"Attila the Hen"

The goat has been escaping lately. She's lonely. We keep finding her standing quietly in the drive behind the garage. She meekly follows us back to her stall when we take her. When we leave her out to be near us, she is skittish, and starts away from any sudden noise or movement, which basically means, she shies away from the kids. 

Due to this tendency, I have not turned the chickens out into her pasture, as I had hoped to do, as it would afford them a bit of protection. But I'm afraid she might trample or charge them or that they might batter themselves against the fence in a flurry of feathers in their efforts to escape her. Because they are skittish too (sigh.)

The chickens are still a pain. The bossiest one is pulling the others' tail feathers out. It's better that the cannibal chicken adventures I had a while back, but it is still frustrating.

I suppose that they are bored. They are very active, being heritage breeds. There are also a few that are physically bigger than the others, and so the cycle perpetuates, because their bossiness prevents the smaller, more timid birds from eating as much, leaving the bossy birds always bigger. 

It's gotten so bad, that I'm close to taking out "Attila the Hen" and letting her roam the place. If she were taken by a hawk, fox, coyote, raccoon, stray dog, or wandered off into the woods forever, it would not be the end of the world. Although, the pecking order would change and another pullet would rise to her place, it is hard for me to imagine another as vicious as she is. I've seen her defend two different feeders at the same time, and not eat a bit. She's charged at pullet after pullet, flying at them, striking them hard with her beak on the back of their head or their back. Grasping a tail feather with her beak and giving a sharp tug. 

Sometimes, the other chickens are not so easily deterred, and they meet midair with talons extended, feathers flying, and a great squawking and fluttering. More space should help with this, as then the feeders could be too far apart to defend both. But then maybe I'd just have two bossy birds. And I don't like the idea of a feeder outside. But it would help with the boredom.

I keep getting close to turning them out into the "yard" when we're out, but then worry that the stinkers would wander into the woods, never to return, would roost in the trees at night, leaving me to search for them for hours, haul a ladder from tree to tree, and then have to physically remove the cluckers. 

For those of you who don't know, chickens go into a passive, trancelike state when they sleep at night. You can't wake them up really. I once had to dislodge a Lakenvelder from our front crabapple tree at our old place with a broom in order to transfer her to her roost and safety for the night. It took some doing! Gentle nudges and bright lights didn't cut it. After the time and money invested so far, I keep wimping out. Hopefully I'll get the gumption soon.

As I type, my oldest boy and husband are off checking over a used tractor that they intend to purchase. They have a borrowed trailer and the road that the tractor is located on is a bit of a doozie, so I'll rest easier when they are home, despite my complete lack of enthusiasm for this purchase. (I just don't see it making financial sense, and fail to see the need for a front end loader, etc.) 

The baby is up from his nap, so I'm off to tend my own little chick.