worried about hen being alone, please help

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Howdy neighbor, this is Brian not Lesa.

I am sorry to say it is either the fox or the chicken. One is going to go if you want to free range. A single bird is not going to survive in Upstate unless you heat the coop. But I think your first priority is to get the fox then you can get more birds. I wouldn't let the bird out until you deal with the fox. A dog is a good deterrent for a fox but you have to make sure the dog is kept from the chicken or the same result will happen.

Good luck on your dilemma.

Yes! Good call!!! Get the fox
or make yourself a chicken fort knox!

Good job Brian!

 

[Trishkabob]

Thanks all for your input. Brian, I know we have a problem if it was a fox. we found a bunch of feathers right out in the open and now think it was a hawk....not that that is much better. Our dog has been sick but can be outside again as he usually is.
We have put netting over the run and will make the pen bigger so as to compensate for not having the run of our yard. And will let her out only when we are outside.
Also, we acted quickly to get her some friends. I am getting 2 or 3 (to be decided tonight) young hens, about her age, from another BYC person who has more than she wants. she, kindly, wants to give them to us and just keep her informed on how they are settling in and getting along with Lorna and pass it forward when we can. We have exchanged a lot of info about health issues and such.
so we are figuring out how to keep them separate for a while and then introduce and merge them as soon as we can. Lorna has been keeping close to us since Alice was taken on wed. cold was definitely one of our big concerns. We have been lucky in that regard so far
( are you near us? Saratoga area?)but it will be cold very soon. Our henhouse is small which helps but we have our fingers crossed that the new ones and she can get along without too much pecking.
Wish us luck (and some wisdom).

 

[featherz]

good luck! As you know, I live pretty near you so let me know if you need any help. I have one fort knox coop we built out of a kid's giant wood playhouse and another 'shed coop' that has an open top run with criscrossed wire to hopefully deter the hawks. So far our chickens have been staying inside most of the time. Spoiled ladies!

 

[Lesa]

DH Brian here...

Trish, you have to look for the tracks. The fox may have left some foot prints but the hawk will not show anything unless it is snow covered outside. Then you might see some wing fluttering in the snow. Unfortunately when a bird gets attacked it sheds feathers all over the place.

We have a lot of red tails in our area. Iit is better if you have a flock of birds then just a few when it comes to hawks. Hens don't look up, and we can't have roos that do, so having more birds increases the chance that one will see the hawk come in to perch. I don't know what language they use but we have seen it more than once where they will all make a run for the coop. However we did loose two to a hawk that went into the sun-room (adjoining room to the coop) after the hens. We put a metal lawn chair in front of the door to the sun room and haven't lost any since (keeping our fingers crossed).