How did your flock annoy you today?

[ValkerieGunn]

Lock down (day 18) was yesterday for some eggs. 2 have hatched so far today with a 3rd zipping. I can't decide if I am annoyed they are hatching early or happy I have more chicks since a dog came through and took 7 adults out.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

We've had a RIR living with four other hens for a few weeks now, separated by hardware cloth. We tried putting them together in a large neutral ground pen today. Everything was fine at first, then she attacked one of the other hens and ripped some of her feathers out. I don't know if I'm going to be able to integrate her at all.

 

[TOMTE]

We've had a RIR living with four other hens for a few weeks now, separated by hardware cloth. We tried putting them together in a large neutral ground pen today. Everything was fine at first, then she attacked one of the other hens and ripped some of her feathers out. I don't know if I'm going to be able to integrate her at all.

I've heard RIRs can be difficult Good luck, maybe she just needs more time. Or maybe your other girls need to buck up and whoop some manners into her

 

[EmmaDonovan]

I've heard RIRs can be difficult Good luck, maybe she just needs more time. Or maybe your other girls need to buck up and whoop some manners into her

Well, we have two RIRs. The other gets along with everyone.

This one, if she's with one group, they bully her. If she's with the other group, she bullies them.

 

[Windy Wings]

Every time we free-range our chickens, they end up in our garden. Apparently, the fence we have around it is for nothing...
We planted some onions in a large pot...still haven't gotten any because they keep eating them...

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Every time we free-range our chickens, they end up in our garden. Apparently, the fence we have around it is for nothing...
We planted some onions in a large pot...still haven't gotten any because they keep eating them...

I use 3' high (well, "wide" as it comes off the roll) chicken wire, which kinda/sorta keeps them out until they become truly determined. Also, it's fun to watch them wobble madly as they try to perch on the top.

What are you using for fencing?

 

[thecatumbrella]

Well, we have two RIRs. The other gets along with everyone.

This one, if she's with one group, they bully her. If she's with the other group, she bullies them.

This sounds like my Dandelion (Pekin on the left in my profile pic). Every waking moment was about the pecking order. She was either punching down, or acting so awkward around her superiors that they were giving her a wallop. It's very, very frustrating.

We planted some onions in a large pot...still haven't gotten any because they keep eating them...

Onions, seriously? Bleh. I suppose this is evidence that they don't have much for tastebuds!

 

[WhatsUpDuck]

Colonel Sanders is NOT happy that I took the bully hens out of the main flock and put them into the "free range" flock with the free range rooster! He is so sad and mopey. He still has his favorite hens, but he is really just so upset

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Egg song/escort call without any eggs, the stinkers. We check immediately since we have some egg eaters.

Sometimes I wonder if they've figured out that if they sing someone will come running and they'll get attention and occasionally treats.

 

[Windy Wings]

Our chicken coop is a good 70 yards away from our house...on a hill. Our chickens needed some more food in their dispenser, so I attempted to carry a 50-pound bag up there. Maybe I need to start working out or something, cause man, that thing was heavy! By the time I finally got the bag up into the coop (it's elevated 2 feet off the ground) and opened it, I realized I had another problem. How the heck was I gonna lift the thing into the opening of the food dispenser? I could barely drag it up the hill, let alone lift it and aim the food so it would pour into the hole. My brother helped me, which was very nice of him. But the whole time, my birds were making the LOUDEST sounds! They are very, very noisy, especially when they see humans. We theorize it's because they want to get let out of their coop, so they complain to get our attention. We had the coop door cracked open since we were inside, so our chickens kept trying to escape out of the crack. The sound of their complaining is deafening.
Eventually, we got the food sorted out and shut the door. Boy, they were pretty disappointed that they didn't get to go outside. Ah, well, they'll just have to wait a little while longer.