Integrating a cockerel into a flock of mature hens

[aart]

Oh, she's a lovely pup!!
I have finally had to accept that this will most likely remain a one dog home....but never say never.

 

[islandgirl82]

Thank you! She's sweet as can be and very well behaved.

Exactly. I swore I'd never get a young puppy...

How is your dog with others?

 

[aart]

Thank you! She's sweet as can be and very well behaved.

Exactly. I swore I'd never get a young puppy...

How is your dog with others?

He's great, has a ball with some buddies dogs but rarely sees them.
Why I occasionally feel bad for his solitude.
Have seen the therapeutic stimulation of a two dog pack,
course it can also be detrimental with the wrong two dogs.

 

[islandgirl82]

Quote:
One of the many reasons fostering can be so beneficial for everyone involved.

 

[islandgirl82]

Ichabod has certainly proven himself today. My loss of the Call drake was most certainly to the hawk. Had it not been for Ichabod's warning calls I would have lost my little girl not 10 minutes ago. The hawk managed to rip down part of the bird netting over the top of her run and had her in it's talons but dropped her as I ran out the door, only because her bill was caught in the netting. She's a little shaken, has lost just a few feathers and has one minor bloody spot on her bill but is otherwise alright.

 

[lazy gardener]

Wow! Awesome looking pup, and sounds like she'll be a perfect flock guardian. Glad your Call was saved by the warning call. Can't believe the hawk was so brazen. Can you fire a "warning shot" to scare him away???

 

[islandgirl82]

I don't have anything to fire. My voice was enough to scare it off but yeah...I couldn't believe it went into the run like that. Ichabod doesn't usually make much noise but he wouldn't stop which is what got my attention. He was up on the highest branch in his own run and all the hens were huddled underneath him. He stopped screeching as soon as he saw me heading towards the duck and I'm very pleased that he was even paying attention to her. I still don't trust that the flock wouldn't harm her if I put her in their run but I'm glad to know that he's not focused only on his girls.

 

[islandgirl82]

I have set up a small run for the lone call duck inside the big run with the chickens (moving her back to her own house at night). The flock doesn't seem bothered by her, more interested in her food (which is the same fermented feed they get) and Ichabod has perched himself many times on the top of her pen, knowing full well he has access to her but doesn't go in. My daughter also brought a large nest in a tree top right above the coop to my attention yesterday afternoon. I suspect it may belong to the hawk. I don't recall it being there before and I'm not sure what I can do about it. Hawks will rebuild old nests and I fear I'll be dealing with a very hungry clutch next spring which means zero free-ranging.

 

[aart]

I have set up a small run for the lone call duck inside the big run with the chickens (moving her back to her own house at night). The flock doesn't seem bothered by her, more interested in her food (which is the same fermented feed they get) and Ichabod has perched himself many times on the top of her pen, knowing full well he has access to her but doesn't go in. My daughter also brought a large nest in a tree top right above the coop to my attention yesterday afternoon. I suspect it may belong to the hawk. I don't recall it being there before and I'm not sure what I can do about it. Hawks will rebuilt old nests and I fear I'll be dealing with a very hungry clutch next spring which means zero free-ranging.

I'd watch that nest next spring...see what's around it and harass if it's a BOP, slingshot and acorns or something that's not injurious.

 

[Leahs Mom]

@islandgirl82

The DNR will sometimes remove a hawk if it is interfering with your livestock.