CovidtimeQuail
Highly quailified
I have three hens that I'm thinking of starting a girls-only pen for. They are:
The question here is, is keeping a battered hen home inevitable as I raise quail? Is the only other option culling them? What have been others' experiences? If having a pen of battered hens is pretty normal, I'll go ahead and start mine now.
1. (No name, but Crazy Italian Hen seems to have stuck as a description) A beautiful big bird I've bred several times. She's been the trophy mount (prize) for several males and now hates them. She will chase them off at every opportunity.
2. Tina, the bird initially left for dead by one of the males I still have and intend to keep. She is amazingly sweet and trusting. Her motto is "Can't we all get along?" I have her along with the other two in this group because she is the glue that keeps them all peaceful. I also can't put her together with the roo that nearly killed her, since that roo has very specific tastes in hens.
3. Hoppy. As her name suggests, she has a broken, poorly healed foot. Best I can tell, she likes living. She can't get places quickly but gets along fine with Tina and tolerates the crazy Italian hen. (Everyone just tolerates the crazy Italian hen -- says something that the roos find her the most alluring though.) I can't keep Hoppy with a male as she risks getting injured.
All of them, when kept peaceful, lay eggs. The oldest is Crazy Italian hen and she's barely a year old.
The question here is, is keeping a battered hen home inevitable as I raise quail? Is the only other option culling them? What have been others' experiences? If having a pen of battered hens is pretty normal, I'll go ahead and start mine now.