Savage chickens

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Always worth remembering they're descended from dinosaurs.

Yes - but enough about the BBKA, let's go back to discussing chickens.
I remember many years ago an article on the news about a farmer's wife who died after her chickens went for her, ruptured a varicose vein and she bled out.
I wandered up to the top of the garden this year and the run looked like an opencast site, on investigation it looked like a rat had moved up from the river and burrowed under the run, chickens had heard it, located the tunnel and had dug down to it and were busily following the tunnel back in hope of coming across old scaley!

 

[Wilco]

Did you know that it's illegal to release a grey squirrel once you have caught it? You have to humanely destroy it - drowning is not allowed. It's classed as an invasive species. People have been prosecuted so just be aware.
https://www.britishredsquirrel.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Grey-Squirrel-Best-Practice.pdf

Had forgotten the law had (rightly) changed... You're right.

 

[pargyle]

I know...sounds a bit brutal. I prefer an air rifle - less hands on and no chance of being bitten. One shot seems to do the trick instantly. Not sure there is any nice way of killing something, but they have stripped most of the bark from one of my young oak trees so let the battle commence!

With an air rifle it is quick - but they sense something is coming and you need to confine them at one end of the trap so they can't move - I made a set of 'fingers' out of plywood that slot through the mesh of the trap so that I can contain the squirrel at one end. Headshot is instant death ... body shot takes a a while for them to die and a second shot to the head is needed but it takes time to load with a single shot rifle - only happened once to me and it was why I made the 'fingers' so there was no chance of the critter moving. I hate killing things but we have a large population on the estate where I live and they are running out of natural places for a dray and we kept getting them invading our loft and they can be very destructive. Had to despatch a few but don't tell 'er indoors as she thinks I let them go ...

 

[Bluebell1985]

I've watched my chickens swallow a mouse whole.

They are in a large closed off enclosure so no birds can get in. I've read that once an injury starts (with blood seen) it draws out the pecking instinct in them and they'll peck and peck until there's not much left.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes - but enough about the BBKA, let's go back to discussing chickens.
I remember many years ago an article on the news about a farmer's wife who died after her chickens went for her, ruptured a varicose vein and she bled out.
I wandered up to the top of the garden this year and the run looked like an opencast site, on investigation it looked like a rat had moved up from the river and burrowed under the run, chickens had heard it, located the tunnel and had dug down to it and were busily following the tunnel back in hope of coming across old scaley!

Chicken Run.

 

[Taz]

Friends of ours have a few chickens & let me on their land to shoot rabbits,, made the mistake of leaving a rabbit id shot on the ground, they followed the blood triail back to the rabbit & had its eyes out & were going mad trying to get into the entrance wound

 

[Swarm]

I've watched my chickens swallow a mouse whole.

They are in a large closed off enclosure so no birds can get in. I've read that once an injury starts (with blood seen) it draws out the pecking instinct in them and they'll peck and peck until there's not much left.

It does, pity help the injured bird, I found a hen almost pulled inside out once.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Blimey there seem to be a lot of killer chickens out there. Mine roll over to have their tummies scratched and refuse anything live to eat.

 

[Ian123]

My mum went down to feed the chickens 1 evening, she bent down to put the bowl of food scraps down and the Cockerel went for her. It put a 2 inch gash directly under her eye. Needless to say the cockerel did not see out the night.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Needless to say the cockerel did not see out the night.

but there was probably enough left over for a curry?

 

[Ian123]

In fairness she was a great cook, if not a little 70s inspired. The cockerel ended up in a pie war time kids so not much went to waste! My older brothers employed the French cavalry sword technique.

 

[Midget Gem]

With an air rifle it is quick - but they sense something is coming and you need to confine them at one end of the trap so they can't move - I made a set of 'fingers' out of plywood that slot through the mesh of the trap so that I can contain the squirrel at one end. Headshot is instant death ... body shot takes a a while for them to die and a second shot to the head is needed but it takes time to load with a single shot rifle - only happened once to me and it was why I made the 'fingers' so there was no chance of the critter moving. I hate killing things but we have a large population on the estate where I live and they are running out of natural places for a dray and we kept getting them invading our loft and they can be very destructive. Had to despatch a few but don't tell 'er indoors as she thinks I let them go ...

Excellent idea - will definitely make one. Thanks.

 

[Midget Gem]

My mum went down to feed the chickens 1 evening, she bent down to put the bowl of food scraps down and the Cockerel went for her. It put a 2 inch gash directly under her eye. Needless to say the cockerel did not see out the night.

When my son was about 3, we were walking hand in hand and a cockerel ran up his back and attacked him. It too did not see out the night. When I served it up, my son asked "Is this the one that pecked me?" "Yes darling, eat up." Not a scrap was left!

 

[Erichalfbee]

My mum went down to feed the chickens 1 evening, she bent down to put the bowl of food scraps down and the Cockerel went for her. It put a 2 inch gash directly under her eye. Needless to say the cockerel did not see out the night.

Yes now cockerels are a different animal aren’t they. Even the little ones can be aggressive. Bit like people.

 

[Newbeeneil]

It does, pity help the injured bird, I found a hen almost pulled inside out once.

Yes I found a hen that had obviously had a prolapse while laying. The other hens had dragged her inside out! Thankfully she was dead when I found her.

 

[Swarm]

It's horrid, if they see the blood the poor victim is eaten alive. I disturbed a grass snake once and it made it's escape straight through the mesh and into the hens. It was hysterical seeing a dozen hens do a double take and then start running to get it. The snake does its own double take followed by a swift 90 degree turn back out of the run.
Roosters, I had a few you couldn't turn your back on they'd hit you in the back of your head, yet I had an Oxford Game who was a real friendly character.

 

[JamezF]

We generally keep a mixture of breeds, mostly because I just like the different colours of eggs. We currently have White Leghorns for white eggs, Marans for dark brown eggs and Cream Legbars for blue eggs. Occasionally a Marans/Cream Legbar cross for green eggs, too. The Leghorn cockerels are a bit flighty but otherwise have always been good natured. The Marans cockerels can be seriously hefty birds, but also seem quite docile. The Cream Legbar cockerels on the other hand, despite being of pretty average size, can be absolute bar stewards. They'll try to scrag you with their spurs as soon as you take your attention off them. I don't know why it always seems to be that breed that's so aggressive, but they're almost always the first into the freezer

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

The Cream Legbar cockerels on the other hand, despite being of pretty average size, can be absolute bar stewards. They'll try to scrag you with their spurs as soon as you take your attention off them. I don't know why it always seems to be that breed that's so aggressive,

James

When I got my first cockerel I did masses of research and that was one of the most consistent reports I read.I settled for a Vorwerk in the end. We lived in Cumbria then and the hens used to roam in the neighbours woodland. He used to shepherd them about clucking gently when he found something for them to eat. He slept in the undercroft at night as the neighbours complained about his early morning crowing. He never made the pot. He is buried in the hen run here.
I've had leg bar hens and they were OK. I had a hatch of cross Sumatra x Wyandotte that was mostly cockerels and we decided to keep one. He hated Stan and would always attack him but was fine with me...perhaps it's the fighting genes from the Sumatra

 

[Goran]

Our young hens are superbly terminating every stink bug they got in reach ( luckily they still don't lay, I wouldn't eat these eggs).. These weeks stink bugs in millions are trying to enter warmer places ( houses, barns, cars, places which are warmed by the sun). The stink bugs are now main pest in our agriculture, some predators which feed on them seems humans destroyed.. All the veggies and fruits bear the strike from it..

 

[blackcloud]

Yes I found a hen that had obviously had a prolapse while laying. The other hens had dragged her inside out! Thankfully she was dead when I found her.

When we lived next to the River Lodon we were always plagued by rats and I had a permanent trapping regime.I had a magpie caught in a No4 wire trap that was eaten alive by crows within an hour of the morning rounds.Mink were another source of collateral triggering.