I had a perfectly happy chicken family up until last fall when I had another chicken attack by a dog belonging to a neighbor down the road. I lost my rooster and two hens leaving me seven hens all laying. The hens seemed to be very grieved for several days but after that seemed as if they had gotten over it. Things were quieter with Mr. Rooster gone although it was sad he had to be killed. My neighbor next to me had made comments in the past about the rooster waking him but he was kind about it and said it was fine. So I wanted to get another rooster but decided against it because this man lost his wife just a few months before this and I just do not know if he was dropping a hint about the rooster meaning that it disturbed him. Anyhow, all my hens began going across the road to a field where a beautiful big pig lived. Usually they stayed on my side of the road before and when they did this I became concerned. I do not know the people well but I saw the pig owner outside one morning and spoke to him about it and he said he had no problem with the hens being there. There was little I could have done to stop them anyhow except lock them in the chicken pen and the last time I tried that they almost killed one another and I had to listen to squawking loudly all day and feathers everywhere in the pen. Once they started free ranging, there was no going back it seemed. I think I would have to just give them up before I could keep them penned up.
Anyhow it all seemed to go well with them and I thought that it was a good deal because maybe a dog would not go over into that fenced area where a big pig the size of that one was and they always came home to lay in their nest even though there was a big open barn for the pig. Each time I saw the pig napping the chickens were all close by him. Then when the pig walked around they all followed him. The chickens never left there except to come home to lay and then right back until the end of the day to come home and roost. They seemed very contented with the new way of life. I started noticing that their food pan would look untouched because they were not eating it. It became very obvious that they were not even touching it. I never like any food in the pan before they roost for the night thinking of rats or mice may get into it so I always got rid of it. I began just putting a scant little bit into the pan and even it was not touched. Finally, I got rid of that food and bought a fresh bag incase it was bad or something but they still didn't touch it. I eventually stopped feeding them at all after weeks of throwing it out at night it was just ridiculous to waste my time and the cost of the food. I told my nephew that complained of the price of feeding his chickens that , my chickens are totally independent and do not cost me anything and I just keep a little water for them just incase and that he should let his chickens free range. He refused because of thinking about all the animals in the wild around him. My nephew and other people I knew all said their chickens had stopped laying when winter came but mine laid all the way through the winter seriously never even slowed down.
About mid March one morning I woke up to my hens yelling loudly at my door as if there was an attack. The man next door came out with his gun believing that they were under attack. After looking around no reason could be found for the yelling but they continued. At first it did not dawn on me to feed them but finally I did think of it toward the end of the day but they refused to touch it.This annoying sounds they made became a habit and I would try to ignore it but finally would come outside to just verify once again that there was not an attack going on. Finally, I saw the pig missing and knew that was the problem. The chickens would go over the fence to the pig's field and then all come screaming and squawking home. It was obvious that something had gone wrong. They still would not eat really but did peck around in the food a little after a while. I wondered if maybe there had been an attack over in the pig's yard and they were traumatized by it because they hardly settled down for days. I saw the man one day and asked him what happened to the pig and he told me that he had sent it to be butchered. So now I knew but my chickens kept up the act of being very loud at my door especially very early in the morning as if they woke up and forgot the pig was gone and went there and did not find him and came home bawling. Bawling is the sound that mostly describes all the noise they made. Awww my chickens had bummed off of this man's pig all late fall through winter up until mid March they were not independent and living off of the land as I had believed.
I went to the feed store and bought hog pellets and they began to eat again. I mix some hen scratch into it and they are getting a little more used to it. They have still not let up on egg laying and the shells have always been healthy and much stronger than the ones from the store. So this verifies to me that they are getting enough calcium maybe from the ground I don't know.
The next thing the chickens started doing was jumping the fence of another neighbor a little further down who has a horse. That horse wasn't game for it and would run them off. Plus I know the woman of that house would not stand for it either if she found it out and she would let me know in a heart beat and I was about to put them up and get rid of them and get me some chickens that had never free ranged but the chickens stopped it all but two. The two that continued to do it were my two Brown Susex and my favorite. One of them is missing now and the other one has stopped doing that so I feel quite sure the woman of that house made dinner of the missing chicken. I can see her in my minds eye telling her husband to kill and dress the chicken so she can have it for dinner. The chicken was a beauty all filled out, plump and flawless. I saw the lady in the local convenience store and we usually chat but she smiled from ear to ear and waved and ran away. Everyone knows she is not one to smile but whatever she did, sorry to change the subject here.
The latest thing is one of my hens had began to jump on the backs of the hens and do a perfect imitation of a rooster mounting a hen and the hens behaved as if she were a rooster. I thought this was harmless so I did not object to it until the hen started doing the little stance where it bows up and does a side step as if she may attack. I ignored that the first few times and then once when I shooed the hens away from my garden she jumped up and did attack me. Of course it didn't hurt much but left a small scratch on my hand, cut blood so, I took her to the pen and closed her up for the day. She hasn't tried to attack me again or threaten to but I saw her do that act of imitating a rooster on a hen again and decided that could lead her to being aggressive again so I again took her to the pen and kept her in there for the day. Now I haven't seen her try that again and it's been about a week. But the chickens continue to bawl and be loud at times. So I conclude that they need a rooster.
Gee, I hate to get a rooster again because they are so loud and I sure can not get a pig although I thought it over. Any suggestions? Do most hens do fine without a rooster?
Anyhow it all seemed to go well with them and I thought that it was a good deal because maybe a dog would not go over into that fenced area where a big pig the size of that one was and they always came home to lay in their nest even though there was a big open barn for the pig. Each time I saw the pig napping the chickens were all close by him. Then when the pig walked around they all followed him. The chickens never left there except to come home to lay and then right back until the end of the day to come home and roost. They seemed very contented with the new way of life. I started noticing that their food pan would look untouched because they were not eating it. It became very obvious that they were not even touching it. I never like any food in the pan before they roost for the night thinking of rats or mice may get into it so I always got rid of it. I began just putting a scant little bit into the pan and even it was not touched. Finally, I got rid of that food and bought a fresh bag incase it was bad or something but they still didn't touch it. I eventually stopped feeding them at all after weeks of throwing it out at night it was just ridiculous to waste my time and the cost of the food. I told my nephew that complained of the price of feeding his chickens that , my chickens are totally independent and do not cost me anything and I just keep a little water for them just incase and that he should let his chickens free range. He refused because of thinking about all the animals in the wild around him. My nephew and other people I knew all said their chickens had stopped laying when winter came but mine laid all the way through the winter seriously never even slowed down.
About mid March one morning I woke up to my hens yelling loudly at my door as if there was an attack. The man next door came out with his gun believing that they were under attack. After looking around no reason could be found for the yelling but they continued. At first it did not dawn on me to feed them but finally I did think of it toward the end of the day but they refused to touch it.This annoying sounds they made became a habit and I would try to ignore it but finally would come outside to just verify once again that there was not an attack going on. Finally, I saw the pig missing and knew that was the problem. The chickens would go over the fence to the pig's field and then all come screaming and squawking home. It was obvious that something had gone wrong. They still would not eat really but did peck around in the food a little after a while. I wondered if maybe there had been an attack over in the pig's yard and they were traumatized by it because they hardly settled down for days. I saw the man one day and asked him what happened to the pig and he told me that he had sent it to be butchered. So now I knew but my chickens kept up the act of being very loud at my door especially very early in the morning as if they woke up and forgot the pig was gone and went there and did not find him and came home bawling. Bawling is the sound that mostly describes all the noise they made. Awww my chickens had bummed off of this man's pig all late fall through winter up until mid March they were not independent and living off of the land as I had believed.
I went to the feed store and bought hog pellets and they began to eat again. I mix some hen scratch into it and they are getting a little more used to it. They have still not let up on egg laying and the shells have always been healthy and much stronger than the ones from the store. So this verifies to me that they are getting enough calcium maybe from the ground I don't know.
The next thing the chickens started doing was jumping the fence of another neighbor a little further down who has a horse. That horse wasn't game for it and would run them off. Plus I know the woman of that house would not stand for it either if she found it out and she would let me know in a heart beat and I was about to put them up and get rid of them and get me some chickens that had never free ranged but the chickens stopped it all but two. The two that continued to do it were my two Brown Susex and my favorite. One of them is missing now and the other one has stopped doing that so I feel quite sure the woman of that house made dinner of the missing chicken. I can see her in my minds eye telling her husband to kill and dress the chicken so she can have it for dinner. The chicken was a beauty all filled out, plump and flawless. I saw the lady in the local convenience store and we usually chat but she smiled from ear to ear and waved and ran away. Everyone knows she is not one to smile but whatever she did, sorry to change the subject here.
The latest thing is one of my hens had began to jump on the backs of the hens and do a perfect imitation of a rooster mounting a hen and the hens behaved as if she were a rooster. I thought this was harmless so I did not object to it until the hen started doing the little stance where it bows up and does a side step as if she may attack. I ignored that the first few times and then once when I shooed the hens away from my garden she jumped up and did attack me. Of course it didn't hurt much but left a small scratch on my hand, cut blood so, I took her to the pen and closed her up for the day. She hasn't tried to attack me again or threaten to but I saw her do that act of imitating a rooster on a hen again and decided that could lead her to being aggressive again so I again took her to the pen and kept her in there for the day. Now I haven't seen her try that again and it's been about a week. But the chickens continue to bawl and be loud at times. So I conclude that they need a rooster.
Gee, I hate to get a rooster again because they are so loud and I sure can not get a pig although I thought it over. Any suggestions? Do most hens do fine without a rooster?
