Hey.... Lets keep Chickens..!

sunflower76

Hi RacyRed,

My original girls were free rangers from a farm and they've never really done it but my 6 ex-batts will walk up and down the side of the run dragging their beaks along it to make a noise if they are in and think they should be out playing. I can only yassume it was some sort of escape from boredom that started it but three months on they still do it so not sure if they will grow out of it or not.

I have tried to give them other options and they have a whole cabbage, celery and other big veg to attack as well as hanging food, fat balls and similar to go at but they just seem happy to be playing the fence like a musical instrument! Luckily they aren't in all that much - just if I need to be out away from home.

spirit

RacyRed wrote: »

The new rescue girls have been with me for almost a week now :j They are from the enriched cages but have even fewer feathers than my ex battery cage girls did, poor little things.

One of them is behaving a bit strangely, from the moment she arrived she has been almost constantly pecking at the hen house, especially the metal hinges. It is hard to get close to her yet to get a good look at her beak, but there is nothing obvious I can see.

Have any of you seen this sort of behaviour before or have any clue why she might be doing this?

Thanks

yes, one of my ex batts when I first had them would be constantly pecking at the door hinges . They are attracted to shiny things and I assume they've not encountered them before. She soon settled down with the other distractions going on and stopped it after a couple of weeks.

RacyRed

Thanks spirit, that is reassuring.

She is certainly the most curious of the new bunch. They are in a pen with what I think are a pair of dutch bantams I was given. Banty Boy has tiny flecks of white on the tips of his feathers, pecking girl was checking them out as well, the boy stood perfectly still looking as if he was loving having her check him over

RacyRed

sunflower76 wrote: »

Hi RacyRed,

My original girls were free rangers from a farm and they've never really done it but my 6 ex-batts will walk up and down the side of the run dragging their beaks along it to make a noise if they are in and think they should be out playing. I can only yassume it was some sort of escape from boredom that started it but three months on they still do it so not sure if they will grow out of it or not.

I have tried to give them other options and they have a whole cabbage, celery and other big veg to attack as well as hanging food, fat balls and similar to go at but they just seem happy to be playing the fence like a musical instrument! Luckily they aren't in all that much - just if I need to be out away from home.

Musical hens! :rotfl::rotfl:

I hope mine don't cotton on to that one Sunflower, so far it is the hinges that have really attracted her (and Banty Boy's white flecks) I've scattered a bit of shiny crushed oyster shell around the run to see if that attracts her too.

spirit

If you have sparkly rings/necklace/watch etc they will go for those too!

RacyRed

spirit wrote: »

If you have sparkly rings/necklace/watch etc they will go for those too!

Oh great, bling-bling chooks

Shortie

Gosh, I get my first chooks (ex-batts) this coming Saturday! I have the run up and built, and food, oyster shell (have also started saving egg shells to crush), eating trough, water thingie, poultry spice.... OH is getting the hay for me this week. It's going to be a busy day as I had already booked a birthday party for my eldest at a farm, and people are coming to ours for a BBQ afterwards, but it'll all happen!

Then I can sit back and get to know the girls a bit hopefully on Sunday if they let me anywhere near them

Oh, and I now have 8 coming instead of 5 so have had to think of 3 more names... was thinking of adding in Wetherwax, Ogg and Tiff but that's starting to sound just silly now :rotfl:

Gigervamp

Shortie, get hubby to buy straw not hay. Hay can carry stuff which causes respiratory illnesses.

You must be getting very excited! Once you've got them, you'll wonder how you ever lived without them!

spirit

Gigervamp wrote: »

Shortie, get hubby to buy straw not hay. Hay can carry stuff which causes respiratory illnesses.

^ that :T

don't forget to get a garden chair and spend time just sitting watching them exploring their new world. It's very, very rewarding.

Shortie

Gigervamp wrote: »

Shortie, get hubby to buy straw not hay. Hay can carry stuff which causes respiratory illnesses.

You must be getting very excited! Once you've got them, you'll wonder how you ever lived without them!

Doh! I meant straw and typed hay... But thanks for saying it still xx

Yeah I'm really looking forward to them. I had chooks years ago until Mr FOx got them one night and I lost heart / felt guilty so we didn't replace them. The boys (nearly 9, and 4 and a half) are really excited to meet them too