- Jun 12, 2014
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My hens are almost a year old. I got them on a whim and despite that, they are doing really well. We built a super secure set up and they get a lot of 'free time' in our garden when we are home and actively able to listen for emergencies.
About a week and a half ago, one of my hens managed to sneak out the gate and into the dog yard while I was setting the waterer back in it's spot. For this very reason, I keep the dogs locked inside anytime I have the gate open. Even though none of the hens have ever ventured into the dog yard before, I like to try and cover my bases.
I did not see she had slipped past even though it took me a minute to get the gate secured. I then let the dogs (10 including all the fosters) out. Don't worry, the hen made it and now has the name pLucky. It was not easy calling the pack off of her. They almost listened until she raced across the yard shrieking her head off. When I pulled my staffie mix off of her I was sure that was it.
The bird came out without a single, visible, wound. I feel she isn't laying but that's fine. She acts normal. She was a bit slower the first few days but has seemed fine for about a week. I'm told there's still a risk of her dying though. She eats, poops, drinks, forages, squawks, and acts just like she used to. I'm not terribly emotionally attached to my chickens so I've not put much thought into what I would do with one should it die. I don't want to bury a chicken on my property because it would def attract predators. I don't think you're supposed to eat them unless you kill them yourself right?
I figured even though pLucky looks like she'll make it (feathers crossed), it'd be good to have a plan for future reference. What do you do with a dead chicken?
About a week and a half ago, one of my hens managed to sneak out the gate and into the dog yard while I was setting the waterer back in it's spot. For this very reason, I keep the dogs locked inside anytime I have the gate open. Even though none of the hens have ever ventured into the dog yard before, I like to try and cover my bases.
I did not see she had slipped past even though it took me a minute to get the gate secured. I then let the dogs (10 including all the fosters) out. Don't worry, the hen made it and now has the name pLucky. It was not easy calling the pack off of her. They almost listened until she raced across the yard shrieking her head off. When I pulled my staffie mix off of her I was sure that was it.
The bird came out without a single, visible, wound. I feel she isn't laying but that's fine. She acts normal. She was a bit slower the first few days but has seemed fine for about a week. I'm told there's still a risk of her dying though. She eats, poops, drinks, forages, squawks, and acts just like she used to. I'm not terribly emotionally attached to my chickens so I've not put much thought into what I would do with one should it die. I don't want to bury a chicken on my property because it would def attract predators. I don't think you're supposed to eat them unless you kill them yourself right?
I figured even though pLucky looks like she'll make it (feathers crossed), it'd be good to have a plan for future reference. What do you do with a dead chicken?
