First, I do not have any chickens our neighbors across the road at the cabin do. Because we split our
time between the redoubt and our house in RI, it makes it tough to take care of the birds while
away.
Second, yes their have been some predators mostly from the sky - Hawks. Roosters are a pain but
they serve their purpose as they will take on many four footed predators. The barn cats & dogs do a
good job too. The cats stay clear of the full grown chickens but you have to watch any chicks. The
chickens while foraging, do a great job keeping the bug population in check.
Third, ~two dozen chickens, six ducks, five turkeys.
Fourth, my neighbors have ducks (Rouen) and turkeys (Royal Palm & Bourbon Red) too. The ducks are
free range and they have lost several over the years, mainly in the late winter months from Bobcats.
The turkeys are kept in a penned area as turkeys will not return to the turkey house on their own at
dusk. You have to herd them in which is a pain.
Fifth, meat chickens are processed on the farm. The ducks and turkeys are taken to a local
processor that charges $7- per critter. I hate processing a 15-25 lb turkey - It is quite a bloody
and violent process where the executioner usually ends up with a black eye or black & blue
bruises over their body. The ducks oily feathers are a pain to pluck. To process a chicken it is $3-
each. As mentioned earlier, chickens are usually processed on the farm however around Thanksgiving
we will bring turkeys, ducks and chickens (Usually all of the roosters) to the processor all at one
time. The ~20 birds are then processed and put in the freezer for the winter months with the
exception of the Thanksgiving turkey. We get a reduced processing price for 20+ birds.
I hope that helps Grudgie.
PS: I just ran across
this article on Avian Flu that might shed some light on Nemo's original post.