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  1. bird_brain_scientist

    Can a rejected chicken ever rejoin the flock?

    Update: I have been keeping the birds in various pairings, which has been informative. - When I pair the bullied hen with the alpha chicken in the run, the alpha chicken will try to attack her as soon as she is done eating. The squeals will bring chicken #2 running to the run to join in on the...
  2. bird_brain_scientist

    Can a rejected chicken ever rejoin the flock?

    Thanks for the advice everyone - I will follow up to let you know how things go for her. Chucksaway: It's interesting that this is a small flock problem. As I am still chasing work around the country I couldn't add any more birds at this time, so I suppose if the current experiment doesn't...
  3. bird_brain_scientist

    Can a rejected chicken ever rejoin the flock?

    That's an interesting idea. There are two chickens that are the most aggressive towards her, I could try letting her share the yard with the third less aggressive chicken and then eventually working up to one of the others. Does this kind of thing just eventually happen to the lowest-ranked...
  4. bird_brain_scientist

    Can a rejected chicken ever rejoin the flock?

    I have four hens in a backyard setup - they sleep in an Eglu Go at night and share a big wire mesh run that I built for them during the day. One of my hens has always been neurotic. In spite of early hand-training, when I pick her up she shrieks like I am about to pull out her innards. She is...
  5. bird_brain_scientist

    Chickens attack frightened chickens

    Has anyone else observed this strange behavior? One of my girls is a fraidy-cat and shrieks and runs whenever I need to pick her up. Fair enough, but when she does this the other birds attack her! They never do this otherwise. Before I was able to remove my frightened bird from the run, my...
  6. bird_brain_scientist

    Do chickens salivate over treats?

    I'll try again - anyone have any ideas about this?
  7. bird_brain_scientist

    Do chickens salivate over treats?

    One of my favourite chicken activities is to keep some scratch or peanuts in my closed palm, sit in a chair in the backyard, and dose out the treats when my hens sit still in my lap as I stroke their backs. The girls get pretty excited when they realize this activity is taking place and they all...
  8. bird_brain_scientist

    Curious to what this is on this egg?

    Fascinating! Thanks for the picture. That's exactly what mine look like. It can't be an accident that the three cases posted here are all from EE hens. Has anyone seen these kind of bumps on an egg from a breed other than EE?
  9. bird_brain_scientist

    Curious to what this is on this egg?

    I landed on this thread when searching for info concerning calcium clumps on my EE's shell. BrahmaMama, I was interested to find that another EE owner had the same pattern. It isn't a problem with too much calcium in this case, though, because her shells are often paper thin in spite of the...
  10. bird_brain_scientist

    In and out and in and out of nestbox - laying problems?

    Interesting idea! I can see how a secluded corner would make nesting there more appealing. I will give it a try. And I will let her decide whether she is ready to be picked up or not when it comes time. She does come running over when I come out even when she is having an episode - she likes...
  11. bird_brain_scientist

    In and out and in and out of nestbox - laying problems?

    She just squeezed out today's egg -- after her usual drama she made a groaning sound, kind of like a constipated human, and then the deed was done and she is back to her happy self! It is the first time I have witnessed the actual event. But I think that confirms she is up to more than bean...
  12. bird_brain_scientist

    Agitated by captivity?

    Well, here is the promised update: I installed a nestbox into their run a few weeks ago (a covered cat litter box, as many here have recommended, filled with bedding) and the birds love it! All of them now do their laying in there. And the agitated pacing behaviour has totally disappeared. The...
  13. bird_brain_scientist

    In and out and in and out of nestbox - laying problems?

    My four chickens (my first) are now about 7 months old and all are laying. I have a covered cat litter box in their run where they have all learned to lay their eggs. Three of them go in their and sit around until their egg is laid - usually takes half an hour. The fourth chicken, however, who...
  14. bird_brain_scientist

    Agitated by captivity?

    I believe the pacer is the only one laying and I have yet to install a nestbox for her (working on it, see above). So if your birds act that way, that could well explain it. It will be interesting to see if anything changes when I add a nestbox to the tractor. I'll post an update here when that...
  15. bird_brain_scientist

    Agitated by captivity?

    How peculiar that their agitation produces desirable laying quailties. I suppose it is a form of exercise like any other, although it would be too bad that those benefits would arise out of their distress. Interesting also that it is genetic. It's the Plymouth Rock that is the pacer. You can...
  16. bird_brain_scientist

    Agitated by captivity?

    It's nice to know this is not unusual behavior. But the dear birds - what a powerful desire to get out. They will never understand why the captivity is for their own good. If they feel this way in a backyard arrangement, I can't imagine what it must feel like for the poor battery hens.
  17. bird_brain_scientist

    Agitated by captivity?

    I have four hens in my flock: 1 PR, 1 EE, 1 Welsummer and 1 RIR. Three of them are quite content to just roam around and chow down on feed, grit, water, grass inside their chicken tractor. The fourth one can often be spotted pacing along the run perimeter for hours at a time. I have tended to...
  18. bird_brain_scientist

    Artificial light? Just started laying and now it's winter

    Yeah, I really have been loving it. They have such great little personalities that I had almost totally forgotten about eggs when I found the first one in their run a week ago! Thanks chick4chix for the info about the first molt. I thought for sure they were going to stop laying as soon as...
  19. bird_brain_scientist

    Artificial light? Just started laying and now it's winter

    Like many here, I imagine, I got my first chicks this spring and they are just now hitting 21 weeks. One of the four laid her first egg today! What I am wondering is, given that they are just now starting to lay, would it make sense to use artificial light to prevent them from going into molt...
  20. bird_brain_scientist

    ee with healed broken jaw very small and thin

    The poor thing. How did she break her jaw? Have you tried yogurt? That is the first thing that comes to mind. That obviously would only work short term and is not a balanced diet. Or, maybe you could try soaking+blending her normal ration until it becomes a paste?
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