Yup, it all gets very different when there are no movement restrictions.Chipie's family is showing me the difference between having chickens outside all time but contained in a rather large area, which is my actual setup, and total free range.
I can check on my chickens in less than two or three minutes most of the times.
Chipie and the chicks walk through the nettings and are going further and further away each day. Much further than any of the other chicken that sometimes escape has ever been. I never know where they are, and they are very mobile and quick.
It's taking up a lot of my time in the last mornings as I'm trying to make sure the cats don't eat them.
She has been trying to get them in the coop, but one is growing slower and still can't fly and get on the roost. I hope it's not a serious problem. And also, Théo is still chasing them. I take it as a good sign that he did let them shelter when we had a thunderstorm yesterday.
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I would think the same from my experience. I've had more physical damage from broody hens than I have from any rooster.
I sometimes wonder if those "OMG the other hens are attacking the chicks" posts are keepers seeing the discipline peck you've written about. I've seen mums give such peacks often but with the roosters it's been when food is involved. Once mum stops fending for them they're last in the line as far as the rest of the chickens are concerend it seems.they're doing fine thanks. Caught a glimpse of Amadeo's wattles yesterday, at 3 weeks old, so that confirms it's Amadeo not Amadea! Jury's still out on Dyffryn (Swedish Flower) and Ida (Braekel). They wander off too, and are now jumping in to eat with the senior members of the flock. When they do, all birds junior to Eve run away to the other feeder (even if Eve's not close), while flock master Chirk and 2nd hen Venka eat round the chicks, as does top hen Maria, unless one really gets on her nerves, in which case it gets a very carefully measured tap between the shoulders to put it in its place. They are learning already to keep an eye on herI'll try to get a decent photo today between the showers ...
There are two varieties in the clump, green and purple. The green stay green.
I tell them to run.
I noticed Sandy had brittle feathers and bald patch roughly where the top of her crop would have been and she was a hybrid red laying hen. If you're really worried about it, would biotin and choline strengthen their feathers?Sunny spells, as they say.
The not so sunny bit is I have one broody and five fence hoppers. This means I've got to count them every so often and find out where the escapee/s are.
The Ex Battery hens are never going to look much better than scruffy in their current environment I've come to realise. Their feathers, as Manue mentions, seem to be particularly fragile. The next problem is they will insist on crouching for Henry.
Matilda, Fret and the Legbars can all tell Henry "not just now sweetheart." Okay, there is some violence involved on those bad hair days, but Henry is pretty good. He'll take no for an answer like a gentleman and go and find one that will say yes.
The Ex Battery hens are curious about everything and it shows in their faces. They were the first to lay eggs in the new coop egg boxes. I really like the look of them.View attachment 3163260View attachment 3163261View attachment 3163262View attachment 3163263View attachment 3163264View attachment 3163265
I'm not really worried about it. I think it may be a genetic problem rather than diet and of course in the case of plucking a learned behaviour. Can they unlearn it?
Hard to break a bad habitI'm not really worried about it. I think it may be a genetic problem rather than diet and of course in the case of plucking a learned behaviour. Can they unlearn it?
