- Oct 27, 2012
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My chickens came into my life full grown. I've never raised chicks or pullets but I'm hoping to some day!
Here's my question, I put a pullet into the coop with my full sized hens and then had to dart out of the house for an elderly parent-in-law emergency. While I was gone, my chickens (who have NEVER been aggressive or "pluckers") had completely destroyed the back of my pullet. There seems to have been a horrible picking frenzy at the poor thing. All her back and some of her tail feathers have been bitten off or plucked. She was bleeding and just a horrible mess. I thought for sure that since she was relatively the same size as the others she would be fine, I'd introduced new chickens before.
So, I brought the pullet inside, cleaned her off as best I could, used peroxide and Neosporin on her and she seems to be recovering.
It's still scabby and awful but she's bright and eating/drinking normally. It's very easy for me to figure out my adult chicken noises/songs to tell when they're in distress or happy, but the pullet peeps. Was it her juvenile peeping that caused the other chickens to molest her?
Darlene peeps, when we have to handle her to tend to her wound she peeps louder. I think that's a no-brainer., I'm assuming that's distress. She also makes this trilling noise? Kind of a high pitched "bbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr". She does it when me and my husband come into contact with her sometimes. (as she's become a bathroom chicken in order to keep her indoors, safe, clean and warm). If we talk in front of her she also makes the peeping and the trill sound. Is the trill sound distress too? Or is she being conversational? Every once in a while I'll bundle her up in a towel and lay her on my lap in front of the TV. She seems to enjoy having her neck stroked because she'll stretch it waaaaay out and close her eyes. She makes that trill noise then too, but softer, kind of like a chicken purr. She'll also peep most of the time I'm holding her but not loudly or urgently.
Can someone out there unlock the mystical secrets of pullet speak for me?
I need some cues to figure out whether or not we're scaring, traumatizing or comforting her.
Actually, sometimes she sounds like a tiny little squealing fan belt. Sound familiar?
Here's my question, I put a pullet into the coop with my full sized hens and then had to dart out of the house for an elderly parent-in-law emergency. While I was gone, my chickens (who have NEVER been aggressive or "pluckers") had completely destroyed the back of my pullet. There seems to have been a horrible picking frenzy at the poor thing. All her back and some of her tail feathers have been bitten off or plucked. She was bleeding and just a horrible mess. I thought for sure that since she was relatively the same size as the others she would be fine, I'd introduced new chickens before.
So, I brought the pullet inside, cleaned her off as best I could, used peroxide and Neosporin on her and she seems to be recovering.
It's still scabby and awful but she's bright and eating/drinking normally. It's very easy for me to figure out my adult chicken noises/songs to tell when they're in distress or happy, but the pullet peeps. Was it her juvenile peeping that caused the other chickens to molest her?
Darlene peeps, when we have to handle her to tend to her wound she peeps louder. I think that's a no-brainer., I'm assuming that's distress. She also makes this trilling noise? Kind of a high pitched "bbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr". She does it when me and my husband come into contact with her sometimes. (as she's become a bathroom chicken in order to keep her indoors, safe, clean and warm). If we talk in front of her she also makes the peeping and the trill sound. Is the trill sound distress too? Or is she being conversational? Every once in a while I'll bundle her up in a towel and lay her on my lap in front of the TV. She seems to enjoy having her neck stroked because she'll stretch it waaaaay out and close her eyes. She makes that trill noise then too, but softer, kind of like a chicken purr. She'll also peep most of the time I'm holding her but not loudly or urgently.
Can someone out there unlock the mystical secrets of pullet speak for me?
I need some cues to figure out whether or not we're scaring, traumatizing or comforting her.
Actually, sometimes she sounds like a tiny little squealing fan belt. Sound familiar?
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