Chicks, Snakes, Raccoons, Coyotes, and One Tough Rhode Island Red
This spring our chicks are getting ready to move from the brooder into a chicken tractor that I’ll be building next week. I’ll post a few pictures once it’s finished. It’s not overly complicated — just a simple rectangular box with metal roofing on top, framed with 1x1s and covered with 1/4-inch hardware cloth. This year we picked up three Barred Rocks, three Rhode Island Reds, and three Orpingtons. From last year’s flock, we only have three remaining: two Leghorns that are laying beautiful extra-large eggs, and one Rhode Island Red that’s about six years old now. She has survived countless attacks on the chicken coop over the years. She’s definitely the survivor of the bunch. Last year was extremely difficult with our chickens. We started the season like we usually do by buying replacement chicks. We had nine of them in the brooder, and while I was cleaning it out one day, I left the top unattended for probably an hour. Along came a black snake that slipped inside and ate one of the c...
