Chickens protecting cardinals.

[mamaKate]

A pair of cardinals has a nest in the honeysuckle near the chickens. I've been trying to keep an eye on my cats and make them leave the nest alone. This morning I left them outside because they seemed content at the back of the yard. A little while later, I heard a huge chicken ruckus but I couldn't see a problem when I checked on them. Then I opened the front door and found both cats being hotly pursued by robins, cardinals and blackbirds. After they gratefully darted in, all the noise stopped. My theory is that the chickens were reacting to the distress calls of the wild birds. I'm pretty sure they'd be just as eager to kill the fledglings as the cats are. It was still pretty funny.

 

[sydney13]

my rooster wil chase the robins in circles all around the yard

 

[tasymo]

It's pretty neat to watch and see how tuned in your flock is, to the local wildlife. My Girl's really pay attention to what the wild birds are saying, and will join in when they hear "danger alerts". One day I heard a major ruckus down by the coop and went down to investigate. I found all my Hen's carrying on, along with several different types of birds (a robin, a starling, and sparrows) and one big fat squirrel, all in the tree above the the chicken run. What a racket! Turns out there was a hawk in the vicinity.