Ribh's D'Coopage

[Shadrach]

I seem to have a double senior hen position in Tribe 2. The Tribe has in the past followed Bracket more, or less. Producing chicks I think gives a hen some extra status in the tribe. Nolia triple sat with Hinge and Bracket a while ago. This is Brackets third go at being mum.
Nolia is the eldest and it has seemed that the eldest hen is usually the most senior. There could be a number of reasons for this.
As the scraps between Nolia and Bracket and then Hinge showed, under the weather or not Nolia was not going to get bullied. This does seem to make Nolia the most senior but she isn't interested in bossing everyone around like Bracket is.
I watched Nolia having supper tonight. I put down three bowls, one with medicated feed for the chicks and two normal. Nolia fed a bit from all three and everyone backed away after a warning/identification call. At least one of Brackets chicks is female. I'm hoping two are but with those ridiculous hairdos it's difficult to say.

 

[Ribh]

I seem to have a double senior hen position in Tribe 2. The Tribe has in the past followed Bracket more, or less. Producing chicks I think gives a hen some extra status in the tribe. Nolia triple sat with Hinge and Bracket a while ago. This is Brackets third go at being mum.
Nolia is the eldest and it has seemed that the eldest hen is usually the most senior. There could be a number of reasons for this.
As the scraps between Nolia and Bracket and then Hinge showed, under the weather or not Nolia was not going to get bullied. This does seem to make Nolia the most senior but she isn't interested in bossing everyone around like Bracket is.
I watched Nolia having supper tonight. I put down three bowls, one with medicated feed for the chicks and two normal. Nolia fed a bit from all three and everyone backed away after a warning/identification call. At least one of Brackets chicks is female. I'm hoping two are but with those ridiculous hairdos it's difficult to say.

I'll hope for pullets with you.

 

[Shadrach]

No, but I do need to be able to handle them & preferably in daylight. It may be easier to lift a chicken off the roost after dark but it's not much good if I then can't see anything. These days I need very good light or my eyes let me down. And I don't need any ijits flying into the wire while I work in the coop. Even though I hand feed Ha'penny & Lottie they always choose to feed @ a tub once the bigger girls have moved on so it's more about convenience than cuddling. I have cats for that.

I must admit, I would prefer to examine in daylight. I take them off their perch at night and bring them into the house if necessary. I've found they're reasonably calm about this. I get a quick struggle while carrying them I find.

 

[Shadrach]

Alpia & Wrold are Wyandotte Bantams. Aoife is a silver Campine. I'm sorry. At the moment everyone is quite hard to tell apart due to size & colouring & my man is insisting I get some more gold Campines to add a little colour back into the flock. I don't object but I could be waiting a while.

Does your man sit in the run and watch them Ribh?

 

[Ribh]

Does your man sit in the run and watch them Ribh?

No, but he'll often wander past & stand & watch them for a while. My chickens always amaze him because they're not completely neurotic & he finds the sight of any escapees spotting me out & about & promptly heading back towards the run , where they squat & wait to be lifted back over the fence, exquisitely funny. He also finds the breeds I've chosen pretty. He worked on a family farm for a bit & has nothing good to say about how the animals were treated & he compares their chickens unfavourably to mine, who may be nut jobs but are generally calm & happy birds.

 

[Ribh]

I must admit, I would prefer to examine in daylight. I take them off their perch at night and bring them into the house if necessary. I've found they're reasonably calm about this. I get a quick struggle while carrying them I find.

Once I've got them most of mine are quite calm about it & I've found the Araucanas have adjusted very quickly. They are really calm birds! For me just being able to see where I'm putting my feet is a bonus.

 

[Shadrach]

My family think I'm mad; they may have a case. However, a couple of years ago my eldest came to visit on her own. I had a very sick hen in the house (think intensive care) when she arrived and I explained to her that my venturing out was highly restricted and voiced some concern that she may get bored. I also had a mum out and about with three youngsters.
My daughter asked if she could touch the sick hen. Once she had stroked her something sparked up. She spent a week here looking after the chickens with me basically. I did take her out to lunch once with some friend on the coast so she got to swim and sunbath but she started asking a lot of questions about the chickens and what I did with them.
It was a bad week. The sick hen died on my bed as we watched. I think this was a first for my daughter. A hawk took one of the chicks and it was very hard for me to explain why I didn't seem particularly concerned. If a mum is out with her chicks and comes back one short at roost time and the chick doesn't show, I'll look until it's too dark to see properly and after that it's over. If I've seen the hawk and the mums still alive then I don't even look. The chances of finding a chick here at dusk in this terrain are nil. You would need to be lucky.
My daughter got to know Fat Bird a bit and Fat Bird would take food from her hand if I was close by. She also got to hold a couple of roosters.
Before all this it was obvious she thought the chickens were cute and she would often say she would like some. At the end of the week she thought that maybe given her circumstances and other life commitments, plus having a Husky that the life she could offer a chicken wasn't going to be good enough.

 

[Ribh]

My family think I'm mad; they may have a case. However, a couple of years ago my eldest came to visit on her own. I had a very sick hen in the house (think intensive care) when she arrived and I explained to her that my venturing out was highly restricted and voiced some concern that she may get bored. I also had a mum out and about with three youngsters.
My daughter asked if she could touch the sick hen. Once she had stroked her something sparked up. She spent a week here looking after the chickens with me basically. I did take her out to lunch once with some friend on the coast so she got to swim and sunbath but she started asking a lot of questions about the chickens and what I did with them.
It was a bad week. The sick hen died on my bed as we watched. I think this was a first for my daughter. A hawk took one of the chicks and it was very hard for me to explain why I didn't seem particularly concerned. If a mum is out with her chicks and comes back one short at roost time and the chick doesn't show, I'll look until it's too dark to see properly and after that it's over. If I've seen the hawk and the mums still alive then I don't even look. The chances of finding a chick here at dusk in this terrain are nil. You would need to be lucky.
My daughter got to know Fat Bird a bit and Fat Bird would take food from her hand if I was close by. She also got to hold a couple of roosters.
Before all this it was obvious she thought the chickens were cute and she would often say she would like some. At the end of the week she thought that maybe given her circumstances and other life commitments, plus having a Husky that the life she could offer a chicken wasn't going to be good enough.

Yes. I cut my visit with my mum short this year because I know my BRs go broody in summer & the man isn't aware enough to do something about it. To say nothing of the cats who loathe me being away. I just prefer to look after my animals myself & am blessed to live somewhere I really, really like so long as most of the people stay away.

 

[Shadrach]

It's Tap and Moon two and Bucket Boy nil at end of play today.
I found the egg on the right on a bit of path leading down to Tribe 1's current preferred bating spot. The other egg is the one I found in the nest box yesterday.
Moon came to the house nest box but didn't lay an egg, so I'm none the wiser.
Both eggs are pullet size but they are not from the same hen.

 

[Ribh]

It's Tap and Moon two and Bucket Boy nil at end of play today.
I found the egg on the right on a bit of path leading down to Tribe 1's current preferred bating spot. The other egg is the one I found in the nest box yesterday.
Moon came to the house nest box but didn't lay an egg, so I'm none the wiser.
Both eggs are pullet size but they are not from the same hen.
View attachment 2033114

Definitely 2 different hens!