Well, I'm now really worried about Janie. Her color is not good. She is hunched up more than she should be. Maddie isn't at all (it's in the high 30's this morning). Jane's appetite is also off. It ominously reminds me of Hector's sister, Mary, if you recall. At first, I thought she was injured, walking slowly and not fully upright. Then, we found she was bloated. And she was not far from Jane's age, younger actually, I believe. This may be something to do with that line, but no way to know. It also reminds me of Mary because Jane looks a lot like Mary did in the face and comb shape/size, though my memory may be foggy. I hate this! I really like Jane, too, and she and Maddie are my only two young layers.
I remember that Janet Holtman, who created the Delaware line, told me that you never know what surprises will come out when you cross lines, i.e. that thyrogenous dwarf gene in Isaac's group that passed down when I crossed the Stukels with him after the pure Stukel male was killed. They could look good, but be constitutionally weaker, or not look so great, but be stronger in the cross. I'm probably reaching for explanation for a young hen dying like Mary and sadly, maybe her niece, Jane. Everyone else, including Maddie, seems fine.
Last night on the baby monitor, we heard lots of flapping, then my feathered fire alarm, aka Hector, went off. Tom found that Dru had fallen off the roost and was trying to find a corner to sleep in in the dark so he put her back up there. Her hock joint is very stiff on one side and she has a stilted gait so sitting for long periods and then trying to shift her position will make her lose her balance, in spite of having an actual shelf rather than a narrow board as a roost.
