer. They go through it so fast
Also, 5G ties up oxygen molecules, which accounts for quicker evaporation as of late. Notice the rivers drying up?
I put a small pool out for my chickens, they do fine drinking from it, I empty it out every other day and they don’t go thirsty.
🐚🌸
Folks are swiching over from heat lamps to heated brooder plates. Much safer and much easier for the chicks to keep themselves as warm as they wan to be.
Funny you say that. I was just watching a video the other day where this RUclipsr uses an infrared heating plate hung on chains too. Said the same, more reliable, and safer
Dance chicken, dance
Don't have or raise chickens, but a couple of my friends do. I just don't have the space for doing this kind of thing. Thanks for the video information.
you can also buy a 40 watt heat lamp bulb. 250 watts, is a bit much, in some states.
1- Farmerboy Ag sells safety lamps that wont catch your coop on fire. Use thick glass bulbs to prevent shattering.
2- If you don't trust your dog, keep them away. simple. you don't need to bury wire mesh - just lay it on top of the ground, affix to a fence, min 18" from the fence.
3- Racoons - Hot wires help a lot. Same as movable electric net fence. Wacky Wavy arm men help with hawks on 15-30min intervals.
4- Newer rat poisons wont kill birds. Keep baits away from birds, and clean up dead animals.
5- Chems... i've watched chickens drink gasoline and hydro oil and survive it. not saying they should drink it... Chickens like shiny, so yeah. clean up nails.
6- Auto waterers. Hauling water is miserable, and freezing weather stops them drinking.
7- Chickens are incredibly dumb, but generally they wont eat things they don't like. Potato and Tomato is fine to feed.
8- Neglect... Don't neglect your birds.
9- Garden plants... again, chickens will generally not eat things they don't like. Jimson week, and Devils trumpet are halucigenic thru toxicity. so, they'll go wack then die.
10- Mites, treat with sevin dust or bifenthrin. Gape worm - Worm your birds with levimisole when each time the grass comes on, and goes(spring and fall). Red spider mites, burn down the coop.
11- DE doesn't work for anything. Don't use it. huge waste of time.
Please dont use chemicals like Sevin on or around your chickens! It's a known carcinogen. DE absolutely does work. And its much safer than anything else.
Thanks for this information but I have a question about the dried, raw beans: does this include dried raw legumes? Asking because I’ve been researching alternative, homemade feeds and legumes are in a majority of the recipes. Thx
Cook the beans or soak them until they are soft. I cooked some beans for mine and they are fine. Dried beans may enlarge in their gizzard.
There's plenty of information online about which legumes contain lectins or other toxins and which are safe raw. It's kind of complicated to it's worth reading up on.
Heres my only tip i can give. I live somewhere that is cold in the winter and HOT in summer. I feel like my girls did worste in summer and had some rough days in over 100 degree weather. On days that were too hot a great way to cool them down was to use a cheese grater on a cold cucumer. The amount of water and how cold it is, is a great summer treat
Same! That is an awesome tip - thanks
I just planted a Hall's honeysuckle to have grow up and over the poultry yard fence. Never heard they were poisonous , do I need to remove the vine? Birds need some shade.
We have fishing line hanging over the chicken yard! It confuses predatory birds because the line flashes in the sunlight or just light! Works like a charm…….the only problem is we have a bit of ribbon on the line so that my husband and sister-in-law do not walk into them! Lol!
Very informative, thank you sir! My young Scout took great pleasure in destroying all four of my chickens. I feel so bad bc this adventure was totally preventable, a mistake I won’t ever make again.
Tie a dead bird around his neck and leave it there
That didn’t work for us.
@@nowirehangers2815My dog eats cat poo out of her litter box when the gate is accidentally left open. Most dogs I've known would roll in dead + discusting things +think they are wonderful; the stickier, the better they relish it ! Discusting. You can train a dog to leave chickens alone in your presence, but they cannot be trusted not to sneak after them when you aren't nearby to able to stop them. Even the most Nobel dog doesnt posess a conscience so they have no reliable integrity unless they have been highly trained, so it's not worth the risk of the greif of finding out you wrongly trusted your dog not to be a opportunist. So please 1/4" hardware cloth every inch you can of your coop AND run. Free ranging is for folks who don't really care if their bird(s)get picked off or wiped out completely. It's not a matter of IF, but WHEN a preditor will happen by +make you regret leaving them vunerable - if you love them like the dear pets they should be to everyone who deserves to own them.
I have 9 assorted breeds of dogs have introduced them to my chickens always on a lead also hold a chicken on you lap and let them sniff it but make it clear it is not for biting or play .do this a couple of days and then remain vigilant till you are sure the lesson has sunk in.
@@bethh.172didn't work for our Rottweiler either.😢
I built my henhouse with welded poly coat 1 inch screen made of #10 wire attached to the 4x4 post with fender washers and 2 inch screws. I have had no animal attacks. I have a 6 foot wide brick patio that goes around the outside and all food stored inside out of reach of rodents.
My coupe is even bear proof while giving them plenty of fresh air. I free range them during the day. So They get plenty of sunlight when it's available.
We used to do that too, but eggs were all over the place and when we find them and collect them, they just send me hunting again for their new laying spot.
@@Mindlyft I actually ended up keeping them in a pin. But that was because my neighbor started complaining. Later on, he washed where my chickens went. As if he wasn't the reason I kept them locked up. Either way, they did fine up until I gave them away so I can move across the country. This time I'll do it better.
Yep we had a coop malfunction and one of the new adolescent chickens got out and the dog got ahold of her. She is safe he only had her in a grip thankfully but it was a bit of scare.
Nice carry on with the good work, good weekend all the best for all.
Newbie question here; when you say “bury hardware cloth” do you mean extend it straight down into the earth, or bend it (inward or outward) at base of coop walls?
You can do either. Outward from the coop walls is easier, plus, you should check on it from time to time, as metal in the damp ground is likely to rust away.
Exactly what Davina said. I personally have never done inward, I was always taught bury it down and bend it outward. I could see bending the wire inward not being as discouraging to predators that dig but again I have no personal experience bending inward
Just to clarify, I think I quickly read the question, and took 'inward' to mean straight down. It was probably late at night... LOL
Other things you can do- put heavy rocks or pavers around the outside perimeter. At least they won't rust.
I feel like such a good chicken mama after watching this scene as I do all of these things❤
Plus, I hope I can know and remember all of this, especially The checking for sickness or something like that ❤
We have trees in our yard and tarps for chickens to hide under and an automatic 60 pound chicken door and an human door with a spining handle so raccoons don't get in we once had a passes twice in the nesting box waiting for the chickens to go to sleep but thankfully we got him out