Midge's story : A feral hen's ability to adapt

[Peas4Ducks]

But who is the dad

 

[Ursuline Chick]

But who is the dad

I think the chick she hatched 1 1/2 years ago. Remember Midge was a feral hen around other feral chickens. So we really don't know if T-Boy has her genes. None of the chicks have shown any problems so far, God willing.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

I'll try to get a picture of T-Boy tomorrow. He is a bantam also, y'all can tell me what you think his gene pool is.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Oh look at that little dark one with a red face. I wonder if it will be laced as an adult

It could be, I have 2 Blue Laced Red Wyandottes and 1 splash Wyandotte currently laying.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

I think Hayden has pictures of T-Boy on his phone, if so I will try to post them tonight.

Last night the big hens and T-Boy went to the coop early. This left over an hour before it started to become twilight here. So we decided to let Midge and her chicks out, since we were both home and could tag team them if they tried to get away. We opened the little door to the main chicken run (our yard) and Midge had to block the door way to keep them from going out so fast she couldn't keep track of them. I don't know if she was doing some kind of chicken "chick count" or what, but they just couldn't wait to get out. They are bit flighty, which was scary at some points.
The chicks found the pile of branches that need to be wrapped and put out for the garbageman and thought they discovered a chick jungle gem. They spent time running under and through the branches, climbing on top, and flying from the top.
Midge tried to teach some lessons, but most of the chicks were just running around and flying up to things, they had a blast.
Once Midge. decided it was time to go to bed, she spent a lot of time looking up and around the lemon tree that shades coops and produces some nice Mayer Lemons. She looked it up and down for a while before deciding to take her babies and sleep in their coop.
Some of the babies tried to get into the tree to roost, but Midge wouldn't allow it. I think Midge was pretty worn out when she got them all into their little nest. Of course they all had to have a drink of water before going to bed and it took a few minutes to get them settled down.
After latching the little door to "outside", Hayden and I were worn out also. We had ribs from a local BBQ joint and sat in bed with the TV on trying not to fall asleep in our plates.
I have to admit, I had a great time also. But those crazy 15 chicks need some training. I need to find some healthy treats as I find chicks, like cats, train best with a yummy treat.
I find my chickens hate mealworms.
I mean whose chickens hate mealworms, besides mine?

 

[Callender Girl]

Sounds like a wonderful adventure for all involved! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Friday morning Hayden let the hens our just before sun up, I went out later when the sun was high enough to see and found one of the black chicks dead. I don't want to go in to detail as it was pretty gory. There was a hawk on the fence a little later and it got the blame.
Yesterday when the chicks were out in the big yard we saw the hawk again. Later Hayden went out and found another black chick, dead and killed in the same manner. Except this time Midge had the last black chick cornered and doing the same thing she did to the other black chicks. The chick had to be put down, it was that bad.
Needless to say Midge was culled late yesterday, as I found I had 3 additional injured, albeit mildly. When it becomes light outside I will check to see how those three have faired overnight.
Last night was their first night with out Mom, it is warm at night here, so that is not a concern. I did hear a few peeps last night and hope it was them just trying to find the warmest area, with no one to put your tail feathers under.
I have no idea what happened, except she made a good hidden nest outside the run and coop like a feral hen and hatched 15 chicks that I know of. Then she was placed in a nice enclosed box with a private run for her and her chicks, where she could see the rest of the flock. We had just begun to integrate them all, with no problems. But then she and the chicks had to go back in the box.
If she had continued to be feral, she could have just walked away from them had she been over being Momma. (Yesterday she continued tidbitting and teaching, although I did notice some minor pecking ).
I am sorry to end this story on a bad note, especially on Mother's Day.
I had hoped this would be a joyous story and has turned more into the realities of nature and chicken keeping story.
I'll keep this thread up for a couple of weeks for those of you who followed it and then will probably remove it, unless someone thinks it is of some value.
Thank you to everyone who followed.

 

[Callender Girl]

How awful! I'm sorry this turned out as it did.

Here's hoping for the best with the remaining chicks. I'd be interested in hearing how they fare.

Again, so sorry -- for you, the chicks and even poor Midge, who just wasn't wired quite right for a happy ending that you wanted to give her.

 

[Ursuline Chick]

I felt bad for her, having to be culled. I don't know how many generations feral she was. But I do think she was just ready to be on her own and because she seemed to still be teaching, I didn't catch it. She had a different culture than my domesticated chickens. Or maybe she was a serial killer hen. That maybe why there was only one chick when I got her.

 

[Shadrach]

I think this picture gives a warning of an impending disaster.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...l-hens-ability-to-adapt.1519080/post-25622030

A feral hen will not be able to keep 15 chicks warm and fed. If Midge had remained feral the probability is many of the chicks would have died from hunger, predation etc.
You mentioned she had sat and hatched before and her chick/chicks survived. This would suggest she wasn't a serial baby killer.
This was Cheepy. She was a Bantam. She hatched 10. She originally had 24 eggs in her clutch in an outside nest. The father was a Marans and it wasn't long before the chicks were as big as Cheepy. Cheepy abandoned her chicks very early and spent much of her day hiding from them. She did attack a couple while they were still very young.

The female chicks that survived went on to hatch their own offspring without incident.
I have known one other Bantam hen that was a chick killer. She started to injure them as soon as they hatched. I just didn't let her sit and hatch again.