Chickens have a camp follower

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Chickens have a camp follower
« on: December 19, 2010, 19:19 »
My garden robin hs taken to following the chickens around when they free range in the garden.  He's careful to keep out of pecking distance but finds lots of little bugs and grubs they miss.

With the snow my lot are not interested in coming out so he's hanging round the run ever hopefull when I go out.  I've made him some robin food - crumbled up suet and mealworms - which he's wolfing down but when I offered the chicks the chance to come out, he stood behind me on the path singing away like crazy as if to say 'Come on you lot!'

Think he's going to have to make do with robin food - they looked at me like I was mad from under the house and refused to budge  :lol:

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hillfooter

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Re: Chickens have a camp follower
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2010, 20:53 »
We have some Russian Orloff bantams who negotiate the electric fence round their run every morning and congregate around our back door where they are fed by Carole and get tasty kitchen scraps throughout the day.  There's a little Robin who also joins them.  At first it was very careful to only steal the leftover when the chickens weren't looking but now he's so bold that he joins in the scrum around the chickens bowl and the chx just ignore him.  I've been trying to get a photo and when I do I'll post it but so far he's eluded me.

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« Last Edit: December 20, 2010, 21:17 by hillfooter »
Truth through science.

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D

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Re: Chickens have a camp follower
« Reply #2 on: December 20, 2010, 12:38 »
I too have a sparrow which likes to go into the chicken pen and see what he can find, yet the chickens just leave it alone. I find it interesting how the minute you put another hen in with the flock they'll all start to fight and squark, yet the minute an outside bird comes in and starts looking around they just leave it alone.

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Re: Chickens have a camp follower
« Reply #3 on: December 20, 2010, 19:27 »
I know some forum members have hens that will go for birds but mine are banties too so maybe wild birds are braver around smaller fowl  :unsure:

Robin was back again today and nearly followed me into the run but I shoed him out.  I don't trust my little horrors that much after their frog catching escapades earlier in the year, so robin has his own bowl of nosh under a nearby shrub  ;)

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NormandyMary

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Re: Chickens have a camp follower
« Reply #4 on: December 21, 2010, 16:12 »
My girls regularly congregate round the back door, and yesterday I heard a tap tap tap on the door. Miss Gray was there, pecking the cat flap to let "mummy" know that they were waiting for their daily treat. Cheeky monkeys!!

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jinty1911

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Re: Chickens have a camp follower
« Reply #5 on: December 21, 2010, 21:21 »
When I first let my chicks out in the garden they chased any sparrows that came near but now they dont bother with them.  Maybe because they were reared in an avairy and now realise that there is enough grub for all of them. They still chase the dog though  :lol:  :lol:
Jinty

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pigeonpie

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Re: Chickens have a camp follower
« Reply #6 on: December 22, 2010, 13:00 »
We have a cock pheasant that regularly joins the girls for a feed, although he does slink off when I open the door.  The girls just seem to shrug and let him get on with his feed.  They're also generally happy for the smaller birds to join them and we have a robin and dunnock that is often stood around with them.
I did laugh the other day though when one of the girls was stood under the bird feeder waiting patiently for some fallen treats, 2 pigeons landed on the snow a short distance away from her with their backs to her.  Without them realising she ran straight at them and literally bowled them over.  I think she might be quite protective over "her" bird feeder!   :lol:



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