Forest Lady
Hatching
I became the adoptive parent of one Brown Red Ameraucana, three Buff Plymouth Rock, and two Partridge Plymouth Rock hens. My son and daughter in law raised them from chicks early last year. They moved a couple of months ago and their new home, while nearby, is in a H.O.A. No backyard chickens allowed. So my husband and I took over the care of the chickens.
Now, I was not raised on a farm. My only experience with collecting eggs is picking them by the truck load up from egg farms. (My husband and I were truck drivers for over ten years.) So, mostly I feed them crumble, change their water, clean up the coop and collect eggs. I sometimes let them out of the coop area and into our enclosed backyard, they eat leaves off the vines, grass, and bugs. Other than that, I leave them to their scratching, pecking, pooping, and laying business. I do enjoy the daily chore and, of course, love the fresh eggs. However, I've not read up on raising chickens.
What brought me here is that a couple of them, one of the Buff and one of the Partridge each have a bald spot on their backs. I thought it could be moulting but it has been several months and the spot seems to be about the same. Though on the Buff it looks like it may be growing back in. I wondered also if it could be mites, but it hasn't spread.
Also, the last couple of days the Ameraucana has been "sitting" a lot, even to eat. She CAN stand and walk. But I noticed she was "sitting" to eat, she has never done this before. (photo attached) Her eyes and "expression" seem fine. She's alert. And when she does stand and walk, it seems without effort. The last week or two has been very hot. We were in the 100s, which for this area is extreme. I made sure they had plenty of water and they do have shade. But the heat did seem to affect her more than the others. Could this cause her to want to "sit" more? Is this normal? Should I be worried?
Otherwise, they are laying well and seem happy and healthy.
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