Are hens smart, or what??!!!

[chicknmania]

Storm coming through just now and Izzy Lou, our buff silkie hen, and her three babies were in the tractor. Wind rolled the tractor over, freeing all four of them. We were headed out to the barn to bring everyone in, and saw Izzy and her babies waiting by the barn door, which had blown shut. I ran to get the light wire pen they are in when they are in the barn at night, brought it to her, and opened the door. In she marched, calling her babies, who all filed in behind her! Closed the door and back in to the barn they went, safe and sound. !

The hens know the pens provide protection for them and their chicks. We always keep moms and babies in a pen til the babies are big enough to at least have a chance, and lots of times the moms don't want to leave the safety of the pen when we finally do let them out to free range.

 

[AKsmama]

We moms have that drive to protect our babies

She sounds like a good mama.

 

[cmom]

Chicks can be the same way. When I was integrating my younger birds with some older birds,I fixed up a safe place for the younger chicks that the older ones couldn't get at. I did it with a cage. I put a piece of wire over the door so the younger chicks could escape into the cage but the older ones couldn't quite fit through. Eventually the younger chicks came out more and the older ones quit picking on them so much. I finally took the cage out and everyone is doing fine.

 

[raro]

Reminds me of a few weeks ago when I went down to the basement. I keep an indoor coop, and every night we herd the girls into the house and right into the coop that's next to the door. Well, I was down there doing something else and suddenly hear, "knock, knock, knock!" My hens were letting me know it was time to come in by knocking at the door! I opened the door and they marched right in to their coop.

 

[cmom]