Sad Story, Question, and Introducing Baby Chicks

[Golden_Gwennie]

Hello guys.

I'll first start off on a sad note. I lost Henrietta to a fox this evening. The girls were out and it was getting dark. I thought I'd put them to bed soon. I was looking out the window and thought a chicken fell down the hill, but I saw a tail swish and it turned out to be a fox. I ran downstairs yelling, and my mom ran outside before I did. As soon as the fox saw her, it dropped the chicken and she ran towards my mom. The other fox took off with Henrietta in it's mouth. If only I hadn't bothered to put shoes on (they just slip on), she may still be here.

The other chicken that was attacked seems fine. She lost some feathers and seems really exhausted, but otherwise fine. Although, after I took her out of the henspa to examine her, I put her back and she released an egg and crumpled shell. I imagine it was due to stress. She seemed a little unstable on the roost pole and entered a nest box. I decided to let her stay there for the night so she doesn't have to stand. Do you guys think she'll be fine?

so, after this ordeal, and the fact that we only have three chickens left, my mother said we could get more chicks. I currently have Golden Comet's, and plan on getting the same breed (4-5 baby chicks). My question is, when am I supposed to start introducing them to the other girls (age) and what time of day? My mother heard you should put them together at night.

Hopefully we'll have chicks soon!

Thanks,
Travis


R.I.P. Henrietta

 

[augiedranch]

she was a beautiful hen! such a shiny coat!

well, i was told not to put my baby chicks in with my other hens and roosters untill they are four months old...

i have 6 hens and one roo
and ten 10 week old chicks.

ill prob put them out at three months.. but i heard four months old is a good age.. and yeah, night is best.. so they all wake up together in the morning..

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Awww, I'm sorry for your loss, she looks like a nice hen. And don't blame yourself, there's no way to know if your pause to put on shoes affected the outcome. Just learn for next time, perhaps keep a working flashlight & some easy slip-on shoes or boots by your door, ready in an instant for you to go out & check on your chickens.

Golden Comets are a great breed, I wish you well with your new ones. They'll need to be on chick feed up until at least 18 weeks, so keep them in their own pen until then. However, when they're fully feathered & good-sized juveniles, they can share free-range time with the adults and start to get acquainted. But you don't want the youngsters to get into the layer feed, it has too much calcium for them to handle, and you probably don't want the adults to get into the chick feed because it is usually more expensive. For some warped reason my chickens & chicks always want to eat what's in the others' feeders.

 

[Half-a-dozen]

 

[normajean]

I am so sorry to hear that about Henrietta...she was lovely.
Hopefully you will be able to fortify the chicken area so that your other little fluffies aren't harmed.
Best of luck and well wishes...

 

[Ese_N_Gracie]

OOF! I recently lost a baby to a hawk and thought it was lost in the back of the garage because of the faded screaching I heard...I just figured it was par for the baby course....but if one of my two original babies was taken....as much as I'm an animal lover/advocate...I would have a very difficult time not hunting the predator down with my neighbors largest gun. I'm so sorry for your loss....When I feel guilty about rounding the littles up to put them in their beverly hills style pen....cuz you know how they tell you they want out....I look at the coyotes etc....that come on my field with no fear...even when I'm out there yelling at them....I enforced a commercial dog pen/run with chicken wire around the bottom and top....tightly woven with bailing wire...the two have over 50 square feet at the worst time of day....so really I shouldn't feel bad for trying everything I can to keep them alive around stray dogs/hawks etc...

 

[Golden_Gwennie]

The real awful part of this whole story is that I had a dream about some of my chickens keeling over and dying last night.

Scary.:|

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Well, of course, that whole awful scene was very much on your mind, it's not surprising it came out in your dreams.

One of the more difficult aspects of keeping chickens is coming to terms with their vulnerability. While they're tough & adaptable animals, there's a lot of other creatures who just love a good chicken dinner, from microbes & worms to hawks & wild cats.

It still is heartbreaking to lose a chicken, particularly a favorite one, and especially if you think you could/should have done something differently and prevented it. (Murphy's Law of Chicken Depredation says that it's always your most favorite bird that gets taken.) The best way I can deal with it, and the way I teach my children, is to give our chickens the very best care we can, provide the highest degree of protection we're able to make, learn from our mistakes, and appreciate each chicken every day we have together.

I wish you better dreams tonight.

 

[catfish]

It sucks, and I feel for ya, like we lost 6 chicks to the boys b*tch dog, she's got a stay of execution for now, but I doubt it will last to long as she won't stay away from the run.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm sorry you lost poor Henrietta.