Leave them alone and they'll come home

[Smart Red]

. . . wagging their tails behind them.

I'm not Bo Peep and this isn't about sheep, however.

Last night I took Gypsy and a friend ice skating. I asked Maverick to please lock up the chickens as we left in full sun and didn't expect to be home until after 9:00 pm. Otherwise, I don't ask the family to do what I consider my job. We got home and I sat with the Grands for a while before deciding to go to bed. There, in full night-time mode, I asked if the chickens got to bed.

This was the first time that Maverick 'forgot' to get out to put the chickens to bed. Not good! The wind had blown both doors on the Garden Shed closed so Nesco and Poachy couldn't get to bed through the front and the 16 babies were locked out of their pen in the back. Only the chicken coop had remained open since I hook and eye it during the day.

I looked all over, but couldn't find Nesco or Poachie. Those big birds are usually hard to hide and Nesco will cackle me out even in the dark for shirking my duties and getting him and his girl to bed safely. The babies were all roosting on old fencing outside that I had removed from their pen once they were able to forage for themselves during the day. I had to take each bird, screaming and flapping, off their roost and into the shed one by one. Of course, it was too dark for them to find roosting sites in the shed, so I also had to set them up on a make-shift roost for the night.

Flashlight in mouth, 1,2,3 . . . . . 11,12,13. I got them up and in the coop. Two Rocks and a RIR were missing. I looked about. Nothing up my trees! I called. No one answered so I shut the Garden Shed and hoped the trio would be safe for the night. I haven't seen any signs of predators around, but one night out in the cruel world could be the time they would make themselves known.

Then I went to lock up the chicken coop. Surprise! There were the three babies, one roosting with the big girls, one in a nesting box, and one on the floor close to Poachie. And the biggest surprise, Nesco was up on the roost in the coop not all that far from his nemesis, Thing 1. I left them where they were, but got out very early this morning to let the birds out of the coop and out of danger from the bigger girls.

All are happily ranging now. Everyone ended up safe and sound. Crisis averted.

 

[Nyboy]

That was lucky, glade it had a happy ending

 

[Carol Dee]

I am sure Maverick felt bad. Happy all are safe and accounted for.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

I'm glad you got everything taken care of. We've been through similar situations. Our situations are usually self-inflicted.

We have had a terrible time with chickens this spring and summer. 16 of my best layers were either partially eaten or totally disappeared without a trace. And 9 young ones vanished one night last month. All we have left is Mr. Roo, Matilda and Jessica. We went from 14 eggs a day down to 11 eggs a week all in three months time. I'm planning to get some of the fertilized eggs into the incubator soon. But I have several big projects going nowadays.

 

[Smart Red]

Oh, my goodness. That is not good to hear. Did they disappear from the yard or from their coop?

After reading about all the careful attention to locks and protection on BYC I have always thought my security to be lacking something. I haven't had any predators or signs of predators trying to get at my chickens. . . . . yet. (knock on desk)

On the other hand, all the birds are free-ranging thru the day without protection. We've seen fox, coons, coyotes, cats, hawks, owls, weasels, and the occasional -- but rare -- dog running free without incident to my birds. I usually credit the fact that we are almost always home and I check on the birds often throughout the day to be the reason we've not had problems. I doubt letting them out to free-range would be in my plans if I worked all day like 'normal' folks.

Is one of those big projects you have going on building or reinforcing a coop suitable for Fort Knox and the golden goose? It would certainly be on my mind. However, I know you're just getting the home place into the shape you and yours want it to be. Priorities, priorities, priorities! Ya gotta do what you gotta do when you can; while other things get pushed aside for a while.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

No immediate plans for coop improvement . . . yet. But I have had visions of a large "hoop house" type of chicken tractor to tow around in the back forty.

One time we had a hawk attack that took several of our ladies. Then about 6 months later we think it was a mink that took several more. But we also had a mystery disappearance of some of our chickens with absolutely no evidence whatsoever. No feathers, no body parts, no nuthin. There are usually some feathers to show a struggle but not that time.

My newest project is converting our gigantic 24 ft. x 12 ft. x 8 ft. deep cistern into a root cellar/wine cellar. Two weeks ago I used a neighbors track hoe to dig a 20 ft. x 10 ft. x 10 ft. deep hole in the ground along side the cistern wall. Man! That's a big dirt pile! Now I'm chopping the door hole in the wall and installing lights and a sump pump. The walls of the cistern sweat and the moisture causes wet floor. I plan to build the forms for concrete steps down to the door level. A drain will be needed at the bottom of the steps, too. Maybe I should take some pictures.

Dad had wanted to do this project ever since they got city water in 2001 but just never got around to it. Those round-to-it's are hard to find out here in the boonies. I'm having that trouble myself these days. Too many dang DIY projects!!! Dad was and I am born DIYers and wouldn't dream of having someone else do the jobs around here. Oh dear!

 

[Smiles Jr.]

@Smart Red - oops, I almost forgot . . . the hawk attack was out in the field behind a barn. The mink got into the coop during the early morning hours after I opened the little coop door. And the mystery attack (if that is what it was) was in the closed chicken run during the day.