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| aren't they sweet? They are in their Rubbermaid box, all settled down. Louise stretched her head out to look and see what I was doing. Just closing the door, Louise. Settle down! Can you see how subdued Thelma seems?  See the black chicken in the tree? There are still two of them. They eat all my chicken's food! Drink their water! I open the hen's pen gate every morning and put food in there. They eat for a bit and then run out into the yard. Several times during the day, I find them eating at their own pace. NOW, the black hens go in and eat. It is hard enough for me to get enough food for my own two! The black chickens are here every morning. Tonight, this was 7:45, and they were still in my yard. All day long they are at my back door, in the hen pen, just annoying me. The neighbors who own them are the only ones in the neighborhood who have a right to complain about my chickens. So, I don't want to even nicely ask them to keep the hens at home. I warned the mother that the hens were escaping. Like I said, she is just disgusted with the hens even being there. The mother who lives back there does not want them. Neither do I. I don't know if they are hens or roosters. The son does not care for them; he just wants them. He had two huge red roosters in pens and got rid of them, so no more crowing in the morning. Then, he got a dozen of these little black chicks. He got rid of all but two of them--the bane of my existence right now. Where are the raccoons when I need them? I would be horrified if my hens got in another yard. But, they are not concerned. If I take them like she suggested, I would try to catch them in a trap and take them, now my property, to someone else. What would you do now? |
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight
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If you decide to take them/trap them, once you catch them, try trimming the flight feathers of one wing.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww25ev.htm
If you're feeding them anyway, you should at least get the eggs, and if the boy comes looking for them and takes them home, at least they shouldn't be able to come back to your yard for a few months.
Wendy,
ReplyDeleteThat is a good idea. I can always assume they are mine since she said to keep them. I wonder if a deadfall trap is in my capabilities...lol. I hate to use the live trap because if I catch them late or early, the raccoon would tear them to pieces through the bars! Thanks.
Why not just close them in your hen pen when they're in stealing food? Then you just need a friend to hold them and a pair of scissors.
DeleteWendy,
DeleteThat's a great idea! However, if I could get my hands on them, I would be tempted to relocate them! Several times, I closed myself in the pen with them to try to catch them. They run behind the table and can fly over me.
The first time I tried to catch one, it flew straight up into the wire roof. I felt sorry for it because it was stunned when it fell. If these are caught, I will have to get someone more physically capable than exbf or me. sigh...maybe a net on a pole?
Silly me for suggesting it, but what about asking animal control or the SPCA for help with the catching?
ReplyDeleteSue,
ReplyDeleteOther than these pesky chickens, these are good neighbors--quiet! No loud music! No cursing a blue streak any time of day and night! No noisy dogs! Not a dozen cats! Since I have chickens, I hate to get on the bad side of people who could cause my hens a problem. I will just try to talk to them one more time.
Right now, I just close my hens up with their food. They don't have a snack and leave the pen for the grass. They eat more of their food. So, if the black chickens get the leavings, my hens get more of what I provide. I just have to deprive them of "grass time."
However, your suggestion could be the solution, just my very last resort.
I'm sorry. I don't understand how you can be so angry towards some chickens. The poor things must be hungry and thirsty to risk interloping on an established flock. They are clearly not cared for, and all they need is some food/water, and a safe place to sleep. Why not welcome them, and not have so much attitude about them. They didn't ask to be raised by people who do not care for them. They're chickens...with little teeny pea brains, and with one goal "eat and survive". Have some compassion, Linda.
ReplyDeleteMeetsy,
ReplyDeleteI am absolutely certain that the woman who lives there feeds them and waters them everyday. She commented on that. My two hens are not exactly a flock to be reckoned with. The black chickens wait and eat when my hens are not eating. Then, when my hens come back,as hens will do, there is no food. They sleep in their own yard. They don't want to stay overnight. I have plenty of compassion or I would have harmed them. However, it is my job to take care of my hens, and I struggle financially and physically to do so. I gave away a kitten I wanted, found her a new home, because my resources--money and physical capabilities are limited. I cannot take on more.