Turf Invasion: Robins vs. Chickens

With my 60 chickens squawking nonstop around my yard from sunup to sundown every single day, my house definitely sounds like a farm.

My hens are like a bunch of fluffy, gossiping ladies constantly chatting about everything from the weather to how cute the rooster looks today. My rooster proudly thinks he is a beautiful pastor with tail-feathers whose job is to loudly preach the good word so the whole world can hear him. The chickens have been teaching me their "language" for the past six years. To me, I love to hear the sounds they make, they are very calming and sweet....hopefully my neighbors feel the same way, haha!

Here is a list of the different sounds I've noticed chickens make:

• Rooster (low growl): Warning, predator nearby...hide!

• Hens (like a warrior's war cry, flapping their wings): Come as fast as you can, Kelly has food!

• Rooster (a chirping sound): I found food for my pretty girls. Come and get it!

• Momma Hen to Babies (constant clucking): Follow me.

• Hens (another warrior cry): This is my food, not yours...get away or die!

• Rooster (crowing): Look at me ladies, I'm cool! or Kelly, I see you....feed us now!

• Hens (another warrior cry): Kelly or Maui, I'm in danger, help me!

• Hens (egg song that lasts about five minutes per chicken): I laid my egg, boy was that hard! Ouch!

• Chicks (all the time!): Peep, peep, peep

Chickens vs. Robins

Sharkbite, the ferocious stalker of the robin invader.

A couple days ago when I was weeding in my garden outside, one of my oldest hens named Shark Bite, was making the warrior cry sound like she was being attacked. As I prepared myself to fight a creepy predator that might be hurting her, I discovered she wasn't fighting for her life, but fighting off a cute, tiny robin trying to make a nest next to my house.

What a bully!

I couldn't believe Sharkbite was being territorial with an innocent animal like a mommy robin! My chickens are normally welcoming to any new animals around the farm. They love following snapping turtles slowly around the yard, they stay close to my dog, Skye, when she is outside, and they always greet deer and wild turkey while they graze in the yard.

The mommy robin is hidden in the middle of this picture.

Why would a robin be a threat to the chickens?

My guess is that the chickens feel like my front door is their turf...they own it. It's the place where I toss out all my kitchen scraps and feed treats throughout the day. Maybe Sharkbite thought the robin was going to benefit from my endless treats, and she got a little jealous.

Robin's nest is inside this tree by my front door.

I've been keeping an eye on this poor mommy robin throughout the week, trying to figure out a way to protect her from my crazy feathered friends. At first, the chickens kept pestering her while she was trying to lay her eggs. You would think chickens would be somewhat sympathetic to another bird laying her eggs! Now they are leaving her alone, and I keep checking for eggs...so far she hasn't laid anything.

Speaking of eggs, I'm on baby watch starting tonight through Thursday. Out of my 22 eggs I incubated, only seven eggs took this time. I was shocked at how few of them became babies, but I think I know the reason...

Two months ago, I went down from having three roosters in my flock of chickens to having just one. My roosters started battling each other inside the coop. It was a complete blood bath between the three of them! I'm not sure who started the battle, the roosters had always gotten along before, but it was very clear that I had to remove two roosters from the coop. Hens were getting hurt with the constant fighting, and the roosters were a bloody mess!

I decided to keep, Maui, my older rooster, because he is the best rooster I've ever had. He is kind and gentle to his hens and very loyal to me. Whenever I go outside, he follows me around the yard like a dog. The other two roosters were special to me too, but I had to cull them to keep the peace and stop the cock fighting.

But it turns out, Maui is having a difficult time fertilizing 45 hens' eggs. It may be because he is surrounded by too many flirty girls. It may also be because he is turning into an old rooster at two years old losing a bit of his oomph and gusto, haha. Despite the lack of roosters and fewer fertilized eggs, my hens are definitely happier with just one man in their life, especially a gentleman like Maui.

Baldy is one of the chicks on the lower left corner. Her "Bald" head has now turned black.

The chicks that were hatched in March are now free ranging with the older hens. Everyone is getting along and I haven't had to break up any fights. I'm going to give the chicks two more weeks before I move them out of the baby coop and into the chicken coop with the rest of the flock. By then, my newly hatched chicks will be ready to be moved to the baby coop.

I'm hoping by the end of summer, all my birds will be moved into the main chicken coop as one big happy flock.

If you read last week's post, I named one of the chicks, Baldy, because she resembled a Bald Eagle. Well, her "bald" spot has now turned black...but I'm still keeping her name.

Thanks for reading my Country Squawk,

Kelly