Mothering › Forums › Natural Family Living › The Mindful Home › Country Living/ Off the Grid › So I've got this hen with an independent streak...
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

So I've got this hen with an independent streak...

post #1 of 9
4/30/10 at 10:43pm
Thread Starter 
I have 4 hens that were in a fairly roomy pen all last year. This year we got an electric chicken fence so they'd have more room. The hens have figured out how to fly over the fence and free range and then return in the evening. That's fine. Except one of the hens has decided that she prefers to sleep in a tree on a branch about 20 ft up. She's been doing that for about a week now. So I'm wondering what will happen when the weather gets cold and it snows...
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 9
4/30/10 at 11:35pm
Would you consider clipping their wings? We've had to do that since foxes started eating all of our chickens
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 9
5/2/10 at 12:55am
Thread Starter 
I'm not really worried about them being out because they come back in. I'm wondering about the chicken who likes to roost in the tree. I wonder if she'll return to sleeping in the coop when the weather gets cold.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 9
5/2/10 at 9:38am
I like that hen. That's one cool hen!
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 9
5/2/10 at 12:53pm
Thread Starter 
I agree with you. I respect her a lot.

But I wonder what will happen when the weather gets cold at night. Does anyone have experience with chickens who sleep outside?
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 9
5/2/10 at 6:26pm
My friend had one chicken that did that. Eventually...she disappeared.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 9
5/3/10 at 10:49am
She probably won't last until the weather gets cold. Every time I get a rogue chicken who decides to roost up in a tree where we can't reach...eventually we just find a pile of feathers nearby. (And I live in a suburb!)

If she does survive maybe she'll decide to go in when it's cold. I have had a few do that before, except they reassigned themselves to the garage instead of the coops, which turned out to be a mistake because now my (detached) garage is very...well...it needs some spring cleaning, that's for sure. Never again am I allowing chickens in it.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 9
5/3/10 at 3:53pm
I'd clip their wings for their own safety.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 9
5/12/10 at 1:33pm
I'd clip too.
All of the chickens I've known that tend to strut to their own drum, unfortunately died (or disappeared) pretty young~ compared to the rest of the flock.
But, that girl sounds like one cool chick. I wonder what she thinks about up there on her own?
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Country Living/ Off the Grid
Mothering › Forums › Natural Family Living › The Mindful Home › Country Living/ Off the Grid › So I've got this hen with an independent streak...