Cheryl's Hen House...

[TerryH]

Terry, just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed reading your thread. My dear hubby and I are neophytes with chickens, it all started with a rescued rooster! Your coop is impressive, your attachment to your chickens is sweet, but your love for your wife and mother are glowing, golden testimonies to your manhood! I have a husband who is just as loving, giving, and caring. Believe me when I say that I appreciate real men who know how to treat the women they love. Your prose is thoroughly entertaining, too!

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the read.

 

[TerryH]

Well, it appears that Laverne is trying to go broody. This should be interesting.
Pretty sure that one if not two of the little Marans are cockerels.

In other news, everyone had an outing in the chicken yard today. Appears that a good time was had by all.



The littles went nuts in the leaf pile.

 

[TerryH]

So it turns out that Laverne is not just broody but WAY broody. She spends every moment on a nest whether it has an egg in it or not. If I block the nest boxes then she immediately digs a nest for herself somewhere else. I've tried everything that I read about and now have relegated her to chicken jail. Started that over the weekend. I let her out a couple of times per day and the moment that she's out she digs a nest and plops down in it like the queen of the universe. She and I have an understanding. I am the king and she doesn't understand.

Thankfully I can just put the crate right next to one of the waterers so she can reach a nipple. She's not very happy but hey, neither am I. lol... No good with food in the crate because she just dumps it out sooo... she'll just have to get over it and eat when she gets out. All the others are in a total funk now as well. We've gone from the 3 bigs laying almost every day to a single egg every once in a while.
Get some chickens they said. It'll be fun they said.

 

[TerryH]

Update from the last couple of interesting days. Laverne has now been sentenced to broody jail for however long it takes. Seeing no point in letting her out as she goes right back to the nest or makes her own if the nests are closed. I've outfitted the crate with a food dish and have it butted up against the waterer in the coop. Thanks to @aart for all her help and advice on this deal.

I also closed the littles out of their area Tuesday evening. They all went in the coop on their own and roosted with the bigs.

I reopened their area yesterday morning. Last night all of them but the littlest Maran went right in. She was on the top of the pole looking all lonely so I rousted her off there and she eventually went in with the rest.

I might have already mention this but, chickens are weird.

 

[aart]

They are NuckinFutz!!
Seems always one of them doing something 'weird'.

I've got one girl who used to be miss mellow, came in every morning and quietly laid her egg, would let me touch her with nary a flinch. Then I isolated her and couple others during the annual assessment program...ever since she's been back is constantly tearing up all the nests, laying thin shelled eggs in the run or on the poop board. SMH. I musta screwed up a pecking order or something, wish she'd calm down.

 

[TerryH]

So last night we had things after work so didn't get home 'til late. This is what I find....



Yup, she's knocked the cover off the top of the crate and somehow escaped. Good news is she's on the roost and not on a nest. Bad news is, now Edith is broody.



Straight to chicken jail but with a concrete block on top this time. And she is NOT happy about it.

 

[aart]

Whoaaaa!!

Was Laverne back on a nest after her Great Escape?
You're gonna need another crate (and some 14ga 1x2 crate mesh).

 

[TerryH]

Whoaaaa!!

Was Laverne back on a nest after her Great Escape?
You're gonna need another crate (and some 14ga 1x2 crate mesh).

Laverne was on the roost and was out with the others this morning. I think we've traded one broody for the next broody. I'm cutting straight to the chase from now on though. Do not pass go and do not get out of jail free until your hormonal episodes are past.

 

[aart]

So what's going on over there!?

 

[TerryH]

Sorry that I've neglected to update the thread. To be quite honest, it has not gone very well. Turns out that half the newest additions turned out to be cockerels so they had to go. The respiratory issues have continued to rear their ugly head and all of the girls from the original flock have now died. So what we have left is 3 hens from the second round. The Maran that we call Tiny and the 2 buffs that we call the twins. Once again we will add more in the spring and hope for the best...again.