Penny's in Jail

[Lacy Duckwing]

So, I was gone for a couple of days. Penny appears like she did very well while I was away and out of two not collecting eggs days, she laid one, so that was pretty good. She appears like she's gotten used to her jail cell now. When I had first put her in there, she tried escaping, but now, she seems to have settled down. Her favorite place to be seems to be her perch, which reminds me of the bantams I used to keep in that same cage. They always liked being up on the perch too.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Glad she's doin' good!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I think that I might be seeing some small feather growth on Rocky, so that's good! Penny has been laying eggs, which is good, except for the fact that she burries them so I can't find them.
Something strange is going on with Penny... Penny is never happy. One of the things I was hoping for with the big run (lots of extra space) was Penny being happy. Nope, that didn't happen. She stayed as her usual unhappy feather plucking self. Well! The weird thing is, now that she's in jail, she's starting to look happy! It's weird because you'd think that the big run with lots of space and new things to do, Penny would be happy, but it's locked up in jail instead? It doesn't really make any sense, but I guess that's just the way she is.

 

[BadPenny]

I think that I might be seeing some small feather growth on Rocky, so that's good! Penny has been laying eggs, which is good, except for the fact that she burries them so I can't find them.
Something strange is going on with Penny... Penny is never happy. One of the things I was hoping for with the big run (lots of extra space) was Penny being happy. Nope, that didn't happen. She stayed as her usual unhappy feather plucking self. Well! The weird thing is, now that she's in jail, she's starting to look happy! It's weird because you'd think that the big run with lots of space and new things to do, Penny would be happy, but it's locked up in jail instead? It doesn't really make any sense, but I guess that's just the way she is.

Sounds like Penny might just like being by herself. I can completely understand that.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Sounds like Penny might just like being by herself. I can completely understand that.

BadPenny, you're on a thread about a bad hen named Penny... You do realize that, right? BadPenny

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

So this is what I found in Penny's jail cell today:

A Rocky thigh feather! The very same type of feather that Penny has been plucking all along! I was not happy about this. It was buried a little in shavings as if Penny was trying to hide the evidence. As soon as I found it, Penny pretended not to have anything to do with it. She started scratching around on the ground to try to not look guilty. She never scratches the ground when I'm around, so she was obvously trying to hide the fact that it was her. I'm quite upset about what Penny has done today, and I really hope that it doesn't happen again.

 

[BadPenny]

BadPenny, you're on a thread about a bad hen named Penny... You do realize that, right? BadPenny

Yep! That's how I first found it. For what it's worth "Bad Penny" was what we called my first rooster. First we thought he was a she and called him Penny (long story we actually called the other three white birds Penny too). Then he (and all the other Pennies) turned out to be a roo. Then he started being a jerk and being too rough with the other birds, so he was distinguished from the other Pennies as "Bad Penny." In his case, he just hadn't figured out how to take care of his flock yet. Your Penny, on the other hand, seems to be asking to be a flock of one.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Yep! That's how I first found it. For what it's worth "Bad Penny" was what we called my first rooster. First we thought he was a she and called him Penny (long story we actually called the other three white birds Penny too). Then he (and all the other Pennies) turned out to be a roo. Then he started being a jerk and being too rough with the other birds, so he was distinguished from the other Pennies as "Bad Penny." In his case, he just hadn't figured out how to take care of his flock yet. Your Penny, on the other hand, seems to be asking to be a flock of one.

Wow. Penny must be a popular chicken name. My Penny is also known as Penny II because she's my second chicken named Penny. My first Penny (Penny I) someone got for my farm along with a few other hens. Penny I and Ginger I came named, and they hung out in this trio which was Penny I, the Silver Laced Wyandotte, Ginger I, the New Hampshire Red, and Queeny, the White Jersey Giant. I didn't have that trio very long, but over the years I've wanted and tried replacing the trio bird, breed, and name. Penny II is the last one to replace. Ginger II was a wonderful redo hen with a wonderful personality. All except for being a bully of course. Now Penny II... (I just realized that both the Penny and Ginger of that trio that I wanted to get again, both had an issue of being mean to other flock members.) And on Queeny, she was replaced on accident. I got some Black Australorps and unfortunately, Tweety III grew taller than the rest of the Australorps. Turns out she was a Jersey Giant. I wasn't happy about that, but I guess, she replaced Queeny, so I'm good with it.

 

[BadPenny]

Turns out she was a Jersey Giant

Shudder. One of my greatest fears, accidentally ending up with a mega chicken... I've already had to expand my chicken house door to fit our new standard hen in...

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Update: Maisy; one of Penny's victims.

Of my whole flock, Maisy has always been my smallest hen. She's so light and her feet are so skinny! I loved her the way that she was, and never thought that anything was wrong. She's the first one of her breed that I've ever owned, so didn't really know what to expect anyways. I thought that Maisy was fine. It turns out... Maybe not...

This morning, I picked up Maisy, and I noticed that she weighed a little bit more than she usually does. I sat down with her and noticed that her feet are almost the size of normal chickens feet; not as skinny. Maisy appears to be putting on weight. Now I'm wondering...

In the pecking order, Maisy is the first bird under Penny. Knowing Maisy, she most likely has attempted to get above Penny, but has obviously failed. I'm wondering if, because she's the first hen under Penny, if Penny has been mean to Maisy around the food. After all, Penny was the hen who spent the most time in the coop. And their feeder is always in the coop. So Penny would of had the opportunity to keep Maisy away from the feeder if she wanted to. I'm sad to think that one of my birds was going hungry and I never caught onto it until later. When Penny gets out of Jail, I hope that she doesn't do that to Maisy anymore.