I've got a gut feeling there is something I'm doing wrong or may be missing here, although to read the other posts I probably just have a freaked out chicken. I hope you all won't mind to double-check me.
I'm going to start from the top: 1)My first flock. In late September I got an Austrolorp and a barred rock from a farmer not too far away. He didn't know how old they were, but thought they had been born in May and would start laying in a few weeks. He also gave me a RIR pullet with some crazy ear feathers. 2) More than several weeks went by with no eggs, but I live close to a busy freight train line, so I figured between adjusting to a new home and all that noise they might take their time. By now the days were getting short, and by the time I figured out a way to add supplemental light to my coop the RIR had already molted. Maybe the barred rock molted too, but only a few feathers? With this I figured no eggs until Spring, but no big deal and I turned my attention towards making cookie tin water heaters and things like that. The RIR also put on a lot of weight and has really matured into a very big bird. The comb is still pretty small, so I'm still pretty sure she's a she. 3) 5 days ago the Austrolorp disappeared during the middle of the day. No feathers, nothing. Gates and fences all intact. 4) Since then, the RIR has acted pretty normal, but the Barred Rock does not want to roost inside the coop. When I do put her in, both birds are roosting on a different end of the perch from where they always hung out before.
So my question is: Is the Barred Rock just in shock or waiting for the Autrolorp (who had definitely been the lead bird) to come back? Or is the RIR using her new-found size and weight to her advantage, kicking the others out of the coop? Or am I missing something else here?
Thanks for your ideas, or even just telling me not to worry. I expected to occasionally lose a bird when we went into this, so I'm handling that pretty well, but the Barred Rock's refusal to roost has me perplexed.
I'm going to start from the top: 1)My first flock. In late September I got an Austrolorp and a barred rock from a farmer not too far away. He didn't know how old they were, but thought they had been born in May and would start laying in a few weeks. He also gave me a RIR pullet with some crazy ear feathers. 2) More than several weeks went by with no eggs, but I live close to a busy freight train line, so I figured between adjusting to a new home and all that noise they might take their time. By now the days were getting short, and by the time I figured out a way to add supplemental light to my coop the RIR had already molted. Maybe the barred rock molted too, but only a few feathers? With this I figured no eggs until Spring, but no big deal and I turned my attention towards making cookie tin water heaters and things like that. The RIR also put on a lot of weight and has really matured into a very big bird. The comb is still pretty small, so I'm still pretty sure she's a she. 3) 5 days ago the Austrolorp disappeared during the middle of the day. No feathers, nothing. Gates and fences all intact. 4) Since then, the RIR has acted pretty normal, but the Barred Rock does not want to roost inside the coop. When I do put her in, both birds are roosting on a different end of the perch from where they always hung out before.
So my question is: Is the Barred Rock just in shock or waiting for the Autrolorp (who had definitely been the lead bird) to come back? Or is the RIR using her new-found size and weight to her advantage, kicking the others out of the coop? Or am I missing something else here?
Thanks for your ideas, or even just telling me not to worry. I expected to occasionally lose a bird when we went into this, so I'm handling that pretty well, but the Barred Rock's refusal to roost has me perplexed.