Finally caught up with this thread. Given the discussion a couple of pages back, I'd like to thank Perris (once more) for writing an amazing article on broodies.
Things here have been peaceful. The bantam hens just come back into lay. They hadn't laid a single egg since Lady Gaga was taken (whereas the LFs laid almost within the week of the attack). The tribes juveniles are growing. Foureira's chick is a cockerel, and the youngest pure serama I have here. Ocean and Ursula's chick (Ubon) is a pullet. What is really surprising is that in both cases, the moms have not abandoned the chicks. Foureira's chick (still not sure if the remaining chick is Fig or Fern) is over three months old, and Ubon just turned three months old. Not exactly sure why they are still 'mothering' them. I use the term mothering loosely, but both chicks are very welcomed by their mothers, and follow them closely.
I do not know much about the way Foureira was raised (though highly suspect it was not by a broody), so this might just be her normal age. Ocean however was driven away from her biological mum Cruella and co-mother Ursula quite forcefully at 5-6 weeks old. Even more surprising is that Ursula herself (being a co-mother to Ubon) hasn't driven her away. Not sure what to make of this. Ocean is young, just turned one this month. Ursula however was already a year old when she helped raise Ocean, so this new behaviour is something I can't exactly place. I guess this comes off as me complaining a bit, which I far from am. I love that the hens have decided to keep their chicks around for longer, though I suspect it is a direct correlation to Lady Gaga passing which does make me sad for them.
The LF tribe is doing good. Kolovos and the two cockerels seem to work out alright. I haven't seen a crazy amount of sexual drive from either boy like I had with the previous male, so that's a plus. The pullets have definitely started laying. As shown in the photo below, there seems to be a mini split, with the pullets choosing to spend time with males their age. Come spring, it should be clear if the split will be permanent or not
I usually can't wait to get back to some not-rich food by the time we get through all the leftovers
