Poultry Extras

Click images below for more detail and a product description of each item .

Live Traps

I really, really am against using the type of traps that you bury just below the surface of the ground and when the animal steps on it, the the trap shuts on the animal's foot. Those types of traps can be very effective, but I find them to be a bit to inhumane for my taste. I find that an alternative to them is using a live trap as the one in the above image. The one in this image is the largest of the three sizes made and is designed to trap larger animals such as coyotes, foxes and raccoons, though I have trapped a raccoon in the next size smaller live trap.

One feature of this trap that I really like is the removable basket (see in top left of this image). This allows the bait to be added to the trap very easily and without touching the trap hardly at all and leaving a scent. Once the intended target has been captured,

1) Transport the trap so that the release location is at least five miles from where it was captured.

2) The release location should be near a water source such as a creek or pond.

3) Have the release location NOT be near another residence. Don't make your problem animal be someone else's.

The image below is a recent capture using this trap by the horse barn baited with dry cat food.

If you start to notice some of your free range chickens missing the following might be good clues of what the thief might be:

1) If there is some carnage left behind and it happened overnight, it is most likely a raccoon but possibly a possum (what is in the trap below) as they are both nocturnal hunters. This would be if you don't close your chickens in a safe area each night.

2) If there is absolutely NO carnage left behind, it is likely a fox as they "Grab and Scram" . Sometimes a coyote might employ this same strategy but they also will eat their prey onsite as well, thereby leaving a bunch of feathers behind. Neither the fox or the coyote is to concerned about visiting the chickens during the daylight hours unless you got a GOOD outside guard dog that doesn't like to chase and/or eat chickens . In some areas, the thief could also be a weasle or a skunk. I have never had issues in my area with anything larger than a coyote but in some other areas you might have issues with larger animals than this.

Cellular Trail Camera

I wanted to know from what direction a fox was coming in from so I might have a good idea where to place the live trap so I ordered a four pack of these GardePro X20WF trail cameras.I also ordered with each of them the optional SP350 solar panel as I really didn't want to invest right away in 32 AA batteries as each camera requires 8 batteries. One time I wanted to see how long 8 batteries last and for the frequency of still images and videos I set up for each camera so I removed the solar panel and loaded it up with batteries . They lasted all of three weeks. Without hesitation the solar panel was plugged back into the camera so I strongly suggest ordering the SP350 solar panel for each camera you purchase.

One last note ....for any brand of cellular camera you might purchase, a subscription will also be needed if you want the cameras to deliver all the recorded images and/or videos sent to your cell phone . Subscription prices will vary with how much content you want sent to your smart phone. Another option to a subscription is to have everything recorded to a 32 Gig (or larger) SD card and then just view the content from the SD card.

My grand daughter is now in charge of the poultry so she chose to put all nine hens and one Bantam rooster in a chicken run and left four roosters to run rogue with the turkeys. Unfortunately, one of them roosters didn't have a very good day . Click on the video below if you want to see what my GardePro camera captured a few of months ago. If you are thinkinking about purchasing some cellular field cameras, I highly recommend these for their performance, customer support and price....a good buy indeed !!

5 Gallon/ 4 Automatic-Fill Water Cup Chicken Waterer

I love this kind of poultry waterer in the NON-freezing months as they provide clean water without having to clean it or fill it every single day...so it is a very convenient and reliable to provide water if you will be away for a few days. Click on image below for more detail.

Chicken Feeders No Waste, DIY Automatic Poultry Feeder

What a GREAT and innovative way to make poultry feeders to provide days and days of feed without it getting wasted. Awefully happy with these !! Also very convenient if you will be away for a few days. Click on image for more detail.

Sailnovo Incubators for Hatching Eggs 70 Egg Incubator with Automatic Egg Turning and Auto Humidification, Temperature Control, Incubator for Chicken Duck Quail Eggs

Incubators are a fun and inexpensive way to increase your chicken flock size and the present day incubators make it so much easier than 20-30 years ago. I own one of these incubators and it has performed fabulously the past couple of Springs. Besides automatically turning the eggs, it precisely maintains the temperature and the humidity. The only thing you have to monitor is water level in it's water chambers and that can be done from outside the incubator so it doesn't need to be opened and lose heat.

If you think this is something that you want to venture into, then here are a few tips and helpful advice .

1) If you plan to use the eggs from your own hens, I would recommend having one rooster for every five hens in your poultry yard or chicken run for the length of time you are collecting eggs to incubate. After that, you can give the roosters the boot.

2) All eggs you collect for the incubator, store them in room temperature . DO NOT REFRIDGERATE or they won't hatch.

3) Do not use eggs that have been stored more than two weeks. The less time an egg has been stored, the higher chance it will have to hatch.