B2 won a Darwin award .....

[svh]

I have (had) a black sex link named B2 that would not hang out with the flock when free ranging. She would always separate herself from the rest, and always end up on the other side of the property. EVERY evening she would have to be found, rounded up, and chased back to the coop, where all of the other 15 birds were already roosting. You would think there would be some instinctual advantages to hanging out with the flock, safety in numbers, and all that. B2 didn't see it that way.

Stupid behavior in my opinion.

Well, last night, when all the others were on the roost, I saw her, once again, halfway down a steep hill towards a predator filled valley at the bottom of my ground. I went in and put on my boots, and headed down to where I last saw her, but she had disappeared.

It was just about dark, and I had had enough, so I climbed back up the hill, and left the gate to the fenced area around the coop open, in case she found her way back. She wasn't there this morning. Dumb bird.

I hate loosing a good layer, but she was about the stupidest chicken I've had, so I'm not upset, actually kinda relieved, as I won't have to chase her around every night !!!

I know there are risks to free ranging, I've lost 3 birds in the past year, but I am willing to take those risks. Having a stupid chicken doesn't help the odds though !

Good riddance, and RIP.

 

[sourland]

Bad move on the part of B2. Sounds as if it was inevitable.

 

[Ridgerunner]

She may still show up, you never know. But I totally agree, each one is an individual. Some have better developed instincts than others. Some are better problem solvers than others. I try to take that into account when I decide which hen's eggs I want to hatch. And that's a big part of why you can't guarantee behaviors. They don't all act the same.

 

[Folly's place]

It's hard to fix 'stupid', or whatever she was thinking, and it's amazing that she made it that long! Poor B2!
Mary
Love her name...