First we started out with a hen house and a small side yard. Then quickly learned you have to build to keep the predators out. Lost all of our first flock. Bought a new flock and kept them for quite some time. Lost some along the way; hatched a few babies; bought a few, sold a few and ate a few. For a time we had over 40 hens and about 10 roosters. Lots of eggs to eat but too many roosters. Way too many roosters, really should have had only half that many. Bought what I call "mutant chickens" - Cornish rocks. Poor things grow too fast and too heavy. Can't fly up to roost in a nest - have to roost on the ground. They are the breed most commercial breeders raise for meat. My favorite breed so far has been Yellow Buff (for short) or Buff Orpingtons. The rooster in the picture below is a Yellow Buff Orpington. We have had bantams, the small chickens that produce lots and still maintain many of the wild traits of chickens. The most common breed we possessed was the Rhode Island Reds. Really don't like them much - good egg layers but they have tended to be our egg eaters. Liked the Buffs for their setting (hatched us a few babies).
We have always free-ranged our chickens but learned when you have a large flock that's not a good thing. When you have so many chickens the roosters have little harems. They do not all want to stay together so they spread out. Spread out in our garden, helping themselves to tomatoes and whatever else was to their liking; spread out to our flower beds; and spread out to our front and back porches and yards leaving signs that they have been there.
It has been hard work over the years trying to combat all the predators that are seeking after our chickens. Most of the time the predator is a raccoon. In our first year of purchasing chickens we also purchased a live animal trap. Many a coon has been trapped in it and then moved to some other place in the county. Sometimes one of our cats has been found to have eaten the sardines and couldn't get out.
We are now in a down time because the coons or possums have succeeded in their hunting. It has been a tough battle - we live right next to the woods (forest in some other parts of the world) and our chickens are fair game to these critters. We are trying to close all openings in the animal yard. We have moved the few we had into the larger chicken yard but a coon found a way in and had a feast. Back to square one.
I said in an earlier post God often teaches me in nature. Well here are a few of the things He has taught me with chickens.
2Samuel 22:3 My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence.
Our chickens looked to us to be their defense - not the fences - but us. Do I look to God for my defense or am I trying to build my own defenses?
Psalm 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
The Lord is a better caretaker than we humans. We cannot see every thing that comes up against us - but the Lord already knows. We, as a family, have done all that we could to take care of our chickens but it hasn't always been enough. God is enough.
And when the battle gets hard - keep fighting - start over if necessary (as in our case with new chickens) But NEVER, NEVER give up.
Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
I'll leave you with a few pictures - this rooster had gone blind from one to many battles with other roosters (I told you we had too many) and had been chased into our pond or he jumped in - we don't know which. My son is rescuing him. We learned chickens can swim but not very well.
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