Peas in trees-another question

[valewife]

Another thing my birds are worrying me about-
They are wandering farther from the yard, usually still on our 20 acres, but
out of my sight. If they are missing in the late afternoons, I go looking for them and
lure them home with a treat.
Sometimes they act like they were lost. I've found them a couple of times at the nearest neighbors,
on their porch looking in the door like they do here. Are they just curious and too friendly or
confused ?
Can young peas lose their way ?

 

[Kedreeva]

Unfortunately with peas, they have a tendency to roam... sometimes away entirely. Many people have found that free ranging them is always a risk- no matter if you've hand raised them or just set them on your land with no wait. It's possible they are 'lost' if this is the first they've been allowed to see your property (as in you didn't pen them outside for a while until they get used to the sight of "home" and "food at home" etc), it's possible they are exploring their freedom and would return, and it's possible they may disappear entirely.

 

[zazouse]

I let my babies out when they were just turning 4 months old ,that was last November once they got comfortable with being loose they started to roam and yes they do roam a good distance, it kinda scares me as they do get off in the deep woods at times but so far i have only had one incident a week ago with my pied hen

Something tried to get her in my middle field early in the morning, the good thing was that one of my dogs happen to be in the area and foiled what i think was a fox , i could hear my rotty running and barking threw the woods as my other dog lead me to the hen after finding all the peas in the tops of the trees.

She lost some feathers but other than that not a scratch, just in shock but was back to normal the next day.

I do not have any close neighbors so i highly doubt my peas will ever make it to one as long as i can keep them from walking down our easement towards the main road that is a half a mile long and i keep a close watch on the easement in the early morning and late evening.

I am going to set up security cameras on the easement as soon as i can figure out what will work best in the elements.

They are like ghost i will see them in one place go do someting and come back and they will be gone and i can not find them but this is a very big place.

It use to stress me out bad at first but i learned to accept what they do and i feed them on their platforms 3 times a day to make sure they come back to the safe zone to check in.



Also with this heat all my flocks of birds come home and rest in the shade between 11am to around 4pm so that is the time i leave my place do get feed and do other things that i have to leave here for.

Hope this helps!

 

[valewife]

Quote:
I wish I could figure out what they are thinking in their little pea-brains.
Mine are hand-raised from day 1. I bought them at 5 weeks old. They are tame and very people-friendly,
sitting on the porch with us, etc.
Their pen/coop are close to my house and they hang around with my other poultry in the yard and pasture.
I feed treats throughout the day so everybody comes running when they see me, peas included if they are within sight.
I just worry that they can really get lost but I don't not want to spend every day looking for them
nor do I want to keep them penned all the time.
That's the dilemma.

 

[valewife]

Quote:
Your ghost description is so accurate. They are there one minute and have disappeared in the next.
And yes, it stresses me terribly. But I'm ready to lighten up about it- if I can be sure that they
know where home is and how to come back.
And if noone complains about peas peering in doors or pooping on their porch rockers.
(Some people are so testy about such things.)

 

[zazouse]

My daughter lives on our land also and the peas go over to her place which is across the easement but she has bird feeders and feeds her cat on the back deck so if your neighbors feed them or the wild birds you can be sure they will keep going back over there.
The best thing to do is to ask your neighbors not to feed them so they will return home.

If they have bird feeders and don't like the peas then you may have a problem, but ya know my peas never have gotten on the cars or trucks here nor have they gotten on my daughters things on her deck, they just eat and sometimes take a nap over there and it is only when she is gone as she has a wiener dog that runs them off when she gets out, it's so funny cause when the dog comes to my house to get her daily egg they are not afraid of her and she never chases them or any of my other birds when she comes over.