[plumseverywhere]

we were moving the run and house earlier (because I've been slipping down the steep ramp that led to their old housing in the ice) but one of my black rocks made a bid for freedom and slipped into the thicket at the end of our garden. we've spent 3 hours trying to shoo her out and catch her but to no avail and then darkness set in.

I feel terrible - normally they are easy to transfer and move and this caught me off guard.  Its apparantly going to be a cold one where we live and I know there are foxes living in our field next to the garden. have been out in the dark twice now but as she is black (and quite probably roosting) I'm not sure how productive that will be now?

not sure why I am bothering everyone with this but felt the need to talk to others who might understand!

[doganjo]

Every shepherd looks for the lost lamb.   I do hope you go out just one more time with a strong torch, and that you find her.  It is a cold night here in Clackmannan

[HappyHippy]

Of course you're upset - who wouldn't be ? The thought of anything being out in the cold with the awful weather is always a major concern. Hopefully she's smart enough to find a wee sheltered hidey hole and stay there til the morning. Good luck  

[jameslindsay]

I know you are probably blaming yourself but you have done all you can do. Fingers crossed she is there waiting for you in the morning, let us know.

[plumseverywhere]

Thank you all for your supportive words, I really appreciate it.

have just been back out with a very strong torch and crawled under brambles etc but to no avail.

will be looking for her first thing tomorrow with a tub of sweetcorn!

thanks again

Lisa

[Rosemary]

Did you find her? They're hardier than we give credit for, especially the Black Rocks, in my experience. They are wearing a duvet, after all, and wild birds survive. If she's evaded any predators, hopefully she'll turn up this morning.

[plumseverywhere]

hello 

she did indeed turn up about 10.30am but then disappeared again! we've left a trail of sweetcorn to the chicken run in the hope that she'll follow it!
at least we know she is alive and seemingly well!  we are forecoast heavy snow tonight (the first for us this winter so far) so I hope we do catch her.

thank you for asking and the reassuring words 

Lisa x

[jameslindsay]

What a little madam she is eh? My choocks have their own paddock but they all jump the fences to suit themselves and are totally freerange. However, they always come back to their coop and go to bed themselves which does imprss me. However, I only have 1 goose left and he too is totally freerange. However, he comes home some nights and other nights he stays out on the river, coming back the next day for food. I much prefer when he is locked up for the night, but I would love to know where the bugger goes and what he gets up to?

[plumseverywhere]

You'll have to get a goosecam! would be great to see what he does get up to all day and night!

well, chicken tikka is on night 2 of her adventure. I've put our cat basket with lots of straw where the chicken coop used to be because we saw her there around roosting time as if she was wondering where her house had gone! also put some freshly cooked rice and sweetcorn in to tempt her which she ate and then went back into her bush hideaway again grrr!!

fingers crossed that tonights 'heavy snow' doesn't get into the thicket.

[jameslindsay]

Hopefully you will get her back. Goosum is so funny, he came back this afternoon and screamed to let us know he was home and hungry. By the time I went out to get the ducks off the river, feed them and lock them up he was gone!!! He had been fed by then ofcourse.

[Lavinia]

We went to ireland in the summer and at the previous house we had 11 chickens (all we had room for). Mr fox came around onenight and attacked the chickens, my oldest son came home from work at 10 and found carnage. Some of the chickens where hiding and with the help of our cog (cat who thinks its a dog) he found all but two. After a few frantic calls to me in ireland and a few hours of searching they where no where to be seen. Kenin looked all the next day but we where down two. On arriving home on the Friday we broke the news to our youngest son as he was very attached to one of the missing birds. He went out later in the morning and was talking as he quite often does to His Girls and we heard a noise in one of the neighbours garden and there was his favourite girl very shaken but alive..... Don't give up hope she will come back they know what side there breads buttered on....

Lavinia

[plumseverywhere]

hello Lavinia
thank you for the reassurance    chicken tikka has been around today and even braved coming up to where  their new home is - so at least we know that she knows wehre the other 2 hens are!
have laid a bait trail in the hope she'll want to roost with her friends, biriani and korma, tonight.

we too have a cog! her name is snowball, she's a black siameseX - sounds like we need to train her up to round the chickens up!

thanks again
Lisa   

[Lavinia]

Our cog was born from one of our other cats revels, he is called Shep. The boys called him this because he has the black and white and looked like a collie dog. He has been around the chickens since he was small. He even fetches, he is a little lunatic at breakfast, he is mad about cheerios. Maybe it's the cheerios that have some hidden ingredient.....

 

[Lavinia]

I'm obsessed now my first thought this morning was to check the incubator and as i was doing this i thought i wonder if chicken tikka came back last night.  These girls certainly get under your skin, we started out with 5 bantams for Stewart(12) who had been obsessed for a few years about chickens now we have 37 chucks, 2 ducks, 4 cats and 2 rabbits and just spent a fortune on moving to a small holding so we could expand.  Hope she came back Lisa

Lavinia

[plumseverywhere]

Ah Lavinia, bless you    well - finally , after 3 days of 'glamping' in the thicket we've finally caught chicken tikka!! about half an hour ago we spotted her loitering around the chicken run and managed to sneak in the other side with treats for them. she was watching the other chickens get spoiled and we chose our moment to lift the fencing up so she would be able to resist treats no longer and had to crawl under, which she did and down went the fencing within a flash - gotcha lol!!!

just re-establishing herself within the pecking order as we speak!

thanks again for the support, you are right, they do get under your skin and I have visions of us getting a few more too!

Lisa xx