Eli update
It is time I did a bit of an update on Eli.
Just a reminder of the sequence of events:
- At the end of April Eli had some sort of neurological episode and fell off the roost in the middle of the night. The following day she was unable to walk properly and kept falling over on her head.
- A vet visit confirmed that she had no broken bones and no swelling. And a blood test came back negative for Marek’s and Avian Leukosis.
- Eli retreated to a nest box looking like a very sick chicken.
- Almost immediately she went broody.
- While she is only a couple of days into being broody I move 18 day old chicks out to the Chicken Palace where they are situated right next to Eli’s nest box.
- I assume she won’t accept them as they are quite big and she has been broody only a few days. So I don’t even try.
- At some point broody Eli starts to talk to the chicks through the wall separating them - particularly if one of them sends out a distress call. But she makes no effort to get in and visit them.
- Eventually after 21-25 days Eli stops being broody
And now we come to today.
I have convinced myself that Eli has adopted the chicks.
She spends a lot of time with them. They are six weeks old so pretty independent, but they tend to hang with her.
I don’t know if she thinks she is their mother - I got one short video clip where she seems to call Pooh to have some of the apple core Eli found.
And I think she sometimes calls them to a good spot for digging.
Maybe she just likes hanging with young folk?
It definitely seems that she has a unique relationship with them. Neither of the other big Princesses would welcome being groomed by the little ones.
She does not seem to get aggressive in their defense - though honestly nobody really attacks them as they seem to be accepted as part of the tribe. And they are not really helpless little chicks any more.
It is very cute to observe but quite strange.
Eli has not gone back to roosting - she still sleeps in her nest box - I wonder if she does that to stay close to ‘her babies’. She doesn’t seem to have any neurological issue any more.
