Runaway Chicken

[vonniefisher]

So, my easter egger, Gertrude, decided to go for an outing on Friday afternoon. I got home from work and she was missing and I was DEVASTATED - I just knew that a hawk or something had gotten her, but there was no evidence of a struggle. Then I remembered that she is a flyer and has flown to the top of the 6 ft fence surrounding their free range area and that maybe she "flew the coop". I just knew that she was gone for good, and lo and behold the next evening at 6:02 I was looking out the window and who is strutting on the outside of that fence???? You guessed it - she came back home - I was ELATED and I ran out with some sunflower seeds and she came running to me. Is it normal for a chicken who "flies the coop" to find her way back home??? I had no idea she would come back - she is VERY LUCKY b/c a coon, opossum, fox, or dog could have gotten her while she on her overnite trip. I have no idea where she spent the nite. I looked EVERYWHERE and could not find her. Other than missing a few tail feathers she seems fine.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If she is missing tail feathers than something got a hold of her and she got away, then probably hid until she felt safe, you have a lucky hen, I would clip one wing so she doesn't try it again, she might not be so lucky next time.

 

[vonniefisher]

Her wing has already been clipped ;-)I was afraid that was what the missing tail feathers meant

 

[sweetbeak]

Her wing has already been clipped ;-)I was afraid that was what the missing tail feathers meant

You're very lucky, my easter egger is also a jumper and I got home from work yesterday to find feathers everywhere, so I got my dog who is terrier to smell the feathers and he raced into the forest as my property backs onto a forest, and within a few minutes he located her, just feathers. Everything else gone,

. I think it was a cat or wild dog as i domt think foxes eat the entire chicken, plus in Australiawe dont have thise funny looking squirrel lookinh animals that seem to get a lot of chickens in the US

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Fox will leave piles of feathers as they drop and readjust their grip on chicken, sometimes you can follow a trail of them.