Some time during the month of March 2014, only a single egg hatched out of a total of 3. Since that time, it had been a routine for me every morning for the last 6 months as I had kept the Serama hen and its chick in captivity. At around 8 AM everyday, I will, without much hassle luckily, move the single chick and the hen into a different cage which has ample space for them to roam, scratch and sand-bathe in my backyard. It had been so routine that the chick and hen seemed to know what to expect when they see me coming every morning. That is until one fine sunny morning about a month ago when I finally set them free; a taste of freedom for the 'chick' for the first time.
I can see the confusion in them on that morning after I opened the cage door and did nothing. So bewildered were they that they just stayed in the cage for about an hour before deciding to venture out. I do not like the idea of caging my chickens up in confined spaces. In fact, in previous years, I would let them roam freely in my backyard. But unfortunately, much later, I began to experience incidents of having my chicks going missing. The culprit: rats, the neighbourhood cats and maybe even snakes.
Being a hen, integrating it with the rest of the flock was relatively easier compared to roosters. In the first couple of days, it did keep to itself, hiding at times at some obscure corner, away from the rest of the flock. I was naturally apprehensive during this time, worried that the roosters might chase the young hen and possibly forcing it to fly (and they do fly like birds) over to my neighbour's yard where there are dogs. Luckily, this did not happen.
It took this young hen about a month before it knows how to return back to its cage on its own come nightfall. Before that, I had to chase and catch it with my hands since cajoling does not work.
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