Last night a raccoon got our broody. It was inside a dog crate inside a pen. Her lone baby survived and was outside the pen cheeping it's head off. I only have one other chicken in the flock- a 1 year old game hen. The OEGB is being a bit nasty to the chick. I have handled the chick a good bit before when she was with mama. After having her mama killed by raccoon hands, she seems especially scared of my hands.
The chick is just 2 weeks old and is starting to get body feathers. She can fly and is now used to free-ranging. It's so warm out she only needs mama's heat at night. I just don't know what to do to handle the flock. Her mama was the smart one who understood being crated inside the house was safe. She would hop right in when I called her to and the other chickens learned from her. The remaining hen is very aloof and I have a hard time handling her. I don't know if I should crate both of them at night- maybe separately? I suppose I should concentrate on a safe place for the chick where she can escape the OEGB.
I think I am done with raising chickens. My original 2 pets are gone. The OEGB was a "pet" for my broody girl to make her happy (and increase the flock- with only 2, the other would get lonely when one went to lay). After the alpha hen was killed by a dog, I let my broody have another "pet", and again increase the size of the flock so they aren't so lonely. How should I find a home for these girls?
The chick is just 2 weeks old and is starting to get body feathers. She can fly and is now used to free-ranging. It's so warm out she only needs mama's heat at night. I just don't know what to do to handle the flock. Her mama was the smart one who understood being crated inside the house was safe. She would hop right in when I called her to and the other chickens learned from her. The remaining hen is very aloof and I have a hard time handling her. I don't know if I should crate both of them at night- maybe separately? I suppose I should concentrate on a safe place for the chick where she can escape the OEGB.
I think I am done with raising chickens. My original 2 pets are gone. The OEGB was a "pet" for my broody girl to make her happy (and increase the flock- with only 2, the other would get lonely when one went to lay). After the alpha hen was killed by a dog, I let my broody have another "pet", and again increase the size of the flock so they aren't so lonely. How should I find a home for these girls?
