Penny's in Jail

[cluckmecoop7]

Good luck with Penny. She sounds like a funny stubborn bird. Glad the feathers are starting to grow back.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I was thinking of releasing Penny when she had been in jail for a month, but I had to release her two days early do to a slightly unexpected camping trip. I will be able to watch her a little, but for the most part, I'll be away, so I'll be unable to watch her.

I released Penny this morning and watched how things went. There was no pecking going on, so I think keeping her jail cell in the flock's coop helped keep the pecking order as is. When Penny got out, the first thing she did was scratch around. The other hens came up to her like they was excited to see her. They followed her around the yard as she scratched around and joined her in the scratching. Still no pecking, and no plucking. At least for a few days, I'm assuming that Penny will be on her best behavior. I'm hoping that Penny will stick with this good behavior. I wish I could keep a closer eye on things, but I guess, it'll be a good chance to see if Jail really worked for Penny.

Edit: This camping trip has been on the fence for awhile now. Sometimes it looks like we're going, then the next minute, not. Plans keep changing.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

At roosting time, I was wondering how things would go with Penny. I wondered if she'd try sleeping on that spot on the floor that she had been sitting a lot on when she was in Jail. Things happened slightly differently than I expected......

Jewels, a hen that I don't think was one of Penny's victims, but she is the bottom of the pecking order. She had suddenly started roosting on the flock's bedroom door at night and I didn't know why. Every night I'd put her back on the perch, but that wouldn't stop her from perching in her "new" spot. Eventually I gave up and just letted her roost there. I wondered if she was perching there because the temps were going up, and it was cooler for her to roost there. Turns out, I was wrong.....

Tonight, I walked into the coop, and there everybody was! All hens on the perch! All hens including both Penny and Jewels! Now I'm wondering something different with Jewels... Perhaps, maybe, Jewels was roosting on that door to keep Penny company? With Jewels on the door and Penny on the floor, perhaps they could see each other? It's gotten me curious about it all...

Here's a picture of them all tonight on the perch. Left to right: Jewels, Rocky, Penny, Maisy, Aundria, and Princess.