She also had her first overnight visit. The three of them slept outside in the turkey pen.
I was leery to leave her in the turkey shack overnight, after the way the chickens attacked the ducks. All went well and the three of them were fine bright and early the next morning.
Now, since the turkey shack is somewhat crowded by the ever growing bodies, I leave the turkey shack open overnight and let them all sleep in the pen if they so choose. It seems that they themselves are their own worst enemies this year. The little meat roos have started cock fighting in the past few weeks. Locking them in at night has caused a few deaths. Leaving the turkey shack open overnight gives them the extra space they need to settle their disagreements without anyone being trapped.
Leaving them out at night also allows me to toss their evening feed in amongst the raspberry bushes in their pen. They're starting to make some progress thinning out the bushes now. Still, it will probably take a few years of chickens in the turkey pen to get them cleared out completely.
It is hard to believe chickens would attack ducks. But, then I remember my gentle hens becoming fierce and determined to destroy the new hen. I don't understand why you want to kill raspberry bushes. But, scratching hens would certainly do the job.
ReplyDeleteThe turkey pen is over half full of raspberry bushes. The birds don't eat them. They do provide plenty of shade and cover, but that's also cover for any vermin. I'd like the area cleared so I could alternate the garden and the birds from year to year, and grow things that the birds will actually eat.
DeleteRaspberry bushes grow wild here. I have them on both sides of my garden, and a big patch around the pond. They're all over the place in the woods. We get our fill and then some, so these won't be missed.