Hen Escaped

just had a hen escape out of the loft , luck would have it she has 2 ybs around 12 days old ..........she hasnt been out for around two years so im not holding out much hope of her coming back.

will the cock rear the two ybs on his own ...?

David wrote:

just had a hen escape out of the loft , luck would have it she has 2 ybs around 12 days old ..........she hasnt been out for around two years so im not holding out much hope of her coming back.

will the cock rear the two ybs on his own ...?

If she has flown out before think she will certain;y come back to feed the youngsters.

Failing that, never come across it before, if there is no spare hen about think the cock will feed the young as they do in hold overs in races.

Good luck.

Regards.

no spare hens in the section misty, cant remember the last time she flew out, have left bobs open in case she comes back ...........the 2 ybs are / were for a club member with his rings on them, so i do hope the cock continues feeding them

hope she turns up David, like Misty says the cock will continue to feed them but he might not cover them on a night and it's still cold.
If you got some around the same age you can slip them in the nest at dusk and let them pairs rear three, plenty of grub in the hopper and they'll be fine.

thanks colin, i hope he does, they are 2 nice ybs as it happens, a mealy and a light blue ...no sign of her an hour or so ago, maybe back tomorrow .

David wrote:

just had a hen escape out of the loft , luck would have it she has 2 ybs around 12 days old ..........she hasnt been out for around two years so im not holding out much hope of her coming back.

will the cock rear the two ybs on his own ...?

David the cock will continue to feed the youngsters just make sure there is plenty off food in the box as the youngsters will take a lot out off the cock if he is left to feed them on his own

thanks don, not holding out too much hope of her coming back , but will be there early morning to check .

nosignof her this morning, its been bad during the night with rain and wind, i hope shes somewhere safe

David wrote:

nosignof her this morning, its been bad during the night with rain and wind, i hope shes somewhere safe

Have you any that have been out before David that you think you could trust to let out to and tempt her back in ?.

Regards.

my birds havnt been out for 2 years misty, and they are old now so couldnt rely on them .........., i know she was bred here but with me concentrating on breeding ybs letting them out was too time consuming, i`d have been at it all day long.

still chance i think, just hope shes back today at some point .

still time yet david ,hope she does turn up for you

still no sign of her, looking like she wont be back ........on a brighter note, looks like the cock is feeding the ybs so far .

just looked out, theres a pigeon on the house roof ......cant make out if its my hen, but it looks a bit run down , bobs are open, lets hope its her

hope so david,keep us informed eh

did you get it back David?

no colin, i went over about half hour ago and no sign of her , i put more food in the box for the cock, lets just hope he feeds them until they are ready to wean .

David wrote:

no colin, i went over about half hour ago and no sign of her , i put more food in the box for the cock, lets just hope he feeds them until they are ready to wean .

couple ofweeks

Should have no problem David, just read in BHW a fancier leaves the cocks to feed the young for the last couple of weeks.

Takes all the hens away to get them ready for racing.

Cannot realy understand your hen not returning to the loft even if not on young.

Regards.

SHE`S BACK !!!! went tocheck 10 mins ago and she was on loft roof, looks very run down and knackered, shes been out in high winds and heavy rain for the last few days, i noticed she had my telephone ring on so she must have raced at some point, must be 4 - 5 years ago since i sent her as a yb.

glad shes home though........

Good result.

Regards.

happy ending

never say never eh david ,great news she is back

shes eating and drinking nicely, looking a lot better ........i dont want her to be eating too much at the moment, feeding an all round mix which isnt too heavy, not sure if shes feeding the babies much but the cock seems to be happy shes back, and feeding the ybs good enough .