- Nov 5, 2010
- 35
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I have a white crested black polish pullet that's about 6 months old. She has a very poofy crest, which renders her almost blind. I've trimmed the feathers on four different occasions, and I don't seem to be able to achieve good visibility. The more I trim, the poofier the other feathers get, and they fill in the newly greated gaps. She was fairly tolerant of the process at first, but now wants no part of it.
Up until about 3 weeks ago, she got along fine. She would sometimes get left behind from the rest of the (free ranging) flock, but she would always cry out loudly, and her rooster would come and get her. For some reason, that has changed recently. Several times I've found her way off by herself, just standing there. When I observe her being left behind, I notice that she no longer cries out, and her rooster doesn't seem to notice that she's missing. She goes in to roost about three hours earlier than everybody else, and she looks so pitiful hunched over on the roost in broad daylight.
I know she's at the bottom of the pecking order. Is it possible that she's been made an outcast by the flock? Or perhaps she's depressed? (It never occurred to me before now that chickens could have mental health issues.) She seems healthy in every other respect, and comes running enthusiastically for scratch a couple of times a day.
Aside from hating to have a sad chicken, I'm concerned that she's easy prey for predators. When she gets lost, she obviously can't see and she has no rooster around to alert her to danger. She probably looks like popcorn chicken to a hawk. In fact, I'm posting this now because I can't find her. This has happened before and she's shown up later, but I'm really starting to worry.
Any advice on how to handle this (or whether to leave well enough alone) would be welcome. I know of a family that would probably like to adopt her as a pet, but they have no other chickens. I'm concerned about her not being part of a flock, but in all honesty, she doesn't seem to be a part of this flock any more.
Opinions?
Up until about 3 weeks ago, she got along fine. She would sometimes get left behind from the rest of the (free ranging) flock, but she would always cry out loudly, and her rooster would come and get her. For some reason, that has changed recently. Several times I've found her way off by herself, just standing there. When I observe her being left behind, I notice that she no longer cries out, and her rooster doesn't seem to notice that she's missing. She goes in to roost about three hours earlier than everybody else, and she looks so pitiful hunched over on the roost in broad daylight.
I know she's at the bottom of the pecking order. Is it possible that she's been made an outcast by the flock? Or perhaps she's depressed? (It never occurred to me before now that chickens could have mental health issues.) She seems healthy in every other respect, and comes running enthusiastically for scratch a couple of times a day.
Aside from hating to have a sad chicken, I'm concerned that she's easy prey for predators. When she gets lost, she obviously can't see and she has no rooster around to alert her to danger. She probably looks like popcorn chicken to a hawk. In fact, I'm posting this now because I can't find her. This has happened before and she's shown up later, but I'm really starting to worry.
Any advice on how to handle this (or whether to leave well enough alone) would be welcome. I know of a family that would probably like to adopt her as a pet, but they have no other chickens. I'm concerned about her not being part of a flock, but in all honesty, she doesn't seem to be a part of this flock any more.
Opinions?
