Pet hens

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Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 12:09 pm Post subject: Pet hens
I've just come in to have a look at the site. One hen is laying in the hen house and the other two have followed me in and are next to me in the lounge sleeping. Ginger has her beak tucked under her wing and her eyes closed. It's a hard life for 'em.

Nanny

Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 4520
Location: carms in wales

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 7:06 pm Post subject: pet hens
i have no problem with that. why shouldn't they visit when they can? don't forget i kept one hen in the bathroom for the better part of a week.............and at our other house the cockerelregulary came in , sat on the back of the kitchen chair and crwoed loudly. it was lovely

Blue Sky

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 7:58 pm Post subject:
I wish my cockerill was so friendly - he tries tor rip my throat out whenever I go near ... it makes it a heck of a job checking for eggs if he is about. Does anyone know of a quick and gentle way of taming a cock? It would sure help us out if we could calm him down.

JonO

Joined: 05 Mar 2005
Posts: 119
Location: South Birmingham

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 8:06 pm Post subject:
I heard (and it could be untrue) that you can "overlove" them into submission, when it gets aggressive hug it and eventually it gets bored of being humiliated and gives up. My friend tried this and it seemed to work (until a fox overloved it) but it may be one of those un-viscious rumours !

Blue Sky

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 8:09 pm Post subject:
Thank you for that .... Hug it eh??????? Well I will see if I can get near it but I don't hold out alot of hope. Anything is worth a try I suppose. Keep 'em coming ....

JonO

Joined: 05 Mar 2005
Posts: 119
Location: South Birmingham

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 8:12 pm Post subject:
You may need to try it first of all with big gloves and maybe a helmet, if it becomes comical you'll have to post photo's !!!

Blue Sky

Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 7658
Location: France

Posted: Sun Mar 20, 05 8:15 pm Post subject:
Yes - good idea .... I will certainly have wife stood by with camera in hand then (and bandages)!!!

Wombat

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 396
Location: SW Cheshire

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 05 7:27 am Post subject:
A previous posting somewhere suggested holding the cockeral down on the ground, on its back, for some time, until it submits and realises that you are the head of the gang. This could be a similar move to JonO's hugging into submission method. Wombat

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 05 7:32 am Post subject:
Whatever you try can we have some pictures?

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 05 8:40 am Post subject:

I have heard in a couple of places, a theory that if you have an over aggressive hen, you should catch her and press her (gently!) to the ground, in view of the other chickens, and hold her there until...I don't know, until she stops struggling I suppose. Theory is this will make her less full of herself and therefore less violent.

I'm not sure. I think chickens are more intelligent than people give them credit for, but that might be taking it a bit far.

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 05 8:45 pm Post subject:
Bugs, it definately works. It puts you higher in the pecking order, and lowers the hens position.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 05 8:50 pm Post subject:
Works with dogs, and until I had a couple of dogs and heard about Bug's hens, I assumed that dogs were more intelligent than chickens. Now I'm not so sure!

nettie

Joined: 02 Dec 2004
Posts: 5888
Location: Suffolk

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 05 9:57 pm Post subject:
Oh gawd this brings back memories of when I used to round the horrible geese up by acting like the biggest noisiest nastiest goose in the flock. I ran round the fields hissing and flapping my arms. Wouldn't have wanted to attempt pinning one of those buggers down!

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Mon Mar 21, 05 11:41 pm Post subject:
Well, I never actually hissed... (well not out loud!) but being domineering helped, er, usually. And it was actually possible to steer a pair of geese (from behind) by the angle of a broomstick held above the head. And flapping my wings really did help me to be domineering...

Gertie

Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Posts: 1638
Location: Yorkshire

Posted: Tue Mar 22, 05 6:34 am Post subject:
Nettie, Dougal - just been visualising your antics - if you had the video tapes you could have made yourself an easy �250 on 'You've Been Framed'. I must admit over the years I've tried things like this with farm geese and my friend's hens - had a quick look round to make sure no-one was watching me!

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