Punkyrooster16
Chirping
- May 27, 2021
- 35
- 47
- 51
Our large adolescent pup got loose today and scared the daylights out of most of our hens (our 8-12 week olds and our Icelandics mostly ignore him, but our pullets that are close to laying and our hens run, and it turns into a whole chase game for him).
I know they are likely alive - he just sniffs them if he manages to corner them, plus I was chasing him during the entire debacle, so if he accidentally ran into one a bit too hard, I would have found it by now. We live next to about an acre of heavy forest on a steep incline, but it’s surrounded by fields, so they have to be in there somewhere.
We used to have a fox around but I’m fairly sure it’s long gone now that we have the dog (and between the dog, the yelling, and the pouring rain, I doubt if it’s decided today would be a good day to hunt - though I also doubt the hens would survive the night in there). Everyone has slowly trickled back over the past few hours, except for our 3 biggest hens and one particularly skittish pullet.
Is there anything I can do to encourage them to come back? I’m relatively sure they can find their way back (6 have come back since I started calling out to them, plus they often hang out at the edge of the forest so it won’t be entirely foreign to them). I’ve walked through as best I can, but it’s very slippery right now and I’m the only adult home with the kids until this evening, so I can’t risk going deep enough that I need help getting back (it wouldn’t be possible to get lost, but it would be easy to go far enough that I’d have trouble getting back).
I’ve been walking the most talkative hens along the forest line, encouraging the rooster to crow, and going out every hour to call them (they tend to calm down about the dog if I’m nearby). I’ve also walked the entire perimeter of the forest, and I’ve looked at a few vantage points to try and spot them with no luck, though several came back during that time, so they obviously found some good hiding spots. I’ve been calling out what I usually call out when I’m bringing them food/treats.
I’m feeling terribly guilty about the whole thing and my daughter is heartbroken. They normally come in a lot before dusk (the coop is under trees, so it’s a bit darker than most and they like to be able to see to get the best roosting spots), so I’m hopeful that will give them some extra time to find their way. I’d hate to lose 4 layers because my dog thought he could convince them to play with him, though. Is there anything else I can do? And does the rain factor in to all this in terms of their ability to find their way home?
tl;dr: how can I encourage my chickens hiding in a small but dense forested area to come back to the coop?
I know they are likely alive - he just sniffs them if he manages to corner them, plus I was chasing him during the entire debacle, so if he accidentally ran into one a bit too hard, I would have found it by now. We live next to about an acre of heavy forest on a steep incline, but it’s surrounded by fields, so they have to be in there somewhere.
We used to have a fox around but I’m fairly sure it’s long gone now that we have the dog (and between the dog, the yelling, and the pouring rain, I doubt if it’s decided today would be a good day to hunt - though I also doubt the hens would survive the night in there). Everyone has slowly trickled back over the past few hours, except for our 3 biggest hens and one particularly skittish pullet.
Is there anything I can do to encourage them to come back? I’m relatively sure they can find their way back (6 have come back since I started calling out to them, plus they often hang out at the edge of the forest so it won’t be entirely foreign to them). I’ve walked through as best I can, but it’s very slippery right now and I’m the only adult home with the kids until this evening, so I can’t risk going deep enough that I need help getting back (it wouldn’t be possible to get lost, but it would be easy to go far enough that I’d have trouble getting back).
I’ve been walking the most talkative hens along the forest line, encouraging the rooster to crow, and going out every hour to call them (they tend to calm down about the dog if I’m nearby). I’ve also walked the entire perimeter of the forest, and I’ve looked at a few vantage points to try and spot them with no luck, though several came back during that time, so they obviously found some good hiding spots. I’ve been calling out what I usually call out when I’m bringing them food/treats.
I’m feeling terribly guilty about the whole thing and my daughter is heartbroken. They normally come in a lot before dusk (the coop is under trees, so it’s a bit darker than most and they like to be able to see to get the best roosting spots), so I’m hopeful that will give them some extra time to find their way. I’d hate to lose 4 layers because my dog thought he could convince them to play with him, though. Is there anything else I can do? And does the rain factor in to all this in terms of their ability to find their way home?
tl;dr: how can I encourage my chickens hiding in a small but dense forested area to come back to the coop?
