Welcome to Freida - our correspondant behind bars!

6 replies

wabbit · 01/03/2011 00:19

She's sat it a box in my kitchen at the moment, just hours from having been 'plucked' from her battery cage by dd's young farmer friend.

Unlike Maud for whom she has been aquired as a companion, Freida is magnificent, full plumage rich in coulour and comb standing proud, she has a rich copper neck with a ruff of pale feathers creating a fabulous icicle collar.

I have to admit that I'm a bit gobsmacked that she's in such good condition but I'm excited about introducing her to Maud in the morning

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hellymelly · 01/03/2011 00:23

get pics on your profile! we want to see Freida in all her glory,lucky chick.

Original poster

wabbit · 01/03/2011 00:28

Will do tomorrow - don't want to overwhelm her with too much tonight, all she's known is the inside of a cage... and now a box!

I feel like a new mum itching to wake the baby so that I can coo and cuddle! bleurrgh - making myself sick!

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hellymelly · 01/03/2011 00:32

She sounds really beautiful.My 2 hens are in a run as the first lot were taken by a fox when free range .But when I'm in the garden they can come out and mooch.Today was glorious sunshine,I was out all afternoon, so they were happily scratching and digging and foraging about.So sad to think some hens never get to do that ever.

Original poster

wabbit · 03/03/2011 23:42

Very sad news - Maud and Freida were allowed out during their first day together and before I got back from work Freida had been taken by a predator - we suspect fox after much deliberation as though our cat Moos is a felonous wood pigeon killer he's petrified of Maud who takes no prisoners...

I was excited to get back home and the first thing I did was to check on the chickens to find that only Maud had taken herself inside to sleep - I search the garden, neighbours gardens and continued to search and ask in the area into the evening but there was no sign of Freida - I was kicking myself that I hadn't asked DD to lock them into thier coop in the afternoon when I asked her to check on them... Wednesday morning before work I went to have another look and found a circle of chicken feathers (only a few but conclusive enough)on the opposite side of the stream at the bottom of our garden... Poor Beautiful Freida only had one day of freedom and I feel horribly responsible

Bloody horrible Fox (or cat???)

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hellymelly · 03/03/2011 23:45

Oh,poor chicken and poor you. how sad. does sound like a fox.They do come in the day,so my hens are in a run now unless we are out with them.Be careful with your other chicken as we found that once the fox took one,it kept returning at varying times until it caught the other two.

Original poster

wabbit · 04/03/2011 00:05

Oh it's just awful - poor girl.

I will make sure that Maud has a chaperone during her outdoor time - we've never suspected foxes and Maud's been fairly free range until recently when we decided the garden really needed a break from her super scraching capabilities - I'm just gutted for the poor chicken and Maud who - though obviously moderately outraged at having a beautiful rival settled with Freida very quickly.

We're going to try again and make sure to be present ALL the time they're ranging.

Thanks for your lovely posts Hellymelly - I will put pics up of the chicks when I work out how to do it

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