Diving head first into the world of chickens

[greymane]

 

[foureyeddragon]

Thanks everybody!

look on craigslist and get a used dog run/ kennel . also if you want to keep her out of trees trim her wing feathers on one wing. also get her a buddy,

How do I do that? I am not even sure which feathers are wing feathers! She has quite the jump on her, last night she was up about 7 feet in the pine tree again. If I do trim her wing feathers, will a four foot fence be enough to keep her in?

 

[jayjay]

Have you tried getting her in with some corn. I let mine out during the day but when i want them in i put corn in their coop run and i don't know if its just luck but they seem to take that as time to go home and just go in. May be worth a go.

 

[foureyeddragon]

I plan to spend as much time as I can with her this weekend. Apparently she was a very friendly and docile hen before the rooster attack. Right now she is super skiddish and hides in the back of the coop. Any loud noise or sudden movements and she is skittering away from you as fast as she can. Poor girl must be shocked at being treated in such a way by a man!

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us.

 

[jayjay]

She will come round. Like any animal if they are treated badly or become very scared they take time to get used to people who are kind. I know its not the same but we rescued a dog 4 yrs ago and he had been very badly treated. It has taken all this time for him to trust us. Now he is lovely. Bare with her she will soon realise you and her new surroundings mean no harm.

 

[HenFriend]

Hi, I'm new too but have been keeping chickens for years. I feed a mix of layers pellets and mixed corn and sprinkle grit separately. Try making friend with her by coaxing with some treats, anything green works quite well, or maybe bread. They soon start to expect something good to eat as soon as they see you coming!

 

[foureyeddragon]

I have been feeding her bread as a treat, might try salad too. She made herself a nest yesterday, so hopefully she is starting to feel more at home. Of course I went and distrubed it when I installed a nesting box and roost, which didn't make her happy, but oh well. Things are starting to come together, and I have plans for her enclosure.

 

[kidcody]

from washington state glad you joined us!

 

[foureyeddragon]

That is a really cool looking bird in your avatar, Kidcody.

She was using her nesting box this morning, super happy about that. I took the roost out as it wasn't very stable the way I had it set up, going to try to figure out something else.

I also let her out this morning. She has been in the coop for almost a week now. Hopefully tonight she will go back in the coop and I won't be chasing a chicken around all night.