Bye Bye Betty, Don’t Make Me Cry

Life at The Long House has its ups and downs, and this past week has been a whirlwind of emotions for us and our feathered friends.

Last July, we brought home two beautiful Rhode Island Reds, Rose and Betty, from a local chicken merchant. The girls had been squashed up in a cage with a bunch of other chickens, and we were glad to offer them a better life at our place.

Initially, they spent their days inside the chicken run, which we moved every week to give them a fresh patch of grass to explore. And then recently, we started letting them truly 'free range' around the property.

They loved this freedom and established a little routine, walking down the lane to our neighbour, then up to a different field, and finally back to sit under the carport. Rose and Betty were inseparable; when you saw one, the other was always close by—until last Tuesday.

Where’s Betty?

Jon passed our neighbour on his run, who asked with concern, "Where's your other chicken? They are always together." Thus began the search for Betty, which didn't last long because Jon found a bunch of feathers at the side of the house—evidence that Betty had been taken by a fox. We quickly put Rose back inside the chicken run, much to her displeasure.

Jon was particularly upset about the loss and the following day he decided to buy another chicken so that Rose wouldn't be alone, and we could still receive two fresh laid eggs each day. After he headed off to do this, I thought about a name for our new addition, and it came to me straight away: Lily.

Introducing Lily

When Jon arrived with Lily, she was in a small box in the back of the car. As he opened the box, I saw her unusual abundance of white feathers and exclaimed, "Oh, that's why your name is Lily!" I picked her up, and she nuzzled into my neck. I melted.

We headed to the chicken run to introduce Lily to Rose. Initially, Rose was very quiet, clearly sussing out the new arrival. Then, suddenly, she started attacking Lily's neck! We were horrified. Jon kept shooing Rose away, but she kept returning to attack Lily.

We quickly realised how inexperienced we were in this domain and some fast research informed us that chickens have a strict pecking order, and introducing a new chicken without proper steps can lead to aggression. The trick is to sneak new additions in at night while the existing chickens are sleeping. This way, they wake up together and are less likely to be hostile.

Finding a Solution

In the interim, Jon built a barrier inside the chicken run to keep them apart. We brought Lily back in, and all was well for about five minutes. Then we heard loud squawking—Lily had squeezed through a gap in the partition and was being attacked again by Rose. Jon separated them and secured the partition more thoroughly, but Lily found ways to get through two more times.

Eventually, the partition was secure enough to keep them apart. That evening, we went out for a bite to eat, and when we returned, only Rose was in the run. Lily was nowhere to be found. We feared she had been taken by a fox, but there were no feathers or other evidence.

A Miraculous Return

We went to bed feeling sorry for ourselves. The next morning, Jon walked around the property but found no signs of Lily. An hour later, while making the bed, I looked out the window and saw Lily pecking around on the grass outside. I ran downstairs and scooped her up. Her feathers were damp from the dew, but she was fine. We couldn't believe she had survived the night.

That evening, Jon snuck Lily into the barn while Rose was sleeping. Now, the two are getting along just fine. This experience has been a rollercoaster, but we are relieved and happy to see Rose and Lily settling into their new routine together.

Dani x