I think my Easter Egger hen is confused - she seems to have bonded to our dog instead of the other chickens. A very brief history - she arrived over the summer with a batch of bantams chicks(she being the only standard). When they got a bit older, I moved her into another pen with some other standard sized pullets not much older than her. I noticed every time I let them out to free-range, she stayed near the dog - scratching around him and not the other chickens.
The other day, she was standing under my Pyr's chin while he was sitting and when he stood up, she would stand under his body. When he would lie down, she would scratch all around him - including on top of his tail and paws, lightly pecking his fur. The poor dog is a bit scared of the entire situation, he looks at her seemingly worried when she is pecking and scratching around his tail and fanny. It is the strangest thing - it is like she thinks he is another chicken or something. When I looked out the window a couple of times today to check on them - sure enough - the dog is sleeping and the pullet (named Fresca) is scratching around about 2 feet from him, all the other chickens were off somewhere else.
It really is funny, poor Chewy (the Pyr) seems bewildered at the whole thing - he is so used to being completely unappreciated by the birds he is protecting. Normally, he gets pecked on the nose when he is only trying to calmly sniff and greet a chicken (tail wagging and all) and other times he has been outright attacked by some of the more aggressive poultry (notably a tom, peacock and BR rooster I used to have).
The other day, she was standing under my Pyr's chin while he was sitting and when he stood up, she would stand under his body. When he would lie down, she would scratch all around him - including on top of his tail and paws, lightly pecking his fur. The poor dog is a bit scared of the entire situation, he looks at her seemingly worried when she is pecking and scratching around his tail and fanny. It is the strangest thing - it is like she thinks he is another chicken or something. When I looked out the window a couple of times today to check on them - sure enough - the dog is sleeping and the pullet (named Fresca) is scratching around about 2 feet from him, all the other chickens were off somewhere else.
It really is funny, poor Chewy (the Pyr) seems bewildered at the whole thing - he is so used to being completely unappreciated by the birds he is protecting. Normally, he gets pecked on the nose when he is only trying to calmly sniff and greet a chicken (tail wagging and all) and other times he has been outright attacked by some of the more aggressive poultry (notably a tom, peacock and BR rooster I used to have).
