Hey all!
My flock of four turned fourteen weeks old on Monday. That's a little young for laying -- the rule of thumb I've heard is around 20 weeks -- though I'm guessing it's not entirely out of the question. They've all got their grown-up voices, and generally cluck quietly to each other unless something exciting is afoot (like me coming over with a handful of freshly picked grass) or something has them worried.
This morning, I was in the house and heard one of them really rocking out with a "bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk-BAGAWK-bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk!"
I ran outside to make sure there wasn't some kind of actual hazard disturbance, and found Vicki, my Buff Orpington, back inside the coop and pacing the roost while continuing to vocalize at full volume. Worried that there might be something IN the coop, I ran back inside, put shoes on, and came back out to check. When I returned, Vicki was back out in the run with the other three chickens, merrily pecking away at random stuff in the run substrate as per usual. I checked inside the coop and run for anything out of place and came up empty-handed.
Are sudden vocal performances a thing? Is this the egg song? Should I be worried that something is amiss?
My flock of four turned fourteen weeks old on Monday. That's a little young for laying -- the rule of thumb I've heard is around 20 weeks -- though I'm guessing it's not entirely out of the question. They've all got their grown-up voices, and generally cluck quietly to each other unless something exciting is afoot (like me coming over with a handful of freshly picked grass) or something has them worried.
This morning, I was in the house and heard one of them really rocking out with a "bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk-BAGAWK-bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk!"
I ran outside to make sure there wasn't some kind of actual hazard disturbance, and found Vicki, my Buff Orpington, back inside the coop and pacing the roost while continuing to vocalize at full volume. Worried that there might be something IN the coop, I ran back inside, put shoes on, and came back out to check. When I returned, Vicki was back out in the run with the other three chickens, merrily pecking away at random stuff in the run substrate as per usual. I checked inside the coop and run for anything out of place and came up empty-handed.
Are sudden vocal performances a thing? Is this the egg song? Should I be worried that something is amiss?