Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

Just a day on those 6. We'd been gathering them and only leaving a golf ball or two this week. She started spending all her time on the nest last week while we were on vacation and the neighbors were taking care of them and gathering the eggs.

Bgmathteach’s suggestion is great, and of course you know her best.

 

[bgmathteach]

AND...the mystery deepens. Eenie is definitely laying. View attachment 3553401
I only have 3 hens and I picked up a blue and a brown yesterday and a blue the day before. Broody hens don't lay, right? This is the 2nd time since Sunday I've gotten 3.

Also, I just went to shut the others out just now. Usually, I toss them a treat to keep them busy as I close the door. Today, it was a few cherry tomatoes. Eenie came down the ramp like her tail was in fire and nabbed the first tomato she saw. Meanie was having NONE of it! She puffed up like a Tom turkey and chased Eenie back inside with Manny joining in! I closed the pop door and Eenie was back on the nest. She jumped out and gobbled down the two tomatoes like she hadn't eaten in a week (bit my hand on the way) and got right back on the nest as soon as she was done.

So now I'm wondering if she's being picked on. Would she hide in the box they ALL use? That doesn't make a lot of sense, when there are boxes she'd be left alone in, but what do I know? I'm not a chicken.

I thought she was my dominant hen...as much as any are. I've never seen any fights. If not her, then Sheba. I've literally never caught Manny "attending to his job" with Meanie whereas he's on Eenie abd Sheba all the time. She's the only one with all her back feathers; pretty unruffled. But she was a scary chicken for a minute there. They REALLY like those tomatoes!

This is maddening. I can't afford to put in video cameras to figure out what they do all day while I'm at work.

You are likely all tired of this saga. But it's such a mystery to me! I suppose though, worst case scenario, I've wasted 6 eggs and I'll have to figure something else out.

I really hope someone more knowledgeable on chicken behavior can chime in.

Likely, Meanie is at the top, as roos will overbreed those they can. The dominant hens usually put them in their place regarding that nonsense, I find it is frequently my lower hens that get seriously over mated, (sometimes, if a roo only has 1 or 2 hens that are his, they may all get overmated - particularly when the roo is in his first year! (like 6-18 months)

As far as laying when broody: usually they stop, but in the early days when they are 'thinking about it - they may still lay for a few more days to get a nest full. I have some hens who go into being broody lightly/slowly - it is easy to tell they are thinking about it, but either they aren't yet committed, or don't yet feel they have a full nest for incubating. Other hens, I swear it is like you just flipped a switch one day. And they do not lay at all once that switch has been flipped. Once they are full-on broody, though, they will sit tight on nothing if you steal their eggs.

These are my experiences with my broodies. Others can certainly chime in, as they may (probably have) had some similar and some different experiences.

 

[knoturavggrl]

Amoxicillin is a good first use antibiotic. Ciprofloxacin is a good broad spectrum antibiotic. So those would be 2 worth having.

As of yesterday morning, All Bird Products still had enrofloxacin which is the generic form of Baytril. That is a broad spectrum antibiotic which also treats mycoplasma. I would recommend that over the cipro because of the additional coverage.

Just ordered Baytril from them, tried to get an extra tube of Terramycin, sold out. I hope I never need to use it, but you never know. Thank you very much for this post .

 

[Ponypoor]

Likely, Meanie is at the top, as roos will overbreed those they can. The dominant hens usually put them in their place regarding that nonsense, I find it is frequently my lower hens that get seriously over mated, (sometimes, if a roo only has 1 or 2 hens that are his, they may all get overmated - particularly when the roo is in his first year! (like 6-18 months)

As far as laying when broody: usually they stop, but in the early days when they are 'thinking about it - they may still lay for a few more days to get a nest full. I have some hens who go into being broody lightly/slowly - it is easy to tell they are thinking about it, but either they aren't yet committed, or don't yet feel they have a full nest for incubating. Other hens, I swear it is like you just flipped a switch one day. And they do not lay at all once that switch has been flipped. Once they are full-on broody, though, they will sit tight on nothing if you steal their eggs.

These are my experiences with my broodies. Others can certainly chime in, as they may (probably have) had some similar and some different experiences.

Once mine go full on broody they do not lay eggs, and they will sit on nothing. Sophia is doing that right now - and yes she just decided one day “hey I am gonna be broody”.

Now Marty was thinking of being broody in the Spring, she stopped laying but wouldn’t stick to the nest 100 percent of the time. That was new to me.

 

[knoturavggrl]

AND...the mystery deepens. Eenie is definitely laying. View attachment 3553401
I only have 3 hens and I picked up a blue and a brown yesterday and a blue the day before. Broody hens don't lay, right? This is the 2nd time since Sunday I've gotten 3.

Also, I just went to shut the others out just now. Usually, I toss them a treat to keep them busy as I close the door. Today, it was a few cherry tomatoes. Eenie came down the ramp like her tail was in fire and nabbed the first tomato she saw. Meanie was having NONE of it! She puffed up like a Tom turkey and chased Eenie back inside with Manny joining in! I closed the pop door and Eenie was back on the nest. She jumped out and gobbled down the two tomatoes like she hadn't eaten in a week (bit my hand on the way) and got right back on the nest as soon as she was done.

So now I'm wondering if she's being picked on. Would she hide in the box they ALL use? That doesn't make a lot of sense, when there are boxes she'd be left alone in, but what do I know? I'm not a chicken.

I thought she was my dominant hen...as much as any are. I've never seen any fights. If not her, then Sheba. I've literally never caught Manny "attending to his job" with Meanie whereas he's on Eenie abd Sheba all the time. She's the only one with all her back feathers; pretty unruffled. But she was a scary chicken for a minute there. They REALLY like those tomatoes!

This is maddening. I can't afford to put in video cameras to figure out what they do all day while I'm at work.

You are likely all tired of this saga. But it's such a mystery to me! I suppose though, worst case scenario, I've wasted 6 eggs and I'll have to figure something else out.

I really hope someone more knowledgeable on chicken behavior can chime in.

I am sure someone more knowledgeable then I has or will respond. But I will share my one experience with a broody.
For the first few days Brownie was thinking about it she would get off for several hrs and she was still laying. Then a switch was flipped she plucked out her belly feathers and stuck tight to that nest after that.

Behavior wise: Brownie is my lead hen BUT when she was sitting omg there were several fights. When she came off the nest the others would pick on her pretty aggressively. Its like they were mad she wasn’t leading and so therefore the job was up for grabs. She would fend them off, eat, drink, dust bathe, peck someone for good measure and go back to sitting. Everyone was off kilter since she wasn’t fulfilling her lead role.

It did not really go back to normal till she quit sleeping with the chicks and start laying again. I hope that helps, I think its normal for there to be upheaval in the pecking order especially when its your lead girl.

 

[featherhead007]

These little interlopers are having a party at my expense. They have taken over the run and picked up all the feed. On the rail center of the picture.
They have it made, on my side of the fence!

 

[rural mouse]

These little interlopers are having a party at my expense. They have taken over the run and picked up all the feed. On the rail center of the picture.
They have it made, on my side of the fence!View attachment 3553570

Looks like they're moving in...

 

[Ponypoor]

These little interlopers are having a party at my expense. They have taken over the run and picked up all the feed. On the rail center of the picture.
They have it made, on my side of the fence!View attachment 3553570

Awww they luvs ya

They look like pullets, I say keep them if so!

 

[Lilion]

Thank you all for your input. I assumed the one Manny was showing the most attention to was #1. But thinking about it, Meanie is often kind of glued to his side. Interesting.

So here's a little video of Eenie when I went back to her tonight. WARNING there is a very bad word in the last 15 seconds when a mouse ran by me!!! She once again started by biting me LOL and eating a little tomato like it was life-saving. Then I got the video.

 

[rural mouse]

Came home from work, went out and checked the babies. All good. Came in, had dinner, had a storm blow through. Clearing off, time to close the coop.

Head count:

21 adults, some purring, they're all good, everything is right with their world.

5 babies, twittering away, preening feathers, settling for bed, all is right with them too.

Where is the 6th? Where is Chia?

Look around, recount....scoop up Havoc. Let's go play Marco, Polo....again....

Nothing....back inside....I swear I hear them all, but where is the little devil hiding this time?

Spoiler: "I'm hiding here!"

I will be SOOOOO glad when they get past the "they can't possibly fit there" phase......oh, wait, that happens when the adults find creative places to nest.