A lot has happened this past year at my coop in southwest Missouri. Our green-roof coop and birdhouses were featured in a local magazine (417 Magazine), Better Homes and Gardens (Country Gardens spring issue 2015) and Capper’s Farmers Magazine! You can read about how I incorporated the living roof as part of my chicken coop (including step-by-step photos) here: Living Roof Coops
As a gardener and a chicken keeper, I’m always trying new ways to coexist with my free ranging flock. I want to take advantage of the benefits of having backyard chickens (free fertilizer and pest control) and at the same time protect my gardens from their foraging frenzy!
Early in the spring of 2015, I incorporated a picket fence around my butterfly garden to keep my free ranging flock from destroying the plants and garden paths. View more photos and read about this project here: Gardening with Chickens and Picket Fences
Sadly – this past year I lost a couple of my favorite hens, a sweet Buff Orpington and a skittish (but beautiful) Golden-laced Wyandotte. Both hens were victims of predators. Because I allow my flock to free range, I know this is a risk I’m taking. I live in a wooded area and have only had a few instances where predators have been a threat. Perhaps it’s the border collie that guards the coop, but I know that I could lose my entire flock if a raccoon or fox wanted an easy meal. The smartest and safest way to protect your flock is to keep them in a secure coop and large run that is protected from predators from reaching in, digging under or attacks from above.
However – I still let my flock free range… I love watching them forage for insects and worms in the yard and come running to me for a treat. I always secure them in their coop at dusk and hopefully I’ll not regret letting them out each morning. This summer I decided to add a few new pullets to the flock. – I wanted another Buff Orpington and Golden-laced Wyandotte and I also chose a Light Brahma and Black Australorp.
It wasn’t long until the young pullets had manged to figure out our automatic or treadle chicken feeder. It’s rain and rodent proof, holds about 6 pounds of feed and it’s basically an awesome contraption. Our feeder is now going on 6 years old and is still working wonderfully! You can read about the construction of this feeder here: DIY Automatic Chicken Feeder
I purposely purchased the chicks at 4 weeks of age to avoid the chance that one might be a cockerel instead of a pullet. I had my doubts about the Wyandotte from about the time it was 8 weeks old. She He had developed its comb and wattles much earlier and redder than the other young chicks. I posted my concerns to the Community readers on our Facebook page and even though most chicken keepers suspected it was a rooster, I still held onto my hope it was a pullet until I heard a undeniable cock-a-doodle-do!
I’m not a big fan of roosters… They are generally too aggressive to have roaming around and I prefer not to be on guard every time I step out the door. However, this guy has been behaving and as long as he keeps his good temperament, I’ll let him stay. I would love to let a broody hen raise a batch of chicks this spring. Hopefully 2016 will be another year of new additions to the flock!
What are your plans for the coming year? – Are you considering entering the world of backyard chickens or adding more breeds to your existing flock? Share your thoughts, plans or dreams in a comment below!
To view what else is happening at our Southwest Missouri property visit: the garden-roof coop
If you enjoy bird-watching (in addition to chicken-watching), I invite you to follow my Facebook page: Rebecca’s Bird Gardens
13 Comments
About April 18th I will receive my first chicks in about 35 years. I’m so excited I’m bugging my sister about her half of the deal. Where will the coop go are we going to free range all the time or only later in the day just before they go to roost? On and on; I think she’s ready to not answer the phone. I guess I don’t have to say more. I’m also going to raise some greens for the girls and store some so they can have some for winter.
How exciting! You’ll love having backyard chickens!
Linda, I believe you. I’ve heard about hens crowing before and that’s basically what Buffy does with the warning and when she thinks they all need tobeout in the yard. Sounds like if you grabbed a rooster around the neck when he was crowing. Sad,to say, I know what that sounds like because I had a rooster who liked to sit on my lap and crow. Gets old after two or three crows and hurts your ears….
I have had a lot of folks look at me like i bumped my head. I had a hen who would sit on the fence and crow nearly every morning. She would then head for the nesting box and deposit a lovely brown egg.
Forgot to add…Buffy (the Orpington), always performed part of the job of a rooster. Of course, she could never fight anything off as she’s just too old and fat, but as the others roam around the property, she keeps watch, and alerts the others with a special sqwauk if there’s something scary around. She did it when that dog attacked too, but she also ran and hid. Very well, I might add. I had no idea that such a big chicken could hide so well in such a small bush! I am under the impression that hens designate one to be a lookout if there’s no rooster around.
Thanks for sharing your story of Buffy! Sounds like she’s the type of gal that stepped up to the role of protector since there wasn’t a guy around to do the job! 🙂
I don’t like roosters either because of their behavior, but it does help prevent predation from the skies. I had a RI Red peep that had a large comb, wattles, and was pretty good size. I named “it” Rusty because even though all three peeps were supposed to be pullets, I thought for sure it was a rooster. Nope. Round feathers not pointed ones and she lays an egg every day. She survived a dog attack last year and one of the others was killed outright. I got restitution for that, but I still miss Beep as she was a nice little hen. My neighbors who didn’t like my chickens at first, felt bad about the attack and bought me three more RI Reds and one blue Ameraucana–all hens and all very tame. Now I have five reds, the Ameraucana, an Easter egger, and like you, I have to have that big, fat, fluffy buff Orpington–going on ten years old and still lays eggs now and then! Thanks for the green roof idea. I worked for a nursery a while back and we had green roofs that were beautiful in the summer. Never thought about incorporating the idea on my chicken coop.
Hello! Am interested in your dog. Which breed is it and how have you worked with him/her behaviorally in dealing with the chickens? I would love to have a dog to help protect my free rangers. What are the pros and cons? Thank you!!
I have a Border Collie and he works well with chickens, but he’s smart and older and easy to train. Different breeds and personalities react differently to chickens. Any herding breed will naturally want to chase the chickens while other breeds might not be that interested. With any dog, introducing them slowly to the flock – under supervision – is best. It might take some time for the dog to understand its role.
I have four roosters. Rocky, the Barred Rock rooster, is the head dude in charge. We’ve had some issues in the past with him being a bit of a bully but he’s straightened up in the last year and hasn’t come after us again and he does an excellent job of watching his girls. Pretty Boy, an Ancona roo, is the second in command and is almost as large as Rocky. Coming in third and providing some comic relief is Crazy Legs aka Legs, our EE roo, who is the same age as Pretty Boy. And last, but certainly not least, is our bantam rooster Roscoe who I think is a Dutch bantam. He and his brother, Rico, came to us as a pair but sadly Rico didn’t last long. He was a bit too adventurous for his own good and made his way across the yard and inside the 5′ chain link fence with our two dogs. We had one other rooster, Kowalski, a Polish Crested, who was the same age as Legs and Pretty Boy but he disappeared a couple months back. I let my flock free range too and we suffer the occasional loss. There was really no sign of what happened to Kowalski except a pile of feathers and a bit of disturbed ground over near our property line. I like to think he died with his spurs on, defending his girls to the end.
It’s been a busy year for you, Rebecca! No, I don’t plan to raise chickens, but I enjoy reading about them through your writing and photos. That picket fence with flowers behind it is stunning! I might have to borrow your idea! Happy New Year!
Roosters are great. I admit if you have a flogging rooster they are not so great but if you have predators they are great to have around. I usually keep bantam roosters and presently have two Silky roos. They are sharp eyed and alert the girls in time to make an escape. My first bantam roo who passed at the aged of 12 years did this and was actually attacked by a hawk. Because I happened to see it I was able to thwart that hawks effort. You can read about it here. http://welcometothehenhouse.blogspot.com/2011/02/harbinger-of-spring.html Then there was the Lavender Orpington Roo that I caught facing down a coyote while the girls ran for cover. He was actually standing about 25 feet from that coyote, head down and staring at him in that challenging stance rooster take before a fight. He wouldn’t have lasted long if I hadn’t interfered but he was doing his job and for that I am thankful. So keep a nice rooster around. They are worth it.
Thanks Sista! Great reasons to keep a roo! Having an additional protector for my free ranging flock is another advantage of keeping a rooster around. It’s nice to hear stories of the good guys out there. 🙂