Fox attack and new girls

[aceface]

im so sorry its an awful thing that has happened ,just keep a close eye on those little girls that are left as i had a fox attack and they looked a little bit hunched and were really stressed for a good while after egg production went haywire and the eggs were of a poor quality and some softies one girl never laid again afterwards ,im not trying to scare you or anything but just thought it might be good to point out its not always apparent straight away .

slepp tight little girls and big hugs for you and good luck with the new girls and intros ,looking forward to seeing the pics

[chicks&cats]

Sorry to hear your news
I hope your remaining girls continue to do all chickeny things and will welcome the new additions to your flock.

[Linsi30]

Thank you. It really is horrendous to go through, as many of us know and the guilt at not protecting them is terrible, but we've done all we can to make it safe for the remaining 2 and i'm out with my torch all the time.

I went to look at getting another 2 this evening, but decided not to as yet. I will within a few days/weeks though as I don't want one only girl eventually.

Thank you for the advice. I am keeping a close eye on the 2 left and bizzarly they appear unaffected. Eating, drinking and friendly. Bokking with me. TBH I don't know if my rescue girl was laying before the attack, but she isn't at the moment. Her comb is very red and healthy looking though. My sussex is laying daily.

I have been advised by the hen supplier today not to go for different coloured girls as they'll fight. Is this true? I'd love to rescue again, but really need the eggs, so will buy a couple and then look at rescuing later in the year.

I really miss my girls, it's amazing how attached you get. My one consolation is that the 2 rescues had a years worth of extra life than they would have.

[Mad Chick]

I've never had two chooks the same colour and all of ours get along just fine

[aceface]

my little flock is a riot of colour too and they too are good together

[Benny&Co]

My girls are all different colours - I have....

Nita who is white/black
Betty who is Black/grey/lavender with orange flecks
Gloria who is chestnut brown with black flecks
Marji who is grey and white stripes

[jackian]

I have just seen this and it must be just terrible and something we all dread..On one hand I would wait for a couple of weeks till the girls have settled down but on the other as you say they seem to be unaffected so maybe new girls soon would be better for you and them . Good luck with what ever you decide .

[sandy]

Every morning I say hello to my resident fox who sits by the run but every day I check to ensure my girls house is safe as he may be cute and sickly but I will never trust him. I don;t think there can be a worse way for anyone to lose their girls and I really feel for you. As to colours, it is weird but my gingers do preen together even though they hate on another other times

[Nats]

I'm very sorry to hear about that. What a horrible thing to come home to, it must have been very upsetting.

Shortly after getting my first two chickens we also lost one. We were out with friends on a Sunday, had a lovely day, came home and went to put the chickens to bed and one was missing. Somehow, to this day I don't know how, but she had got out of the run and was mauled by our dog (he lives mostly in the garden, which is walled all around, due to the heat here and because its what he's always done) a lovely normally gentle german shepherd. It was very upsetting.

We were left with one so I wanted to get some more as soon as possible. In fact, our remaining chicken did not seem at all concerned. She was eating, drinking, laying. When the new girls arrived she was immediately established as top hen (although we did keep the new ones separated by chicken wire dividing the run) and they're now a happy bunch trotting around the garden and house when they free range as if they own the place.

Anyway, I'm sorry for what has happened and I hope this gives you some encouragement.

Nats

[Linsi30]

Thank you. I did think it seemed odd that a colour makes a difference. I've been looking for somewhere to get a couple more, but am struggling to find any Point-of-Lay. I'll put a new thread on to see if anyone knows anywhere. We miss our girls and their little characte rs so much, but are excited to be able to home some more.

[aceface]

linsi there is an ex batt rescue on the 30th march by fresh start for hens, and im sure there is a rehomer near you

[julieann]

Hi Linsi, I'm so sorry to hear about the fox attack, it is so devastating when it happens. I wish you luck when you do introduce some new girls

[Linsi30]

Thanks for the info Ace! !! I'll have a look at the website. Can't resist a rescue.

[MuddyHell]

Sorry to hear this Linsi. I lost my two favourite girls on New Year's Day so I can empathise with you. One of our remaining three ladies was shell-shocked and stopped laying. She went into a stress-induced moult and has looked very lost and forlorn over the last few months. Finally we are having a good week
She laid her first egg this afternoon and we are going to collect three new girls on Saturday. I hope things perk up for you soon too

[Linsi30]

Thank you. We've been very lucky since our attack. I think about my lost girls every day and miss the way they shouted at me each time I opened the door, but we are lucky that our 2 girls left really don't appear affected at all. Gloria has laid every day since and my rescue girl hasn't but I don't think she was before. She still seems happy and settled in herself. After her first year in the barns she deserves a quiet retirement. We bought 2 new girls last weekend as the run looked so empty and apart from an odd peck they've been accepted really well. In fact, I had a sneaky peek in the coop this evening and big white sussex Gloria who is now top hen (after being near the bottom) was cuddled up with the 2 newbies! How lucky are we!