Grow Your Own Magazine

Well I had three hens till this morning and now I've got four, Betty has joined my "flock".
A fellow allotment holder who's pen is not as secure as it could be has lost 9 hens to foxes and Betty was the only one to survive. These attacks were over a period of weeks so she must have been a canny hen to survive.
He came over to see me carry Betty under one arm asking if I would take her in - so what could I say - had to cast worries about infection and fighting aside as otherwise she would be a foxes dinner before too long.
She looks healthy enough but haven't had a close inspection as I didn't want to pick her up with resulting noise and fuss causing mayhem. She's in full lay and around a year old so not that different to mine. There has been some attacks. Enid, my white Sussex drew blood this morning from Betty's wattles but it wasn't serious damage and there's now no open wound to be seen. The other two chase her but don't seem to be attacking. There was an awful lot of noise at first as they seemed to be cursing and complaining in very loud voice.
The hen run juts out of one corner of the pen so it creates a bit of a Berlin Wall with Betty hovering around at the back and Enid, Dorothy and Barbara parading at the front.
Have been passing food round the back to Betty, she seems to be allowed round the front to drink and eat pellets but when she had the temerity to sneak round and try to eat the apple hanging up Enid took great offense. She doesn't seemed to be cowed by the attacks although she does leg it when they give her the evil eye but then she starts pecking around in her bit of the run, seemingly unconcerned.
I've had to leave them to it tonight, do you think it will take long before they all get on? I just hope I've done the right thing but didn't want to see poor old Betty get disappeared like the others.
You just never know what a day on the allotment will bring. Finger's crossed there will be no dead bodies tomorrow!
Sue

Fab reading, hopa all goes well with Betty and your girls.

Beth

(Whose chook house is still being built by husband in the garage and the hens are waiting to be picked up, Youngest's Tallulah, Oldest's Emerald and mine, yet to be confirmed.)

Hope all's well.Keep us posted!

Well, it's day three, Betty is still lurking behind the Berlin Wall of the Hen house, Dorothy, Enid and Barbara are still being very mean (OK, I know - it's nature). I've set Betty up with a personal water supply and pellets, a personal apple as she seems to be fixated with the other girl's apple and she kept sneaking out to have a go at it and getting attacked.

At least it's mostly chasing now (and not drawing blood) with Barbara and Dorothy acting as henchwomen for Enid, it's very mafia... They remind me of those knucklehead characters who'll do anything to please the boss.
And to add to my woes, everyone has stopped laying.

If only they'd all settle down, it was so peaceful before!

Sue

Try cleaning out the run and house and spraying everything with a water/vinegar mix - it will destroy/mask all the territorial scents and if you do it in the evening just as they go to roost and spray them as well they may settle better.

Hi Sue,

As long as Betty has somewhere to hide if it gets too much, I would leave them to it. She sounds like she's more than capable of looking after herself. She'll have a good secure home now! Good on you.

__________________

Dwell simply ~ love richly

Terry
It's clean-out day on Thursday, I'll add the vinegar and water to my list of cleaning tasks. Thanks for the tip.
And yes, BirdieWife, Betty has got her corner of the hen run - the space behind the henhouse and now I've put my chicken watching chair in front of it it makes a safe corridor for her to extend her range down one side of the run.
She seems quite a friendly bird and seems quite resigned to her fate at the moment, she keeps creeping round the far side of the hen house where the others are and if there's enough distraction (ie me with food) she can get quite close to them without any trouble then they spot her and she's chased back in her corner again.
I was worried that there was no shade in that corner so I've put the big carry box there to give her some shade.

One thing that has surprised me is how much they drink. Because they've got a very big water hopper I've not been able to calculate it, but I've given Betty an emergency supply of water in a cup which fits on the weldmesh. This is about the size of a teacup and she gets through two of these a day with supplementary topups when she can sneak to the main water thingy.

Sue

Hi Sue,

I know what it's like trying to introduce another chicken. We had two until a couple of weeks ago when we ended up with a third. They still attack our new girl, Rosie, although it's not so often or so bad. She has an advantage in that she can fly up onto our eglu (with clipped wings) where the others can't. It took over a week before they would sleep together and I am wondering how much longer it will take before they all become friends. Any tips/ideas from anyone would be gratefully received.

Hi countrygirl,
They might never be bestest buddies - but at long as they are sleeping in the same house and Rosie isn't losing too many feathers (or blood!) then that's sometimes as good as you can hope for. Hens are really horrible to each other sometimes but it's generally best to let them get on with it - it's not called a pecking order for nothing unfortunatley.

__________________

Dwell simply ~ love richly

Hi,

Ah, I thought that with a little more time they would get on like my other 2! Maybe when Rosie finishes growing, she's a light Sussex, she will be able to even the odds a bit. She's already a little bigger than the other 2 and still only POL. I know that it's best to let them get on with it, but they have drawn blood, only a small amount, a couple of times now. I usually distract them in the mornings which is the worst time with some dried meal worms! It works really well!

Hi
Sad to read of them never being best friends - and I can see with mine that may never happen. Several weeks on Betty is doing a lot better, she sort of hovers on the outside of the group now, instead of having to stay round the back of the hen house. She still gets pecked but it's much more half-hearted, often now it's just a look and a half run and she trots off. Enid the leader very rarely does anything to her now, it's the other two who still do it. She doesn't seem very stressed out by it though and is laying every day.

And as to size, she's a big bird, much bigger than her tormenters
When I throw their grain in of an evening, she is allowed to rush in and eat with everyone else and she's allowed to eat the pellets and drink the water, so don't have to provide her with separate drinkers and feeders.

I have noticed that when I'm in the pen, there's very little trouble but as soon as I'm outside and it's padlocked up, then one of them will start.

It might not help that they've not been allowed out to enjoy their free-ranging sessions but I've got my sister coming down at the weekend, so will give it a try with two of us to see Betty doesn't leg it.

But it's sad to see a pile of three enjoying the sun together and Betty sat two feet away on her own.

Sue

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I wanted to ask you something - if I've got the right person, but I think I have! I am planning to keep my chooks down at my plot, and wondered how you go on with having yours away from home, re letting them out, shutting them in etc?

Mine are in the garden at the mo, but not enough room for them. I'll miss 'em when they move.

Ta in advance!

Pipscariad
Hi, I have my hens in a roofed pen and because I'm only on the allotment every other day leave them to put themselves to bed and get themselves up the henhouse is fully enclosed in the pen and as safe as I can make it.
Haven't had any problems so far after a year's chicken keeping (finger's very crossed when saying this). They have the biggest water holder I could find so they can't run out and the same with the hopper for their pellets. I let them out morning and evening for a free range which they love doing, they keep close to home and are easy to herd back in again with the promise of something tasty.
If there were any problems, several of the allotment people have my telephone number so could report back to me.
Hope that helps
best wishes
Sue

Thanks for that Sue. We're moving the chooks down to my plot this weekend, feeling a bit nervous about it I have to admit, and I shall miss them pecking around in the front garden! But they have to go, as there's much more room for them down there, and I need them to get eating those slugs - plus the neighbours have complained about them!! (Making our tidy little road look like a smallholders paradise - I did jest that we were getting a pig next)

I'm doing lots of reading up about electric fencing erection now, so wish me luck. I'll post about the sucess or otherwise - it's the foxes that worry me silly.....

We keep our little flock in our field with our horses 7 miles from home, the secret of keeping them safe from foxes etc. is to always be on site an hour or so before dusk. Lock them away early. Also human presence at odd times seems to keep them "foxed". They say human urine dotted about deters foxes, I have'nt tried this one! Re electric fences we've not had a lot of luck we can't seem to get it tight enough it looks awful!

chickens are so much fun, just got 7 layers, they look a bit mottley at the moment but in their new house they are talking all the time, since coming here they have been laying constantly and I cut fresh grass for them each morning, plus scraps and layer pellets, even the cats a terrified of them, they are hardly little things but if treated right, they are darn right fascinating..They are getting used to me now and even if the dogs come around (and they have been in the coop) they don't seem to get too upset, will have to watch the horses feet tho, I want them to lay eggs not in a pot for stew...anyway good luck all with the chickens... Mallycheeks