The Secret Life of My Flock

[my21chickens]

I finally put Meg in the broody cage yesterday. She was not very happy with me this morning, she was giving me the evil eye and was clucking very loudly!

Haha

 

[MegsEggsx]

4 days in chicken jail and Meg is still broody. Her broodiness has caused her to lose a lot of weight, she is getting very skinny. I am feeding her scrambled eggs with full cream milk and butter to try to get her to put on a bit more weight. I am also giving her yogurt. Any input on fattening her up (but still keeping her healthy) is very much appreciated. Post on this thread or the link below! Thanks so much in advance.

This is the link to my thread about her:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/posts/24312143/

 

[MegsEggsx]

It has been raining very heavily today and yesterday. Yesterday I opened the door (while it was bucketing down) to the coop and the big girls all ran out to dance in the rain! It was like they didn’t even notice it was raining even though they were already soaked! The floor of the run had flooded and Meg’s cage had a centimetre of water in it so I quickly took her out and put her up on the platforms with the Silkies and Cauliflower and Hay-Hay. The broody cage I use splits in half so I put half on the ground and it was raise above the ground so the flock could sit on it without getting wet if needed. This morning a similar thing happened, the big girls ran out and started pecking around . And the other six were sitting on the 3 ‘platforms’. The Silkies were looking a little funny being a little wet. I gave them heaps of food. I don’t think Meg is broody anymore but I hope she doesn’t get any ideas. Sorry about the dodgy pics, I just wanted to get out of the rain!

 

[MegsEggsx]

Not quite as rainy today. All of the flock came out of the coop when I let them out. On both yesterday and the day before it stopped raining between about 2 and 4 so hopefully they all got out at some point to scratch around. The sky is very grey and there is a pretty decent down pour. It is forecast to be raining for the next week. I don’t think the girls (and Cookie ) have been truly dry since Sunday.

 

[Lady Red]

Glad they got a little outside time!
Your stories and photos are wonderful ❤

 

[MegsEggsx]

Meg has still been able to maintain her role as Queen Bee even after spending 3 weeks 'on strike'. She knows Cookie is on the rise though; I often (almost every time I check on them) see Meg and Cookie fighting. Most of the time Cookie backs off after a little while but when he is feeling bold he likes to keep the fight on, that is when I normally step in and break it up (I am not really sure if I should be doing that but I really hate seeing them fight and I don't want either of them to get hurt). Meg knows that Cookie is trying to steal her crown so every time he comes near her she comes at him, putting him back in his place. This behaviour is fairly new (I have only noticed it really in the past week or so) but I am not really sure if it is a good or bad thing. If Meg keeps her spot will Cookie be likely to still crow (if he does he has to go)? I mean it probably won't happen but there is a chance right? Or am I just dreaming?

 

[MegsEggsx]

A story that I forgot to tell:
It has been pretty miserable the past week. Very heavy rain on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and the rest of the week was grey skies and the constant drissle. I think it was Thursday, yes it was, my Mum, my sisters and I had been out late. I didn’t realise we weren’t going to be home that afternoon to put the flock away so I had let them all out in the morning. My dad was getting home an hour before us (it was dark) so I told him to put them away the second he got home. He did. We were about 10 minutes from home when Dad called me. He said that only 9 chickens were in the coop! He told me that one of the little black girls was missing (Meg or Hay-Hay). My sister began to panic and cry. I was trying to stay calm and plan out what we were going to do when we got home. We finally arrived back and I grabbed 2 torches and turned my phone flashlight on. I ordered one of my sisters to check around the side of the house (where Meg and Hay-Hay like to have dust baths), the other to search down in the chicken’s area and I looked in the backyard and the patio. It was not long after that I found little Meggy perched on a chair on the patio! I sighed in relief, picked her up and called out that I found her. We took her down to the coop, put her on the roost and gave her some light for her to settle in. What I think happened was that it was raining heavily when it became dark and she couldn’t find her way back so she had to roost on the patio instead. Meg always seems to find herself in difficult situations!

 

[Callender Girl]

Sounds like Meg keeps you on your toes!

 

[MegsEggsx]

And yet another Meg story!!!
Well really it concerns the entire flock but it is beginning with Meg. I woke up this morning to find that Meg has officially begun her first annual molt! She is looking pretty funky! Hay-Hay has begun too but she is looking much better than Meg. I have found quite a few white feathers lying around so I think Cauliflower has shed a few too but the feathers on her body are as smooth as ever. The other 4 have been laying a few oddly shaped eggs recently so they may go into molting soon too but they don't look it. I am pretty excited about it, I don't know why I just am! Pre-molting, Meg and Hay-Hay were looking a bit scraggly due to getting into arguments with LJ and Cookie so it will be nice for them to have pretty, shiny new feathers again .

 

[MegsEggsx]

Do you want the good news or the bad news first? I always say the bad news first so I can wash it down with the good news, so:
The bad news:
So I woke up this morning and walked outside to let the chickens out and the moment I stepped out the door there was a cock-a-doo-da-loo! I called out to my mum who was inside and she couldn’t hear it from in there so she came outside too and Cookie crowed 3 more times while I was outside letting them out. It was a very quiet crow and quite funny sounding too. Loud enough that I could hear it from my backyard but quiet enough that I couldn’t hear it from inside my house. No louder than the egg songs that the girls though so it should be ok with the neighbours until we return him.

The good news:
I am pretty sure one one the Silkies layed their first egg! It is pretty cute, white, a little speckled, and quite long. Will post a pic later.