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Free range cockerelsRSS feed

Posted: Thursday 11 October, 2007

by Rosemary at 7:34pm in Poultry Comments closed

We're learning all the time here - sometimes by accident rather than design.

When I fed the animals this morning, I failed to secure the door on the pen holding the three young cockerels properly. As luck (good as it turned out, but bad at first discovery) would have it, the pen is on a slope so that the door swung open. When I went out about 10am, I thought Hobbes had shrunk then realised that Hobbes' "boys" were out.

Now, I was concerned about this on two counts (well, three if being considered a dope was a concern for me); firstly, I was worried that Hobbes would harm them - he intimidates them dreadfully by strutting round the pen and crowing at them and secondly, I was worried that they wouldn't find their way back at night. I shouldn't have.

Hobbes. after an initial flurry, ignored them so long as they stayed away from his harem (which they did). I actually managed to catch them in the afternoon and put them back in the pen. These were the chicks that I spent quite a lot of time handling when they were young. As soon as I did, Hobbes was back terrorising them. All three were piled on top of one another in the corner of the pen. So I decided to let them out and hope they would have the sense to go back to bed there. As soon as they came out the pen, Hobbes ignored them and they, him.

Tonight, all three were in the correct accommodation - their batchelor pad. So tomorrow, they can get out again. They'll not be around for much longer, so it's good to see them free ranging in the meantime.

So, lessons in poultry behaviour today! Wonder what we'll learn tomorrow.

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