FluffyButtBabies
Songster
I have a small backyard flock of 4 hens and 2 roos. They stay in a tractor for most of the day, but I watch them run around for an hour in the yard before nightfall. They've all been raised together, so even though the numbers are small the boys get along very nicely. One of the Roosters is a Polish, and the other is a young Faverolle. All of my birds are INCREDIBLY sweet and mild-mannered, and they love cuddles and such. The reason I have roosters really are to a) have chicks and b) protection. Well yesterday they experienced a very frightening hawk attack. The thing had been stalking them in a tree with perfect camouflage, and then swooped down two feet away from me to snatch one of the hens. Of course I grabbed a stick and ran after it screaming, and my hen managed to escape unscathed. But here's what I don't get: my boys did nothing at all! None of them did, really. I would have expected at least one of them to see the hawk, or at least alert the girls when it attacked. But the girls just ran into the open grass (which is stupid), and the boys stood there dumbfounded. Granted, this is their first real attack and they sounded the alarm after I shood them all in the coop, but it was a little late for that. What I'm wondering is, will they get any braver as protectors? Will they be able to spot incoming danger at all? I've been clipping the Polish's feathers to help him see, but I've rendered him hopeless. And the other is really sweet and loves cuddles, has a crossbeak, and just seems too innocent and tiny to help. They're all bantams, so they aren't really the strongest/biggest. Will the hens at least learn to fend for themselves? Thanks for the advice!