Leggy update ~
Today I checked Leggy twice before noon and confirmed his broken blood feather was not bleeding anymore. At noon I released him to be with the flock again. He did not like being confined to a coop separate from the other chickens, and he strutted his stuff when he was released. Of course the other rooster, Muffin, promptly decided to chase Leg... Ahhh, everything was back to normal again. I will check Leg again at chicken bedtime (about 7:30pm) to ensure he's not bleeding again, but I think he's going to be OK.
I couldn't help but notice a lot of hens screaming as if they need to lay an egg, but no one was going into the coop where the nest boxes are to lay. If you have chickens you know the sound a hen makes when she needs to lay. Here is this sound of two of our hens ~ Freckles is in the front, her daughter, Zoner is in the background behind the feeder in the coop. The nest boxes are in the coop on the left by the chicken entry door.
I promptly went into the coop to check what was wrong in there, and found Ethel has gone broody. Ethel was in one of the bottom nest boxes and was attacking any chicken who entered the coop. Ethel is a very aggressive hen. She doesn't play with the other chickens, she does her own thing. She's not part of their pecking order, but if she was, she'd be at the top. She's very independent. I don't think she believes she's a chicken, but she's just stuck in the pen with the chickens. She's always off by herself, scratching for bugs. She doesn't listen to any of the roosters. The roosters know better than to go near her, she'll kick their butts. I've always thought she would make a great mother hen, but she never went broody before. And now it's October, I don't think it's a good time for chicks! Plus Ethel is molting ~ her long tail feathers are gone.
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| A very broody Ethel |
So now Ethel has been separated and is in the spare coop which Leggy just vacated. As soon as I got Ethel out of the nest box Freckles and Zoner went into the coop to lay (that's when I took the video above). This is the first time in over a month that I've had a broody hen - I thought maybe they quit that since they were molting and winter is coming. I guess now that I'm home again I'll just settle in and get used to all the chicken drama.
8 comments:
I'm glad Leggy is on the mend. He'll get his place in the flock back in no time.
Ethel sounds like my Penny. She's completely content to be alone. Prefers it. However, she is lowest hen in the coop.
I hope Ethel realizes sitting eggs is a bad idea this time of year.
CeeCee - We have a hen named Lucy, which is Ethel's sister, who also prefers to be alone. But Lucy is in the bottom of the pecking order. Lucy is my favorite hen because she is so sweet to me. She really couldn't care less about the other chickens. But the others all pick on her and she never fights back like Ethel does. Lucy knows her name, I go out and call "Luuu~~cy!" and she comes running, no matter where she was.
I also hope Ethel gets over this broody thing. Silly birds... Has Penny gone broody?
~Lynn
So glad Leggy is on the mend. Keep us posted on him please :)
That's one tough hen you have. Bought time the woman showed those Roo's what for :) LOL
Amy :)
Chicken drama!! That's funny. Maybe you should write a story about the chicken drama of your coop!! You could call it Leggy's girls!
Oh dear, I know THAT sound well! Love the video.
Ethel is a beautiful girl!
oh lord, you poor thing having to worry about all your babies! i thought i had it bad. i have no clue about chickens. so glad your rooster is better. hubby is listening to a fb game so loudly, will listen to your video later...
Amy - Leggy is doing ok now. I just checked on him. No more bleeding. I think once his feathers started bleeding he started pecking himself and it couldn't heal. Luckily I found him before everyone else started pecking him. Also it's easy to see if he's bleeding since he's pure white. It would be tougher on a dark brown chicken!
Barb - Yeah, I used to want to write childrens books. But I think I've given up on that dream. I just don't have the time anymore.
Knatolee - Lol, all chickens make that sound, I guess! I can hear my hens across the yard, some of them are so very loud!
KK - You have your own babies - horses! I have never had horses! And your cats and dogs are gorgeous! And the deer, I really truly love your deer! Your knowledge of them inspires me to get to know my deer better. My husband just told me he wants toone day separate off a portion of our property for a deer reserve. For different kinds of deer, not just whitetail. We will see, it's just an idea right now...
~Lynn
Chicken drama? HA! I love it!!!!
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