When I had chickens before, they were free range during the day, locked up at night.
I lost 2 African Crested their first night in quarentine, same quarentine cage, same location, that any other new fowl had used. It was like they stuck their feather filled heads out in offering.
Lost one Bantam hen to a hawk, she stayed out in the middle of the field, challenged him, lost. All the rest had sought cover under the bushes. She was a mean little thing, killing mice and gardner snakes. Had no fear, was her problem.
But the rest, they seemed to understand by instinct what to do in what situation. If it came from the sky (even airplanes flying over) they'd raise the alarm and seek cover under the thick Honeysuckle bushes.
If it came from the ground (Fox, Cat, Dog.. daytime prowlers) they went up into the trees. I watched one fox try it's hardest to flush them down, but the chickens remained calm, almost aloof about it, and stayed up high until I set the cattle dog out to run the fox off. (The only dog I had who would come back when I called after sending her out after a predator)
I had a mix of Seabrights, who followed the lead of the others. Black Bantams, who also followed the leader. But the leader, the one Roo who kept the closest eye and sounded the first alarm, was an Americauna Roo.
But his sister was a moron. She was dumb as any hen could be. She almost got caught by a fox... was chasing a butterfly when the alarm sounded, was the last one to get into the bushes, flying for the most part, fox nipping at her not far behind. I set the dog out fast that time, I really didn't think she was going to make it.
So is it a Rooster thing that some just have? Most of the Bantam Roosters would "help"... cocking a head to the sky periodically, adding their noises to the alarm... but the leader was the one who was on it, and no one taught him.
Seemed every predator within 5 miles knew I had free range chickens, but I still only lost 3, 2 of them caged when it happened.
The chickens knew the dogs weren't part of the predator list, no alarm over the cattle dog, and they would return to the ground and start foraging again while she escorted the fox away.
But they never paniced or acted lost and confused.. it was like they knew what to do, it was a fact of life, nothing to go crazy over.
That one Rooster to thank for it?
My aunts in Tennessee have gamefowl, free range,wild for the most part. They also have coyote, bobcat, much larger predators than we have. The first year, they lost over half the flock when they put them out. But in each year after that, the survivor's were breeding, and like "teaching" the young how high to go into the trees/barn to roost, where to nest, when to move, ect. They learned to be predator savvy.
But that Roo I had, hand raised from an incubator, set out to grow, came into his own, on his own.
Does anyone else have a Roo with that much instinct to be predator savvy? Or a flock that learned from losses to be savvy?
I lost 2 African Crested their first night in quarentine, same quarentine cage, same location, that any other new fowl had used. It was like they stuck their feather filled heads out in offering.
Lost one Bantam hen to a hawk, she stayed out in the middle of the field, challenged him, lost. All the rest had sought cover under the bushes. She was a mean little thing, killing mice and gardner snakes. Had no fear, was her problem.
But the rest, they seemed to understand by instinct what to do in what situation. If it came from the sky (even airplanes flying over) they'd raise the alarm and seek cover under the thick Honeysuckle bushes.
If it came from the ground (Fox, Cat, Dog.. daytime prowlers) they went up into the trees. I watched one fox try it's hardest to flush them down, but the chickens remained calm, almost aloof about it, and stayed up high until I set the cattle dog out to run the fox off. (The only dog I had who would come back when I called after sending her out after a predator)
I had a mix of Seabrights, who followed the lead of the others. Black Bantams, who also followed the leader. But the leader, the one Roo who kept the closest eye and sounded the first alarm, was an Americauna Roo.
But his sister was a moron. She was dumb as any hen could be. She almost got caught by a fox... was chasing a butterfly when the alarm sounded, was the last one to get into the bushes, flying for the most part, fox nipping at her not far behind. I set the dog out fast that time, I really didn't think she was going to make it.
So is it a Rooster thing that some just have? Most of the Bantam Roosters would "help"... cocking a head to the sky periodically, adding their noises to the alarm... but the leader was the one who was on it, and no one taught him.
Seemed every predator within 5 miles knew I had free range chickens, but I still only lost 3, 2 of them caged when it happened.
The chickens knew the dogs weren't part of the predator list, no alarm over the cattle dog, and they would return to the ground and start foraging again while she escorted the fox away.
But they never paniced or acted lost and confused.. it was like they knew what to do, it was a fact of life, nothing to go crazy over.
That one Rooster to thank for it?
My aunts in Tennessee have gamefowl, free range,wild for the most part. They also have coyote, bobcat, much larger predators than we have. The first year, they lost over half the flock when they put them out. But in each year after that, the survivor's were breeding, and like "teaching" the young how high to go into the trees/barn to roost, where to nest, when to move, ect. They learned to be predator savvy.
But that Roo I had, hand raised from an incubator, set out to grow, came into his own, on his own.
Does anyone else have a Roo with that much instinct to be predator savvy? Or a flock that learned from losses to be savvy?
