This afternoon I heard a stressed LOUD bokking from one of my backyard flock. Of course she was tucked around the side of the house without windows. I opened the back door to investigate and was greeted by four of my five girls. They were all silent and standing upright and alert. I dashed through them to the other side of the house where I could still hear Dumpling screaming. She was running around a bush, flapping and hollering. When she saw me she ran to me and then back towrds the fence. Then I saw why she was so distressed. Two of my neighbor's cats were taking advantage of a baby bird that had just left the nest. I have popped both cats with a pellet gun for being in my yard and stalking my birds. They froze when they saw me. Then one cat grabbed the baby and ran. The other vanished. As soon as they disappeared Dumpling all but jumped in my arms, quiet and distraught. I was very proud of Dumpling for trying to call for help. A handful of blueberries helped calm her down. Does anyone else have a brave chicken?
I have a lot of brave chickens, especially my big red hen, the alfa, and my tiny bantam rooster who attacks buckets. However in danger, all of my chickens would alert me.
I was busy cleaning the kitchen one day and heard my rooster crowing and sounding off with the predator calls,I rushed outside only to be greeted by my dog being out of his pin,so basically my chickens tattled on him for being out.
What a good girl she is!! Its sad that you weren't able to save the baby. Your girl is very brave indeed! Give her a hug for me.
Just this morning my flock of ducks - I also have chickens, turkeys, geese, and a peacock - all started gabbling together quite loudly. I know this means something is disturbing them. I stepped outside and all 20-some Cayugas were facing the same direction, standing tall as they quacked. The peacock was on the roof, making quick "Braaak!" calls. The neighbor's cat was in the yard. I chased him out. As I moved across the back of the house, "encouraging" Rusty to high-tail it home, the peacock ran across the roof in line with our progress, making his short, barking calls. The chickens will do the same "Come out and take care of this" cackles. It just so happened the cat was on the side of the property where the ducks generally hang out together. The peacock is a recent addition; a little over a month ago, he simply showed up in my yard. He's made himself quite at home.
What a wonderful girl! So glad that she was ok, though it's too bad about the baby bird. My chickens are good alarms, but can sometimes freak out about things as minor as one hen hogging a nest box. Ah well. It just occurred to me that my chickens will alert us to strange dogs and cats in our yard, but remain uninterested in our own cat and dogs. I assume it's because they can tell the difference, which is pretty impressive I think, being well...chickens. Our own dogs and cats would never hurt our chickens, but I can't say the same for those of neighbors!
What a sweet story! Sad about the little bird though. I had a feisty broody hen once, who beat up a hawk when it tried to grab one of her chicks. Another broody hen I had at the time lost a chick to the same hawk the week before, so I was very proud of my girl for protecting her chicks like that. I'll never forget what she looked like when she walked away from that scene, shaking her feathers and looking all "That'll learn ya. Think you can mess with MY chicks?" And that hawk was at least twice her size!
I forgot to mention Dumpling is only 4.5 months old. To have such a young bird that just began laying put on a convincing injured mama act like that... A very gird girl indeed. To add to the sadness, there was a second baby in the front yard. My neighbor's calico was hiding behind the tires of their van. It was just a matter of time. BTW, when I shot my neighbor's cats it was with her permission. Thankfully she grew up on a farm and understands the whole "pet in yours/predator in mine" concept. I wish I could say my dogs weren't a threat. One isn't. The other dug Colonel Sanders out from under the shed and used the poor bird as a squeaky toy. Her wing was torn off. Thankfully my husband had the presence of mind to grab an axe to dispatch her quickly. I'd rather it had been used on the dog. He's a... he's mentally challenged. I've had more problems with him than I care to think about. He is now a chained up outside dog. He's got access to half the yard and I no longer require him muzzled. I think he's beginning to get the message. How can I tell? The chickens walk right past him and eat from his dish and sip his water. To top it off they've made a new dirt bath right next to his bowls. He'll just lay there and sigh a few feet away. I'm enjoying these stories quite a bit. The random peacock, the hawk fighting hen, the tattle tale divas. Keep 'em coming!
I have a big roo who who is very very mean but loves his girls a lot and would sound the alarm any time . Saved them from a fox once because he sounded the alarm once.Congrats on your brave hen.
Hooray for Dumpling! We had a game cock, not sure what kind he was unfortunately, who protected his flock from a Red Tailed hawk. Despite the run being covered, the hawk had somehow gotten in. He may have been in there for hours, I dont know. None of my birds had a mark on them; the ladies were all in their coop and Bill had removed nearly all of the hawk's breast feathers.