Right now, in Md you should look into things like oats, wheat, rye for planting. You can plant under a wire frame made of 2x4s with 1/4" hardware cloth over it. That way they don't destroy the roots of the plants. Any spare greens from supper salads are a treat for the chix, and dried mealworms are the same as candy to their greedy eyes. Good luck!

I agree with the recent posts. Predator protection is key and racoons can be the worse. I also deal with the occasional hawk. I dont worry much with providing food around the pen. If they can get it chances are a racoon can get them. Mine free range a few days per week. I also give them waste from my garden and in exchange they give me eggs and waste for my garden.

Latest update on whiting blue chickens........we put the two with broken legs together in a cage. Closed up the shed at night. After a few weeks something came and pulled one out the bottom for lunch. So, we put the remaining rooster and a picked on hen in the chicken wire cage days, and closed them in the shed in a cage nights. Something tore a hole in the chicken wire today and killed the hen. Left it there for us to find. Tomorrow, we put the small cage with broken leg rooster inside the big coop that has horse fencing. My recommendation is not to buy whiting blues for eggs. Only buy them to eat. They must be worlds tastiest chickens. I have 5 left out of 16. I would leave a review on mcmurrys website, but can't find the post a review place.

That is sad, whiting blues are a new variety to me, will have to look them up. For some predators we have in Texas, more than chicken wire is needed- actually I have considered double walled areas enforced on all sides, as I have had them yanked out of areas too...

chicken wire is pretty useless. Something much stronger is needed like Hardware cloth. These predators are very smart. When we had chickens we thought we had made it so nothing could get in, but they still did. I'm wondering what it takes to have a permanently safe place for chickens?

While I was growing up decades ago. My Grandparents were farmers. With all types of stock and poultry, the biggest fight was with skunks. I can recall many a night my Grandpa, was up with a shotgun. And how I remember laying in bed for the rest of the night with the smell of a dead skunk.
Now in my latter years of life my grandchildren first wanted bunnies ( and most of you know how we bend for our grand kids) I built a rabbit hutch. Knowing how to weld it was all diamond 1/2 metal sheets of steel. Well then it was baby chicks. Then the head ache of snakes. So once again went back to 1/2 diamond metal sheets of steel. Now the only problem of a snake getting stuck trying to get into the run. And they do get stuck.

Well now we've put our cribbled rooster in a large pen inside our better chicken cage. Protected from fox, possom, raccoons, snakes, too much sun, the rain, the other chickens. So, last night something chewed on his toes. Rats? Mice? We had to but thick rubber sheets in the pen for him to stand on. I can't sleep at night anymore.

texaskitty111 said:Well now we've put our cribbled rooster in a large pen inside our better chicken cage. Protected from fox, possom, raccoons, snakes, too much sun, the rain, the other chickens. So, last night something chewed on his toes. Rats? Mice? We had to but thick rubber sheets in the pen for him to stand on. I can't sleep at night anymore.

Your poor chickens.

Is it possible he's chewing on them himself? I've seen animals do that on occasion.

He never did it before last night, and theyre chewed on the bottoms.

Poor chickie. I hope it's not rats or mice.

Gosh TK you sure have had your problems with your chickens this year. When I built my outside run for the chickens I used welded wire fence material. I buried it deep enough to discourage things from digging under it, and I covered the top as well. The only time I had issues with racoon was the time I forgot to lock them in one night. We don't have issues with snakes here, so that's all new territory for me. Hope you find solutions soon before you loose all your feathered friends.

I agree. We had problems with skunks, weasels and never with snakes. I hope you can figure out a way to save your chickens.

The only answer is secure housing. Perhaps James @Txtea would send you plans for his bomb proof structures.

Bomb proof structures, James?

Well, nearly. Read his post above.

Ah, I'd missed his post. That does sound like it would be bomb proof and animal proof!

I fear this poor cribbled rooster has nightmares. He sure has seen a lot of tragedies. Hasn't made him stronger.

Poor guy. He has had a hard life!