Range free young chicken

Our chickens are free range. Very free range. In fact they are a bit too free range if you ask me. As soon as they are let out, they make a run for the bird table and hoover up all the seed and things that I'd put out for the wild birds. Then its back up to the field to scratch through the horses straw and hay and normally they'd pop in to the barn for some undercover scratching, but not any more.

After today, the barn door is closed at all times to those pesky chickens.

This morning I took them some sultanas as a treat. I did notice that only 4 of our six appeared. Now I know that Ginger is getting on and is becoming a loner so I didn't worry about her, but one of this years grown up chicks wasn't with the crowd. Probably in with the horses I thought and wandered back in to the barn. It was then that I heard a quiet clucking. An almost embarrassed clucking. It seemed to be coming from the old freezers that no longer work, but are brilliant mouse proof stores for animal food. But a chicken couldn't get inside the freezer, could it? No, the chicken was wedged behind the freezer. It was stuck between the freezer and the barn wall. How did it get there?

I have no clue. I guess it could have wandered around the end freezer and walked along the steadily narrowing gap until it couldn't walk no further. It seems that chickens can't go backwards. Its wings were wedged against its side so it couldn't fly out. Although it wasn't happy, it did allow me to lift it out. It doesn't like being touched, but I think it knew in its small chicken brain that this was the only way.

I'll keep an eye on her in case there are any problems arising from being stuck behind the freezer. Currently she's hiding in the chicken shed.

But, never again with those chickens be allowed in the barn unsupervised.


beggshill bothy.