Nervous chicken mama

[Ponyiqandhens2]

Ok, the saga of cicely , my spangled old english game bantam that hatched 6 chicks..we have reintegrated to the flock, they free ranged yesterday and her flock took right up withthe rooster standing guard or checking when theflock was in the trees..

So, the flock roost in on my concrete 14x18( i think) back porch.. which has different level nesting boxes, cat sleeping boxes, multiple cat and bird food stations, multiple water stations of assorted types,heat lamps secured with chain for the cats, transitional small coop( very heavy requires 4 people to move , xxl dog crate with roosts attached to 3ft high dog yard ( 4 x5 ) that my teen orpingtons roost in..secure feed cans, security lightson 2sides, 20x20 dog kennel run ( concrete 6 ft fence) 3 dog houses 1dog ) anyway has a small solar light on oneside, securitylight facing house and heat lamp set on 2 houses) banana trees and bamboo all around..

So i leavefor work at 445..get up at 330..the flock follows my schedule , all of them..so i release the teens andmy flock always come to see me before i leave..cicely lost her mind today ( she is in asmall dog crate with both chicken wire and hardware cloth.. and her flock wouldntleave so i let them out.. she attacked teen roosterthat gotto close yesterday ( he wasjust walking by) the cats dont bother them or any of them in fact yesterday one escaped when i was trying to catch for the night and i found it with one of the cats just hanging out trying to hide under it..to get away from me.. i know therisks free ranging like i do..but it has worked for almost a year..normally i let them out at 10 when i go home ..but i have to go into town for an appointment and wont get home until much later ( 30 miles each way) so..i just havetp let her instincts and flock dynamics protect them

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Hoping for the best, then - maybe Cicely just needed to reinforce that she is the Boss Lady over that teen rooster, and all will be good today.

I wonder, though.... why do you have to catch them for the night? Won't they go to roost on their own at dusk? If they've been doing it for a year, they should well trained to their roosts. If they're not bothered by the cats, then what's preventing them?

 

[Ponyiqandhens2]

Hoping for the best, then - maybe Cicely just needed to reinforce that she is the Boss Lady over that teen rooster, and all will be good today.

I wonder, though.... why do you have to catch them for the night? Won't they go to roost on their own at dusk? If they've been doing it for a year, they should well trained to their roosts. If they're not bothered by the cats, then what's preventing them?

Her bitties dont roost yet at 3 weeks, so she is hunkering down where she feels safe. My 4-6 month orpingtons i got not quite 2 months ago and they were living in a rabbit hutch converted to a brooder/ young stock stage raised coop..they found outside overwelming but they generally go to the locked in area with low roost but when things change they get confused