Fledgling Down!

Thanks @sumi

I'll have a read. Forgot I signed up for that forum too!
You're welcome. I've worked my way through those articles one by one and one thing that you'll see come up frequently, that I'll personally recommend too, is 1/2 inch hardware cloth. It's dear, but it's the best predator deterrent. Especially for little boogers like mink and raccoons.
 
So sorry about the loss of your hens. I read the horror stories on BYH for several months before building my coop, then the run. Just when you think you have them all tucked in safe and sound, some nasty varmit proves you wrong. I used hardware cloth on my coop and run. Nothing can get in. Plus I have a Great Pyrenees that makes sure that nothing gets in the yard. I love that dog!

This is my cow panel hoop run and coop.

Hoopy coop finished.jpg


And this is Paris with her pullet entourage.

Paris and pullets.jpg
 
I have started a pen for them, there will be an additional structure inside they all sleep in at night of course.

And my lovely cat Lola is 'guarding' the chicks.. frequently.. ;D
 

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Always had the chickens @canesisters it's just that a mink got in a despached them all :(

Well, I got them from a travelling horse dentist, and his reply was 'just farmyrad' chickens.. ha! So I'm guessing, from their form and fluffy legs they could be Silkies or Cochins?
Unless any keen poultry peeps can identify them?
 
We have a ton of these black birds nest in our pine trees. They have 3-5 eggs in each nest and up to 3 nests in each tree. Five pines total.
Only 3, rarely 4, make it to growing some flight feathers, since they beat each other out of the nest or starve out their siblings. Then usually only 1 or 2 make it to actually hopping around in the tree or on the ground and still being fed. In the end, only one from each nest, if that, makes it to flying and learning from it's parents.
Very noisy birds, dogs and the cat won't even eat them or mess with them once on the ground or dead. Not sure why, any other bird like cardinal or robin, they will catch and eat, but not the black birds...
 
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