Topic: Kerfuffle in the chicken run - strange happenings.

[Old bird]

Some of you may remember that I kept a few ex-battery chickens up my lotty and that a couple of years ago November time I had 4 stolen from a locked henhouse and locked chicken run.

Well the day before yesterday I was up the lottie shutting down the tunnel (I stopped keeping chickens for the while as it was unsafe for them and also as i work full time I just didn't have the time for them until retirement!1) anyway I was last up there and checking round noticed a chicken at the far end running about the lottie.  thinking it was an "escapee" from another lottie members flock decided to see if I could catch and return it.  This other hen keeper has wire fence all round and fenced over the top.

I decided to call over to the bird who was 100 yards away and lo and behold said chicken walked towards me. My old girls were let out and called back into their cage to get to fresh grass and to clear the bugs in certain areas.  (these other  chickens are normally very wild and not let out or treated very kindly) chook stopped at their wire fence and was getting excited as she could see there was corn on the ground.

I found a tiny hole in the roof area and popped her through and she immediately guzzled large amounts.
Yesterday evening I went up the lottie and hear a huge kerfuffle going on in the chicken run and saw this poor hen that I had replaced yesterday being beaten up by the 15 strong other birds.

this morning I went up and found the owner and said what had happened and he said that he had seen one round the place and anyway I said that it was possible that it may have been one my "stolen" birds being dumped as it was no longer laying.  He said that this bird was unusually tame and surplus to numbers and that I should take it with me!

Poor chook - she has been severely beaten by the other birds - but I am not sure that she isn't one of my stolen ones.  I have put her in the house that I have at home with my other chook that was rescued at the time of the thefts.  I will see how they got on - but how odd!  Don't you think?  She is not at all afraid of me or the fact that I popped her into my car and left her sitting in the back.

O B
 :o

[taurus]

Animals no the folks with kind hearts. nuff said. ;)

[Ragdoll Lady]

She knew you would look after her :) Maybe she was one of your stolen flock. I hope she recovers from her beating and gets on with your own chook, just think they could be company for each other.

[darkbrowneggs]

I reckon she was one of your stolen ones, and now no longer needed dumped back at the allotments.

I sold some sheep and about 2 years later went to buy them back again (they had bred loads of lambs for him by then)  Standing in the middle of an orchard with about 30 or so sheep milling wildly about, I did my sheepy-sheepy call, and my original 8 girls stopped and turned to the centre to start walking towards me.

I don't believe in anthropomorphising animals, but neither do I underestimate their abilities and memory.

All the best
and enjoy having her back
Sue

[cambourne7]

aw thats so cute (sheep and chicken storys) hope the chicken recovers sounds like its had a bit of a horrid time. Hard to tell if its one of yours but it is now :)