Drache
Songster
Good morning everyone! I haven't been here for a while because I have not had any chickens for almost 2 years. In 2019 my next door neighbor's dogs chewed threw our privacy fence, broke into our chicken coop, and killed most of my chickens while I was out. While we fought with the neighbors over who was responsible for fixing the fence I rehomed my surviving chickens and have been bird-less until a few weeks ago.
(Don't worry, the fence is now fortified and the coop rebuilt.)
A few weeks ago I acquired a young (full size but not yet laying) Production Red hen who was purchased from a feed store. She was used as a demonstration bird for an animal hospital training staff how to handle birds for medical treatments. She needed a home afterwards so I kept her. She is an extremely calm chicken. She is very quiet and tolerates being approached, petted, picked up, and will stand on my arm like a parrot or raptor. She takes treats from my hands and is a very good chicken. I call her Scarlet.
I knew she needed a buddy or two so I was planning to pick up a few Polish and BLRW chicks from my local chicken breeder this spring, but on Christmas Eve a friend of mine let me know she had a chicken who needed a new home. Apparently my friend's uncle is very sick and my friend is taking care of his property. They started with 14 chickens but between the hawks and coyotes they are down to just this one. She is a barnyard mix hen with three young chicks, maybe 2 weeks old at most. She is very feral, loud, and watchful. She is not aggressive towards people but is very fearful. I call her Pollo Loco.
Loco is beating the crap out of Scarlet any time she tries to come out of the coop to forage. I suspect she is just being very protective of her three chicks, but Scarlet doesn't fight back and doesn't deserve this abuse. I used to have chickens for almost 10 years and never had this issue before. Scarlet now has a big wound on her nares and is terrified.
What is the best way to bond Scarlet and Loco so that Loco stops injuring her? I have read elsewhere that I should move Loco's chicks into a brooder until they grow out so that Loco won't feel the need to be so protective. Is that a good idea? What else can I do??
For fun, here is a picture of Scarlet.
(Don't worry, the fence is now fortified and the coop rebuilt.)
A few weeks ago I acquired a young (full size but not yet laying) Production Red hen who was purchased from a feed store. She was used as a demonstration bird for an animal hospital training staff how to handle birds for medical treatments. She needed a home afterwards so I kept her. She is an extremely calm chicken. She is very quiet and tolerates being approached, petted, picked up, and will stand on my arm like a parrot or raptor. She takes treats from my hands and is a very good chicken. I call her Scarlet.
I knew she needed a buddy or two so I was planning to pick up a few Polish and BLRW chicks from my local chicken breeder this spring, but on Christmas Eve a friend of mine let me know she had a chicken who needed a new home. Apparently my friend's uncle is very sick and my friend is taking care of his property. They started with 14 chickens but between the hawks and coyotes they are down to just this one. She is a barnyard mix hen with three young chicks, maybe 2 weeks old at most. She is very feral, loud, and watchful. She is not aggressive towards people but is very fearful. I call her Pollo Loco.
Loco is beating the crap out of Scarlet any time she tries to come out of the coop to forage. I suspect she is just being very protective of her three chicks, but Scarlet doesn't fight back and doesn't deserve this abuse. I used to have chickens for almost 10 years and never had this issue before. Scarlet now has a big wound on her nares and is terrified.
What is the best way to bond Scarlet and Loco so that Loco stops injuring her? I have read elsewhere that I should move Loco's chicks into a brooder until they grow out so that Loco won't feel the need to be so protective. Is that a good idea? What else can I do??
For fun, here is a picture of Scarlet.
