Ammonia smell in coop-first time owner

[Chooks76]

Hello

 

I was wondering if anyone has had problems with a flighty Speckledy? I've recently entered the world of chicken keeping and bought 4 - a Rhode Rock, Bluebell, Blacktail and Speckledy. I've got them in an Eglu Classic with 3m run which is housed within a run that is bordered by 4ft (1.25m) chicken netting. All of the birds had a wing clipped by the breeder. I was dismayed to see my Speckledy fly over the netting yesterday. Today it hopped onto the Eglu roof and from there jumped/flew onto my 6ft fence and nearly ended up in my neighbour's garden!

 

Any ideas on how to ground this bird? Will clipping the other wing help? I was told they only do one as it unbalances them. The other three are more than happy to escape the Eglu run and forage on the grass and soil.....but this one is akin to Ginger from Chicken Run! I don't want her starting a revolt!

[gongladosh]

Hi, The key to wing clipping, like you say is to create a lack of balance so stops the bird trying to fly as it's unpredictable.

If you do it to both wings, the bird can learn to get balance, therefore fly to an extent.

 

I have a speckledy and a bluebell and the speckledy has flighty tendencies. She's a lovely bird (though I think she may be short-sighted!) but is more likely to get worried than the others so tends to dart about a bit and when a bit younger used to fly onto things. She's calming down with age, and also because the bluebelle that has assumed 'top hen' status is MASSIVE- the speckledy seems to feel safe next to her!

[Chooks76]

Of the four she does seem the most nervous. She was certainly the most stressed bird when we got them last Saturday. I'm wondering if its something to do with roosting. She has happily foraged during the day today. But the last two evenings (7 onwards) whilst the others forage she has been looking for ways to get out of the run. Or maybe she sees the oak tree and fence as ways of getting to a roosting position? Maybe she will settle down with time. I don't really want to buy new netting and have a towering prison! The other three have made no escape attemtpts and when she flew over the netting all she wanted to do was get back with the others.

[Minnie&Moose]

Our Speckledy Mabel arrived with both wings clipped much to my suprise - but the supplier (Allison from Hook Farm), who only clipped one wing of the Columbine we got at the same time, said that Speckledies have such strong flight muscles that unbalancing them isn't enough! Allison likened her to a Lear jet, able to take off vertically!! I don't know how true this is but Mabel, although impossible to catch even nearly 2 years later, has rarely managed to make it over our netting, unlike her Columbine friend, who hops over whenever the fancy takes her (she has moulted her flight feathers and I need to clip them again ).

[Chooks76]

That's interesting to read. My Speckledy hangs around with my massive Bluebell too. Perhaps it's for the same reason. I wish I'd known that the Speckledy was a flighty bird. I probably would have looked at getting a different breed instead.