I have a hen that likes to try and roost on top of a nestbox every night. It's almost a game with us. She sits on the nestbox, I go in and move her, with no squawking or fussing on her part, put her on a roost and she's perfectly happy. She's not my problem.
The hen I'm wondering about has on several occasions gone in a nestbox in the early evening, a couple hours before the rest of the flock goes in and she wants to stay there all night. If I try to move her she raises a big fuss, with lots of squawking. I've been leaving her on the nest, thinking she might be trying to go broody, but the next morning she comes flying out of the coop with the rest. I'm thinking I should go ahead and move her at night despite her objections. She usually doesn't poo in the nest overnight, but she has once or twice and I hate having to clean a perfectly good nest.
My second question involves a battered hen. She's my roo's favorite and something about the way they hook up together, she's a mess. He wears her out. She wears a saddle with shoulder pads full time, but still looks rough. She'd need full body armor to keep from looking bad. None of the other hens show wear from his mating them and he is mating them all except one.
If I cull this hen - give her away - do you think I'll end up with the same problem with another hen? I don't think he mates the battered hen more than the others, it's just something about the way the two of them fit together, as I said.
I won't seperate or cull my roo. That's not even an option in my mind. I free range and he's the best insurance I've got against predators. If it were a problem with all the hens, I could see it being a roo problem, but it's only the one. Would giving this hen away solve the problem or only redirect it?
The hen I'm wondering about has on several occasions gone in a nestbox in the early evening, a couple hours before the rest of the flock goes in and she wants to stay there all night. If I try to move her she raises a big fuss, with lots of squawking. I've been leaving her on the nest, thinking she might be trying to go broody, but the next morning she comes flying out of the coop with the rest. I'm thinking I should go ahead and move her at night despite her objections. She usually doesn't poo in the nest overnight, but she has once or twice and I hate having to clean a perfectly good nest.
My second question involves a battered hen. She's my roo's favorite and something about the way they hook up together, she's a mess. He wears her out. She wears a saddle with shoulder pads full time, but still looks rough. She'd need full body armor to keep from looking bad. None of the other hens show wear from his mating them and he is mating them all except one.
If I cull this hen - give her away - do you think I'll end up with the same problem with another hen? I don't think he mates the battered hen more than the others, it's just something about the way the two of them fit together, as I said.
I won't seperate or cull my roo. That's not even an option in my mind. I free range and he's the best insurance I've got against predators. If it were a problem with all the hens, I could see it being a roo problem, but it's only the one. Would giving this hen away solve the problem or only redirect it?