Chicken misfits.

[RichM]

So we started off with 4 chicks. The tinyest one was an extremely cute white easter egger puffball. This little thing seemed a bit fragile and didn't really behave like the others. Always stood away from the rest, not a lot of energy. She also was always the first to try new things, like the first to eat out of our hands. Probably because she didn't care what the other chickens thought of anything. I didn't think she would survive.

When the chicks got bigger, the white one remained aloof from the group and clearly wasn't getting as much food and was much skinnier than the others. The other chickens weren't aggressive with her, she just wasn't as interested in eating like they were. In any case, for a skinny chicken she was pretty tough. She survived a few close calls with predators and is pretty battle hardened. She didn't take any posturing from the leader and held her own well (until the leader was taken by a hawk. Now, there is no obvious leader) I didn't think she would ever lay eggs. She didn't seem functional.

Finally, she did start laying these monstrous grey eggs! Super Jumbos! Twice as big as the other easter egger. Since she started laying about two weeks ago, she hasn't put any eggs in the nest boxes like the other chickens do, and she also won't roost in the coop, only on top of the coop. I have to put her in every night. Today I found her trying to incubate one of the other chickens eggs in the nest box, but she doesn't put her own eggs there.

Did you ever have a chicken that was just totally different than all your other chickens?

 

[boskelli1571]

- there's always one isn't there? If she is healthy I say let her follow her own path

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

She is probably bottom hen. Is your coop smaller? Submissive hens aren't allowed to roost near the dominant members, I have noticed about 5-10 feet is the distance they seem to keep between them, so in smaller coops submissive birds aren't allowed into it. Hens will also hide in the nestboxes to get away from other hens.

Dominance becomes more of an issue as hens are sexually maturing and space and territory becomes more important.

 

[RichM]

I'm not sure if she's bottom hen. She seems to be very good at defending her immediate interests. She will encourage the other two to drop what they are eating if she sees it and wants it. When we had a clear top hen before she died, she and the top hen would run up on each other and puff up, with neither backing down.

Even when she was a chick though, she has never really been interested in what the other chickens are up to. The three went everywhere together and she wasn't even curious as to why.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Than I guess we are back to the oddball theory.