joshk-k
Member
So, as of two days ago, I am a poppa for the first time... of two baby chicks, girls that are currently six days old. I love them so much and am totally excited about experiencing some sense of fatherhood for the first time.
They will live inside, under a heat lamp for the next 6-8 weeks, until their adult feathers come in and they can regular their own temperature (and probably defend themselves a bit more). So I have six weeks to build them a coop, enclosure, etc. I live in an urban setting and have about a 50' by 60' yard they will occupy, probably with an additional sturdy wire enclosure inside the waist-high fence around the yard.
My question is about defending them if I ever see them attacked by something like a coon or cat. For all sorts of reasons, including safety, overkill(?), possible legal ramifications, etc. I think I'd be more likely to ever use a BB gun instead of, say, a .22.
The question is this: If you had a pair of pet hens that you valued as much for companionship as for eggs, and you were alerted by their ruckus to an attack upon them, what would you do? I think that grabbing a BB gun and heading to the yard seems like a good plan. I think that my arrival might scare off many attackers, but I'd certainly feel reasonable about shooting at one. Would you shoot to kill or to scare off? Would it make a difference if it was a cat instead of a coon? What would you do?
I think I'm probably going to be a bit overprotective of these chicks. Maybe it'll get some of the "over-" part out of my system before I have kids of my own.
Josh
They will live inside, under a heat lamp for the next 6-8 weeks, until their adult feathers come in and they can regular their own temperature (and probably defend themselves a bit more). So I have six weeks to build them a coop, enclosure, etc. I live in an urban setting and have about a 50' by 60' yard they will occupy, probably with an additional sturdy wire enclosure inside the waist-high fence around the yard.
My question is about defending them if I ever see them attacked by something like a coon or cat. For all sorts of reasons, including safety, overkill(?), possible legal ramifications, etc. I think I'd be more likely to ever use a BB gun instead of, say, a .22.
The question is this: If you had a pair of pet hens that you valued as much for companionship as for eggs, and you were alerted by their ruckus to an attack upon them, what would you do? I think that grabbing a BB gun and heading to the yard seems like a good plan. I think that my arrival might scare off many attackers, but I'd certainly feel reasonable about shooting at one. Would you shoot to kill or to scare off? Would it make a difference if it was a cat instead of a coon? What would you do?
I think I'm probably going to be a bit overprotective of these chicks. Maybe it'll get some of the "over-" part out of my system before I have kids of my own.
Josh