Vacman
Chirping
This is my second year having chicken on my property. I bought the large red chicken coop from Tractor Supply and added a 12' X 18' plastic covered hoop house over it to give them a protected area from the snow int he winter ou here in Northern MI. I started with 6 hens, 3 Buff Orpingtons and 3 Rhode Island Reds. They free range within a small fruit tree orchard surrounded by an electric net fence. Things were going well until one evening as I was shutting up the coop, I noticed 2 birds missing..1 red and 1 Buffy. I found the Buffy out int he orchard pretty well beat up. Never found the red. I suspect an aerial attack and that the buff fought with it. I moved her into the coop and I had always heard that hens will pick on an injured bird and eventually kill it. That didn't happen here. The rest of the flock became very protective and got between me and the buff every time I went in to check one her. She has fully recovered now but the trauma has left us with a very small number of eggs each day. One surviving red is laying, but the rest are only laying occasionally. Finding this Forum was the result of a search to find out how to correct this trauma. I have been spending more time with the birds lately and will continue to do so. I've read the thread on this subject and will see what I can do to improve the egg laying. I intended to add 6 more hens to the flock this spring and that should help.
Glad you joined.
Hello and welcome to BYC, You found an Awesome poultry Forum to be a part of with many great knowledgeable members who are more then willing to jump in and help you with any questions you may have. 
