jwsmith1959
Songster
I had a "stone cold who-dunnit" when four of my girls went missing a couple of months ago that I still have not figured out. It happened in the middle of the afternoon over about a two hour period. Living out in the boonies, I expect to lose a bird every now and again, but losing four all at once still puzzles me. These were Production Reds.
I was able to get my hands on some ~18 week RIR hens that have seemed to have pretty good "street smarts" for free ranging around here. They stick close together and are damn good at hiding in the many cover areas I have along fence lines, around the house...etc. They coop up beautifully in mid afternoon, and I have not had one iota of issues with them...until last Sunday. Chamber of Commerce day and I decided to do some grilling was doing a lot of prep work and thought it was about time to coop the girls up for the afternoon. Only a couple came to my calls....no biggie. I continued with my grilling and an hour or so later I notice a couple of girls way out of their comfort zones, and the two girls I had corralled earlier were AWOL. Approaching 5 p.m. here on the Texas Gulf Coast which is about an hour later than I usually coop them up, I am starting to have Deja Vu...I'm scrambling cooking and looking for my lost girls. At about 5:45, the scattered flock all starts to show up from different areas of the property. Got them cooped up properly.
I didn't notice until yesterday morning that one of the new RIR girls had a limp. She is missing some feathers behind her left thigh/leg. She has seemed fine other than the limp. She flew okay this morning when the flock moved from the coop to cover. But I still noticed a limp. I'll check tonight (or before they come off roost in the morning), to make sure she is roosting okay.
No telling what caused the injury but I am curious to know what to look for in coming days and how to stave off any unforeseen issues??
I know that Free Ranging girls here can be dangerous and I accept that. I know my daytime predators here and am comfortable with it.
I was able to get my hands on some ~18 week RIR hens that have seemed to have pretty good "street smarts" for free ranging around here. They stick close together and are damn good at hiding in the many cover areas I have along fence lines, around the house...etc. They coop up beautifully in mid afternoon, and I have not had one iota of issues with them...until last Sunday. Chamber of Commerce day and I decided to do some grilling was doing a lot of prep work and thought it was about time to coop the girls up for the afternoon. Only a couple came to my calls....no biggie. I continued with my grilling and an hour or so later I notice a couple of girls way out of their comfort zones, and the two girls I had corralled earlier were AWOL. Approaching 5 p.m. here on the Texas Gulf Coast which is about an hour later than I usually coop them up, I am starting to have Deja Vu...I'm scrambling cooking and looking for my lost girls. At about 5:45, the scattered flock all starts to show up from different areas of the property. Got them cooped up properly.
I didn't notice until yesterday morning that one of the new RIR girls had a limp. She is missing some feathers behind her left thigh/leg. She has seemed fine other than the limp. She flew okay this morning when the flock moved from the coop to cover. But I still noticed a limp. I'll check tonight (or before they come off roost in the morning), to make sure she is roosting okay.
No telling what caused the injury but I am curious to know what to look for in coming days and how to stave off any unforeseen issues??
I know that Free Ranging girls here can be dangerous and I accept that. I know my daytime predators here and am comfortable with it.
