I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER!

We're two years into our chicken grazing system and everything was going great until we had a little hiccup a week or so ago. We made a huge mistake which caused us to lose two of our chickens, and so we're now down to three. In this video we'll explain what happened and provide updates on some of the cover crops we have growing at the moment.
0:00 Intro
0:40 How Did We Lose Two Chickens?
2:22 Our Chicken Tractor Grazing System
5:32 An Epic Fail with White Millet
7:19 Kicking the Can Down the Road
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[@LazyDogFarm]

Have you ever lost chickens to predators? 0:00 Intro 0:40 How Did We Lose Two Chickens? 2:22 Our Chicken Tractor Grazing System 5:32 An Epic Fail with White Millet 7:19 Kicking the Can Down the Road

[@Dustyutah]

Lost 7 this spring. I trapped 3 raccoons.

[@francostacy7675]

I grew up in the country and we kept between 20 and 60 chickens all the time. We also had some ducks and giennies. Over the years we lost a few to coons but not many. We lost some chicks to rats or minks. But the most consistent predator we had over the years was owls. They were relentless…But the biggest single kill was when to stray Irish setters came through and killledfor fun about 20 chickens in 15 minutes. They didn’t even attempt to eat them

[@pardonmysmallgarden]

I’ve kept chickens for over 4 years and never had a problem but one day I started getting one chicken plucked from the coop at a time till I was only down to just a few. I had 15 meat chickens and something dug in there and killed all 15. My first coops were not reinforced as well as my new coops. Lesson learned. I have 2 new coops that are now fully reinforced on the ground and on the roof. I know you can’t do that because you move them but I have found that they sometimes come back when they know there’s food to be had. I put a camera out there and found the culprit to be 2 fat raccoons. I’ll be praying that your free loader doesn’t come back for seconds.

[@brentlebo9763]

When I lived in Alaska my cover crop was snow. Now I’m down here in Gulfport Mississippi. Love the videos

[@carolavant3778]

So sorry, Travis! Yes, I've lost a chicken to predators. Here in N. Florida, we have everything from weasels to coyotes and bob cats. It's important to have your birds predator-proofed, especially at night. I have a solid coop for night time that has three locking doors (Don't think people don't steal chickens, either - They do.), and I let them free range the back yard during the day. Two things I've done to keep them safer: I invested in larger, dual-purpose chickens, and I now have a good rooster (Elvis). The rooster's job is to protect those hens, and they will warn them when a predator is close by. Yes, they crow. No, they're not that loud. The breed I chose is American Bresse, and I got mine from an excellent breeder (not a hatchery) North Star Farms in North Carolina. This is an awesome, dual-purpose, sustainable breed that produces an average of 250 eggs per year, start laying around 16 weeks (!!), and are big enough to cull for the freezer between 14 and 22 weeks. To ice the cake, the roosters are gentle, non-aggressive, but protective of his girls - A big plus for people with children. Additionally, they are first-class foragers, that prefer "grazing" to chicken feed. Great for a smaller homestead!

[@bbtruth2161]

Hard lesson learned. Been there and done that. Had to give up chicken tractor and bulk up my coop and run. I have critters here that dig, so even level ground didn't matter. Unfortunately, I lost a lot more than 2. Since I stopped free ranging and made my coop and run into a fortress, I haven't lost one in 3 years. I wish it were different. I'd really love to let them graze my plots. I do have a large run and coop relative to the number of chickens I keep, so they still get lots of room. Their coop scrapin's make good compost. And, at least before winter sets in, they get lots of greens and garden scraps. Try, try again. Best of luck Travis!

[@LazyDogFarm]

Predators make things tough. Folks wonder why mine stay in the tractor 24/7 -- there's a reason.

[@GAGEICUS]

Sorry about your loss, as a fellow chicken owner, I know all too well that everything wants to eat them, and secondly that is a beautiful food plot.

[@steffaniewalz8444]

Breaks my heart. We lost a good portion of ours to heat.😢I feel horrible for ya’all.

[@sandybottomhomestead]

I feel your pain. It's a constant battle as fall hits the animals get vicious

[@meharris0925]

I've had chicken for at least 12 years. We have had a hawk problem when I would free range from time to time. We once had a skunk get in with my silkes and battle it out with the rooster. Unfortunately for my brave little roo, there was no way to shoot the skunk and not shoot him. He wouldn't let go. We had a fox that got a few, but again free range and not shutting the coop door at night. Within the past 3 months we have lost all in the coop. It's a maintenance problem. We got complacent, just like free ranging and leaving the door open at night. The structure you have needs to be maintained and checked on a regular basis. You can build Fort Knox, but unless you check regularly the structure, you will miss the damage done over time. I believe this last one was a weasel. Most of the organs were missing.

[@joshuamullis5866]

Hey Travis, Any warm stuff is about to get a shock. Calling for low thirties Wednesday!

[@TalkingThreadsMedia]

Oh, Travis... I’m sorry you lost two of your hens to some predator. Even though Olympia is getting daytime temps in the 50’s and 60’s, the overnight temps are below freezing (28F). Our 2023 gardening season is finished. The only thing left is to get the garlic in the ground this week. After that, there won’t be anything more until next spring. Best wishes from Kate-10/30/2023.

[@emeraldwaterlifehomestead2180]

After 8 years now, never had any issues with wildlife but now I’m battling with 2 raccoons. Ugh, what a worry.

[@jo-annjewett198]

We are getting chickens soon but we have so many predators around here. People have lost cats and small dogs to owls and hawks. Also coyotes besides raccoons. We will have an enclosed run with hardware cloth coming out along the perimeter.

[@LoveTractorFarm]

Our tractor is like yours, we built ours out of an old swing set frame, I had it sitting half on and half off the plot the other day and saw the gap and was thinking about just what happened to yours. We have had raccoons get into our run with our laying hens this year and kill 3 of our girls, just started using the tractor so no problems yet, will have to keep this in mind though, ours won't sleep on the roost they want to lay on the ground right against the wall so I'm scared something will get them just enough to hurt them. Cover crops look great, mine are slow growing and now we have a freeze chance this weekend, I hope they're big enough to make it, so our girls get a chance to graze. It was just 90 the other day, but that's MS weather!

[@littlegreen5845]

Oh no about the chickens! I guess my heart is just not that hardened although I know they are the ultimate prey for so many.

[@gypsycowgirlok]

Ahh man.. hate to hear about the chickens... It's happened to all of us. Maybe some chicks this winter so they will be laying by spring?

[@rickthelian2215]

Sorry to hear about the Chickens, will you looking at getting a few more?

[@LazyDogFarm]

Possibly. Maybe next spring though.

[@markb8954]

Sorry about those two girls Trav. I’m guessing a sly fox. I lived on a 300 acre Game Keepers farm in England where they raised 1000s of pheasants for their “shoots”. One night a fox or two got in the pen nearest our house. The fox ran around and killed a few 100 pheasant chicks. Bite the neck & move on. Very sad & tragic death.

[@lindawilbert3202]

Red millet from the bird food grew well in our yard

[@robclower9606]

Sorry about your chickens! How's the worm bin doing? Can we get an update video?

[@LazyDogFarm]

Worm bin is doing well!

[@marysurbanchickengarden]

It's time to raise a few chicks so they will be laying by spring. I'm sorry you lost your hens, a hard lesson learned but I bet it never happens again.

[@Art-ot2jn]

Raising chickens out doors is always risky especially the modern breeds

[@aileensmith3062]

Unfortunate and you losing the two chickens. Then ..................................................... last week we had ANOTHER visit from the fox. Twenty four three month old American Breese chicks all gone now. This is the third time that this fox has raided our coops this year. Now to making a cement bunker all around and hoping a LOT! First year in us doing cover crops. Qe will be incorporating much more next year. Always good to learn from your experience and more, Thank You!

[@poodledaddles1091]

Dang!

[@bbtruth2161]

Those ground reinforcements will help a lot.

[@MimsysGarden]

Chicken life/death … it happens. I’ve had 3 roos commit suicide this week. They flew out of their protected area (very high- I was surprised they did that) & a stray dog that has taken up residence here assumed they were his breakfast- one he was eating alive when I caught him. Pretty gross to walk outside to early in the morning 🤢

[@joeyl.rowland4153]

I would made that his last meal.

[@psycroptic1984]

Happens more than you think

[@rogerspaulding6569]

We had the same problem. A older friend advised cutting the long feathers on one wing, makes the fly in circles not over the fence! Works great.

[@JunkyardGardener]

That proso millet is really fast growing. I use to hunt a buddies dove lease they would plant it under sorghum/milo and sunflowers. Went to seed quickly.the dove and quail would be thick! It would work fine if you turned around and graze it quick. but for a longer term place holder it ain't the one.

[@LazyDogFarm]

I could definitely see where the white millet would be perfect for getting a quick dove plot setup.

[@Bluegill_Hill]

Aw bummer. Just fwiw I wouldnt underestimate the determination a predator will have to get into the place it knows is holding an easy meal. It will likely dig under there even if on flat, harder ground..maybe after a rainstorm. I've had rough summer with predators, seemingly all of them, huge snake, fox, bobcat, hawk. Mine live the wild life of freerange but come home to solid coop. Cheers!

[@TMesser74]

Our first experience with this sort of thing we had about ten chickens and ten rabbits and we came out one morning and a pack of dogs killed every single animal leaving them headless or footless and not even eating them. They killed for sport. So we don’t take chances anymore. We won’t leave our flock insecure because one day you can have 100 chickens and the next day zero. All they got to do is dig. As a side note, that pack came back once more, but only once. They saw the same fate as our flock.

[@lynnthompson4875]

At the start of covid my family got baby chicks. When they were old enough they went outside. A couple disappeared over some time. One night i heard them raising a ruckus. I went out there yelling and waving my flashlight. A big raccoon came lumbering by. A couple chickens were dead and they last one was on deaths door. It was gruesome. He managed to kill every last chicken save one old chicken who they'd had for a long time. Btw, she's still alive and kicking.

[@iwanttobelieve5970]

I lost two hens to raccoons. I got three new pullets to replace them.

[@nhancedsvt]

I had 20 chickens killed overnight a few weeks ago. Racoons dug into the coop and killed them all. Running traps now.

[@shirleyk623]

Do you water your baby transplants with agro thrive every time they need watering? Also, do you keep your agro thrive mixed with water over night or for days? I'm new to using agro thrive. So far I really like it. Thanks.

[@timfetner8029]

I wouldn’t recommend mixing up more than you’ll use in a day or two. After 3-4 days that stuff starts smelling pretty rank. Ask me how I know 😂😂

[@shirleyk623]

@@timfetner8029 lol I'm guessing you made that error before. I usually don't mix up much at a time. I can always mix more. If I have any extra I just use it on something in the garden.

[@LazyDogFarm]

Yes I use it every time I water. I mix a bucket of it and inject until it's close to empty and then mix more. I keep it stirred every day. It does have a smell, but I guess I'm used to it.

[@shirleyk623]

@@LazyDogFarm After using fish emulsion, agro thrive smells great 😀. I've been using a half strength on the starts and they seem to really be growing well. My onions are standing up nice and straight after your advice of giving them a hair cut Thanks for your help.

[@wwsuwannee7993]

? How do those chickens fair in the heat of Summer in that tractor you got there?

[@LazyDogFarm]

Just fine. There's plenty of shade in there.

[@juliemulie1805]

I never could understand how you kept those chickens alive in that portable coup with no bottom. Around here you need chicken fortresses. We've lost dogs and cats while neighbors have lost calves, goats and poultry to predators. Everything loves chicken.

[@SeaOtter65]

I want to know about your chicken coop😮

[@skygoddess11]

PREDATOR APRON!!! ALWAYS!!

[@Babinkley]

Fox. Bob Cat.

[@nolawarren3560]

I would have thought you knew better.

[@Crankinstien]

How sad

[@hazeysgarden]

I bet it was a cat.

[@Babinkley]

Bobcat.

[@mdarbygr]

Please move your camera slower. IT never focuses before you move again