Let me start by saying it's a small flock: one rooster and 9 hens. They free range during the day, which is sort of how the problem started. A Jack Russell from across the street got into the open coop while this hen was on the nest box.
She was bloody on the back of her neck, one wing is totally broken, and she had a truly beat up tail end. She has been isolated since then (April 15) but now she is looking a bit better and her feathers are growing back on the raw spots. My husband let her free yesterday because she seemed to want to go back with the girls. She stayed with them for as long as we watched, even beating up on the lower ranking ones that she always picks on (that's why we call her Red Meanie). But by late afternoon, she was nowhere to be found. Her crate (Chicken Hospital) was still outside, so she could go back if she wanted, but she did not.
As evening rolled around we did a better search and found her hiding in the neighbor's barn, in the corner where she hid after she was attacked by the dog. Trying to capture her, we ended up chasing her outside where she hid under an evergreen tree where we could not reach her. Because of all the predators OTHER than JRTs, we did not want to leave her outside overnight. Well with all the struggle trying to catch her, the roo came out to investigate. He got her to come out of the tree, but then he mounted her on her poor scabbed-over, injured back, and she ran back under the tree again. She came out again, and he mounted her again! Then we managed to chase her back to the garage and Chicken Hospital.
Problem is that now she doesn't want to be caged anymore. One day of freedom, even a scary one, makes her not want to stay in that dog crate anymore! For right now she is in a fenced garden area, with the crate for cover if she needs it. The other hens and roo are circling the fence trying to figure out how to get in, and she is trying to figure how to get out.
So should I just let her go? It seems cruel to keep her caged, but I don't think she is safe when she's loose. I really don't know which is better????
She was bloody on the back of her neck, one wing is totally broken, and she had a truly beat up tail end. She has been isolated since then (April 15) but now she is looking a bit better and her feathers are growing back on the raw spots. My husband let her free yesterday because she seemed to want to go back with the girls. She stayed with them for as long as we watched, even beating up on the lower ranking ones that she always picks on (that's why we call her Red Meanie). But by late afternoon, she was nowhere to be found. Her crate (Chicken Hospital) was still outside, so she could go back if she wanted, but she did not.
As evening rolled around we did a better search and found her hiding in the neighbor's barn, in the corner where she hid after she was attacked by the dog. Trying to capture her, we ended up chasing her outside where she hid under an evergreen tree where we could not reach her. Because of all the predators OTHER than JRTs, we did not want to leave her outside overnight. Well with all the struggle trying to catch her, the roo came out to investigate. He got her to come out of the tree, but then he mounted her on her poor scabbed-over, injured back, and she ran back under the tree again. She came out again, and he mounted her again! Then we managed to chase her back to the garage and Chicken Hospital.
Problem is that now she doesn't want to be caged anymore. One day of freedom, even a scary one, makes her not want to stay in that dog crate anymore! For right now she is in a fenced garden area, with the crate for cover if she needs it. The other hens and roo are circling the fence trying to figure out how to get in, and she is trying to figure how to get out.
So should I just let her go? It seems cruel to keep her caged, but I don't think she is safe when she's loose. I really don't know which is better????
