I’m new to chicken ownership and I have two “rescue chickens” they were older chickens and were facing a bleak future. My rescue chickens are a Red Sex Link and a Australorp.
They have an acre of fenced yard / tree line to forage in, put up a chicken coop and they wanted nothing to do with the coop, the Australorp slept on the ground where it laid eggs and the red sex link slept in a tree and it would give me eggs under a brush pile. Just like clockwork I would get 2 eggs a day.
12 days ago a seen a owl so that night I put them in my back yard also fenced about ½ acre, opened up my dog kennel (chain link on top) put boards in for a perch on and the chickens went in there and seemed to like it. From that point on no eggs , the chickens will run up to me when I go outside (I give them treats) but no eggs. Have not seen the owl for days and the chickens now have the run of all the property. I don’t see any feathers being lost like molting.
Any thoughts ?? I have looked over all the property no hidden nests , Should I put boxes in the dog kennel area ? I have not done that because they only spend the night in there. Any advice or direction would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Tracy
Clarkston, Washington.
They have an acre of fenced yard / tree line to forage in, put up a chicken coop and they wanted nothing to do with the coop, the Australorp slept on the ground where it laid eggs and the red sex link slept in a tree and it would give me eggs under a brush pile. Just like clockwork I would get 2 eggs a day.
12 days ago a seen a owl so that night I put them in my back yard also fenced about ½ acre, opened up my dog kennel (chain link on top) put boards in for a perch on and the chickens went in there and seemed to like it. From that point on no eggs , the chickens will run up to me when I go outside (I give them treats) but no eggs. Have not seen the owl for days and the chickens now have the run of all the property. I don’t see any feathers being lost like molting.
Any thoughts ?? I have looked over all the property no hidden nests , Should I put boxes in the dog kennel area ? I have not done that because they only spend the night in there. Any advice or direction would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Tracy
Clarkston, Washington.