Shouldn't my pullets *try* to defend themselves or am I expecting too

[lady chicken whisperer]

I dont know how good it is to actually keep a dog around your chickens. Unless your in a completely fenced, predator proof yard. I lost my favorite roo to a fox in the middle of the day. Our dog comes around the pen when we are out there and the roo would always go after her. Roo probably saw the fox, thought dog and went after it..........not the smartest thing.....

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Basically, it would be like asking you to defend yourself against a grizzly bear, with no weapons, just your bare hands.

 

[GoodEgg]

Interesting ... I was expecting my pullets to "defend" themselves a bit too.

Actually, some of them do, somewhat. They will peck and chase the cats, and sometimes the ducks. I might have "trained" them a bit by being with them and always chasing off any other animal that threatened or mistreated them (loudly and flapping my arms for emphasis, LOL, wonder what they neighbors think?

). I was hoping the chickens would "learn" and it seems some of them have.

I have about a half-dozen pullets who will go after cats or ducks. And a few days ago a strange cat came into the yard, and some of my braver girls formed a semi-circle around him and there was a stand-off going on when I discovered what the fuss was about. I don't know what happened before that, or what the cat or the chickens would have done.

I AM hoping my cockerels will learn. That's why I included a few. But that little jap banty cockerel is my favorite of all, so I hope he doesn't get himself killed.

I guess I grew up around a few vicious roos and knew a few broody hens too ... I remembered chickens as rather fearsome creatures that had ME intimidated anyway!

I just hope the fences keep out dogs and I can hear when they need protecting. And I hope I can get a useful dog trained up for them someday.

trish

 

[Zenbirder]

While I have never actually seen a hen defend herself, I have seen evidence. We have a pesky sharp-shinned hawk who makes runs at the hens. The hawk is half the size of a hen, but one RIR shook a few loose feathers off her back one day after he hit her. We run it off, and so does the dog, but it is an ongoing problem. I always run when the hens squack "Hawk" and go try to help. I came around the building one day just as the sharpie was flying off from one of my BR. when I went to check her over she had several hawk feathers stuck to her toes. It was at leat a week before the sharpie tried another run on the girls!

 

[wynedot55]

hens wont defend themselves.thats up to you to defend them.now some roosters will stand an fight.but they rarely survive an attack.

 

[GoodEgg]

That's cool to hear, Zenbirder. I don't know if mine would ever do that ... LOL one of my partridge rock banty cockerels dodged a vicious dragonfly earlier ...

But today the girls were out in force against the cats. The little boy cat (who's not so little anymore) LOVES to pester and chase the ducks and chickens. He'll wrestle with the ducks, and has tackled a banty on a couple of occasions.

Today he took on some of the standard pullets. Two of them decided they weren't going for that nonsense at ALL. One was a RIR and the other a BA. They chased him all over the place and kept pecking at him (though I don't think they ever hit him). He likes to stare down other animals, but the RIR got the better of him and stared him down, and he took off running.

He decided after that the ducks were safer ... they will roll on the grass and wrestle with him. I think the drakes are actually serious, they just can't do any damage so he doesn't realize that.

Now, a dog is another matter. When the chihuahua pup on the other side of the fence yapped at them, they all froze in the shadows of their trees.

I think I just can never leave in the daytime again, unless my chicken-sitter is here, LOL.

trish

 

[picklespickles]

they are prey animals. even a rooster who may normally be very aggressive will act the same way if he knows it's his time. i find that the biggest predators are neighborhood animals, not wild ones. my goats were attacked recently and it wasn't coyotes though i find their scat on the road in front of my house but roaming dogs.

i am lucky because most of mine (though not all) can fly and will head to the tree if something happens. the ones that can't, though, will hide their head like an ostrich, poor things. you really do have to do your best to protect them. it's not in their nature to fight. mine free range, but i keep my yard protected.

if you can't put the fencing down under ground, at least put heavy rocks all along the bottom (a tough job but worth it in the end) to help keep dogs from digging under. i had to block off one of my gates with rocks at the bottom from roaming dogs climbing through. didnt' want to do it, but the alternative was horrible.

if you can't figure out something that works (every environment is different) then you may have to go with a coop. you can give them a large fenced in yard attached to the coop as well so they still get to run around.

dogs and cats can't be let to chase chickens ever. it's true that they don't mean to kill them (though sometimes they do) but that's just why you can't let them.

at least you're learning now at the beginning!