tdf010604 Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I am so angry right now, last weekend we went away and my neighbour was looking after my 3 (fairly new/young) hens. Between us leaving in the morning and her coming to put them to bed in the evening a couple of unknown teenage girls came into my garden (which is fairly accessible but usually occupied by my dog) entered my WIR and proceeded to terrorise the hens by chasing them around. Another neighbour heard the commotion and confronted the girls who then ran away (leaving their half drunk bottle of wine in my garden) hut sadly the damage was done and my 3 girls are now scared of anyone who comes near them. Will they get over it? All 3 of them continued laying, but now it seems 1 has stopped, could that be coincidence or a delayed reaction to what happened? We live in such a quiet village, there are no teenagers even living here, it has really upset me that these girls have come in from somewhere and thought that this was acceptable behaviour, I am now fitting a padlock onto the WIR something I didn't think I would ever have to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 That is awful - hope they recover - I am no expert but hopefully time will heal. Have you reported it to the police? Hopefully with some TLC they will bounce back. Hugs Ali x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daxigirl Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 I bet your hopping mad. You'll just have to take it gently with them. When you go in the run just ignore them and go about your cleaning duties, then try taking a cuppa and some biscuits or sandwich in the run and just sit there eating and drinking and again ignore them as though being there in the WIR is the most normal thing in the world. Don't try to catch or feed them by hand but make sure you drop some crumbs they can reach without coming too close. It may take a few days but they should get braver at coming closer to get your titbits. Hopefully the damage to their confidence won't be permanent. Worth a try anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweety Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 How awful, your poor hens. Don't worry, I'm sure they will recover - my OH managed to terrify our first hens when they were quite new to us, when he dropped a bale of Hemcore in their run. They freaked out completely, and wouldn't let either of us go anywhere near them for a while - even for treats. Daxigirl is right, just be very quiet and move carefully around them, and they will eventually start to relax again. I think it took a good couple of weeks for our girls to behave normally around us again. I have always had a padlock on the WIR, mainly because I was worried that the cube or girls might be stolen or worse. Definitely the right thing to do, sadly. Good luck, I hope your girls will be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zakjon-98 Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 Sorry to hear about this when things are settled down you could buy some treats such as mealworms to get them used to being around you again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 That's so sad that has happened. I'm sorry such a thing happened to your new girls. When I first got my omlet girls, a friend said " ooo, my son would love to come and see them and chase them round" I just don't get some people. Girls I thought would be better behaved but not the ones that came into your garden, I hope your girls soon get to love you again xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Random_Girl66 Posted August 22, 2012 Share Posted August 22, 2012 What a very unnerving experience for both you and your chooks. One of my hens escaped while in my neighbours care and they (the neighbours) were frantically trying to get her back which scared her completely. She (Dippy the Light Sussex) ended up spending the night in a nettle patch and was very twitchy with us for a few weeks after that but eventually settled down and is back to her old self now. Just take it slowly and gently and as others have mentioned, treats will help and the trust will return. Good luck and I'm sure things will settle down soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
