Chicken "Survivor"

[gocards1177]

I've been doing some research on tick control. Our property is infested and the more time we spend out there the more tired I am of picking ticks off myself and kids. We haven't built yet, but we've put in a small orchard, a tractor shed, and a play area for the kids. We'd start building a house if we had plans. I'm considering birds as part of my tick reduction endeavor.
So here's my question: how well would chickens do unattended most days of the week? I'm think I'm fine with automating the feeding and watering. I can rig up a coop with a door that closes at night, opens in the am. The nearest house is about 3/4 a mile away. I haven't seen any dogs roaming around. I have seen a bobcat and a coyote once of twice on my game cam in the past year. I understand I'd never really know about susceptibility to predators until I tried it, but does this seem outlandish? Should I be aware of other considerations? If I did guineas too would that make a difference? Is there a chicken breed superior for this? Is there a thread on here addressing this same project?

 

[Scooby074]

As somebody who just got some chickens, http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/283916-raising-chickens-dummies.html potentially to help with ticks and other insects, im curious myself.

Auto-door is an interesting concept. I was forwarded the link to a great chicken forum, perhaps it will help you
Raising BackYard Chickens, Build a Chicken Coop, Pictures of Breeds

 

[cattoon]

When we had guineas several years ago it was rare to find a tick, they are pretty well self sufficient, ours ran loose and roosted about 25ft up in a water oak, they finally all succumbed to predators and dogs and I haven't made an effort to get anymore, may have to rethink that and get some, ticks are pretty bad this year

 

[DT86]

I have never lost a chicken during the day, it was always at night. I couldn't figure out what was getting them for the longest time. Then one night I heard them raising h*ll about midnight, grabbed the gun and flash light and ran out to see. When I looked in the coupe I was surprised to see the biggest owl I've ever seen, standing on top of a dying hen, with its talons in the chickens neck.

I have heard of hawks taking chickens during the day. One trick I've been told is to put the coupe near a tree line. The hawk can't swoop down to grab one and back up due to the trees, so they were safe. The man that told me this had a very large flock of free range chickens, which were a key part of his source of income, so I believe him.

 

[gocards1177]

I have never lost a chicken during the day, it was always at night. I couldn't figure out what was getting them for the longest time. Then one night I heard them raising h*ll about midnight, grabbed the gun and flash light and ran out to see. When I looked in the coupe I was surprised to see the biggest owl I've ever seen, standing on top of a dying hen, with its talons in the chickens neck.

I have heard of hawks taking chickens during the day. One trick I've been told is to put the coupe near a tree line. The hawk can't swoop down to grab one and back up due to the trees, so they were safe. The man that told me this had a very large flock of free range chickens, which were a key part of his source of income, so I believe him.

So does that mean the chickens stay near the coup? I guess I can put it anywhere but was hoping to put it near be orchard and shed. The treelike is about 300' away.

 

[300UGUY]

I've got a automated door. It works ok, but my goats share the same barn, and open their door sometimes. I've never lost a chicken to a hawk or owl, but lost a bunch to coons and foxes. The chickens tend to move quickly thru open areas, they prefer to scratch under trees, more stuff to eat there, and they feel secure under cover. I shot at a fox 3 times, never hit it. The fox kept coming back. My boxer girl came within inches of catching the fox, the only thing that saved it was the fact that it could go thru a wire fence and the dog could not. The fox never cam back after the near miss by the dog. I think a bullet zinging by is kinda abstract to a fox, but fear of a big, fast dog with big teeth is right in the dna. You could rig up a pen with a net over the top. If you look at backyard chickens.com, there are pics of a lot of pens.

 

[gocards1177]

As somebody who just got some chickens, http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/283916-raising-chickens-dummies.html potentially to help with ticks and other insects, im curious myself.

Auto-door is an interesting concept. I was forwarded the link to a great chicken forum, perhaps it will help you
Raising BackYard Chickens, Build a Chicken Coop, Pictures of Breeds

Thanks for the links. I enjoyed your thread. I notice a couple of posters claimed no difference in ticks. I'm not out to raise chickens so much as I am to decrease ticks.

 

[DT86]

So does that mean the chickens stay near the coup? I guess I can put it anywhere but was hoping to put it near be orchard and shed. The treelike is about 300' away.

Well he also used solar electric poly fence. The kind he used is in squares kind of like woven wire and has the posts attached. The chickens wings need to be clipped since it is only slightly over waist high but it also keeps out most ground predators.

 

[dmccarty]

If we let our chickens free range all day, we would have no chickens.

We have seen the resident hawks and owls eye balling the chickens during the day. The wifey even saw one of the hawks hanging on to the side of the Chicken Tank trying to figure out how to get some chicken strips. We let the chickens out in the afternoon because the hawks seem to have stopped most of their feeding activity. Right now, we let the chickens out in the fenced in garden which is not growing any food this year. The fence is six feet tall and 25x50 with one end of the garden near the woods and the other end near the house. This makes it sorta hard for a bird to swoop in. They can still swoop in but the fence, house and woods limits the angle they can use.

We have coyotes and we used to have foxes. I think the foxes have been killed off by the coyotes since we have not heard or seen the foxes in years. There is a possum or too that hangs around and we finally saw a coon this year. Both the coon and possum were heading for the porch where I had 10 gallons of wort cooling off. I think they could smell the sweatness of the beer to be and they were both making a bee line for the buckets. We have not lost any chickens from chicken eating critters, knock on wood, but we try to limit the chickens from wondering.

I know two people that bought 75ish Guinea fowl to go after the ticks. They tried to split the flock between two houses but they let the Guinea free range so the flock just moved between the two houses scatting everywhere and making a horrible racket. This did not last long, maybe a 6-12 months, since most of the birds had been eaten. I would find piles of feathers where the foxes had eaten their meal.

The area we let the chickens roam still has ticks but our tick infestation is so bad I think nothing short of napalm would solve the problem.

Free ranging chickens really depends on the local predator situation.

Later,
Dan

 

[EE_Bota]

Study the life cycle of the ticks and see if anything comes to mind. I always assume that if I walk in any place that an animal walks, that's where the ticks will be, on the blades of grass, about a foot off the ground. So maybe the animal traffic is too high there for now, and later when you move there, more intensive management will discourage the animals tracking in ticks.

 

[forgeblast]

We let them out all day and then every night I throw some feed in a plastic bowl, they hear it and come running. They love digging my mulch up, but we have not had a tick on us yet this year.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

The best free range chickens are bantys. They are the closest breed to wild chickens, grow vicious spurs on their legs, can fly, and will do OK if they have tree or brush cover.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

After checking internet suppliers, I find that Bantys are no longer sold under that name. Instead, they are sold as the American Game Chicken, or the bantam game chicken.

American Game (chicken) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eat most of the roosters, or they will just kill each other.

 

[dmccarty]

We have gazillions of tick and chiggers, or as I call them, tiggers.

We let the chickens out of the garden(temp chicken run) most afternoons while the eggs are collected, feed checked and water filled. The chickens get a few hours outside of the garden run most days but they have not made a dent in our tigger load. I am just talking about a small part of the back yard too. We would needs a huge chicken flock to take care of bugs around the house. Last time I used the BBQ, I got tiggered. The BBQ is on gravel and I don't go near grass this time of year unless wearing long pants tucked into long socks and coating same with chemicals. Tiggers are everywhere. Usually they are in the grass for sure but I see them all over the $%&*() place. My mom was visiting and got some sitting on the porch. Danged little heat seekers....

For years we have had 7-9 does around the house but in the last two years it has only been two. The coyotes have taken down the herd for sure. I hope this will mean the tigger load will drop but I have yet to see any evidence that this is a happening. I think my hope is really wishful thinking since each deer has huge numbers of ticks. I took some photos of a doe and fawn next to our house a few years ago and the number of ticks on those critters made my stomach turn. It is sickening. The deer hang around the house drop those blood filled ticks all over the place...

I need to do some chemical based tick control, I know what I want to do, I just need to find some time and money....

We have gotten somewhat used to the chigger bites... Let me tell you about the mass of No-See-Um bites I got on vacation......

Later,
Dan

 

[Jstpssng]

I've always heard that guinea hens are best for tick control. As for predators; I'm surprised that none of you have lost any to weasels. Thwy can get into any hole a mouse can; and kill with restless abandon. (I lost 32 young birds in a night last year; and 5 laying hens in 3 days this year.)

 

[gocards1177]

If we let our chickens free range all day, we would have no chickens.
...
Free ranging chickens really depends on the local predator situation.

Later,
Dan

Your experience has been the most discouraging I've heard so far, but like you said, I think I'll just have to try it and see what happens.

 

[EE_Bota]

Your experience has been the most discouraging I've heard so far, but like you said, I think I'll just have to try it and see what happens.

Dan's bad to sleepwalk, and sometimes he's hungry...

 

[teejk]

Effective tick control will follow world peace. The bad ones (deer ticks that carry the Lyme and now anaplasmosis and yet a new one coming from the west) start with the mice and then move to bigger hosts. With all the rabbits and squirrels and deer around here, I gave up trying to eliminate them. Close inspection is a rule around here. I've heard that hot showers drive them out of their hiding spots. Seems to me that a big Pharma Company should develop an over the counter home test kit.

 

[gocards1177]

Effective tick control will follow world peace. The bad ones (deer ticks that carry the Lyme and now anaplasmosis and yet a new one coming from the west) start with the mice and then move to bigger hosts. With all the rabbits and squirrels and deer around here, I gave up trying to eliminate them. Close inspection is a rule around here. I've heard that hot showers drive them out of their hiding spots. Seems to me that a big Pharma Company should develop an over the counter home test kit.

I don't aspire to elimination. Reduction would give me a sense of satisfaction.

 

[cqaigy2]

Both the coon and possum were heading for the porch where I had 10 gallons of wort cooling off. I think they could smell the sweatness of the beer to be and they were both making a bee line for the buckets.

Whoa Whoa Whoa, it's one thing picking off the poultry but when they're going to bamboozle with the beer!! You gotta put a stop to it. :laughing: