I got some eggs from another BYC'er, and I got 3 Lakenvelder eggs in the bunch. They're pure. Only 2 hatched, and by chance or favor, I ended up with a pair.
Anyway, I have been watching these little guys and interacting with them, and the little pullet is so totally different than every other chick I've ever hatched. The little roo is very quiet, kinda keeps to himself a bit, but he isn't loud or pushy, and he doesn't mind being held. He'll sit with me on the couch, or out in the yard. He positions himself on my shoulder and just lays down and quietly observes his surroundings. When he's down on the ground with the other birds he acts pretty much like the rest, he forages, he runs around exploring with them, but will sometimes wander off to explore alone. We named him Montgomery, but we call him Monty for short. He's quite observant, but not mean at all. Usually when a chick starts eyeballing me I back them up cause I know they have just noticed the whites of my eyes or my teeth and they want to taste them, lol. But not Monty. He just seems to watch. The little pullet we named Eliza. She is so very quiet, I don't think I've ever even heard her make a sound. She was ok in her brooder with the other birds, but preferred to be alone in a corner for the most part. I think some of the other chicks were a little too rambunctious for her taste. Eliza and Monty are now 5 weeks old. About 2 weeks ago I hatched out another batch of chicks, 6 Bantams and 2 Standards. Well, I had just moved them into their brooder when I heard a noise coming from the big brooder. Eliza was pacing and staring very intently at the new brooder, even though the chicks weren't really peeping. I gave the new babies water and food and left the room to go do chores. Well, every time I came back to check on the chicks, Eliza had her face squished up against the bars of her brooder (it's a rabbit cage with a plastic bottom) and was watching the brooder with the new chicks. Ok, so fast forward to later that afternoon. My older DD goes into the bedroom to change the water in Eliza's brooder, and as soon as she lifts the lid, out shoots Eliza. Before my daughter could catch her Eliza had hit the floor and was half fluttering, half running to the new brooder. She was up and over the side and IN the brooder before my daughter could catch her! That was the first time Eliza had ever even left the brooder without someone lifting her out. So as the bird was making her great escape my DD is calling for me. I arrive just as my daughter is leaning toward the new brooder to see what Eliza was doing. Our initial fear was that she would hurt the little babies, but instead, to our surprise, she grabbed a bite of their food and then laid right down. The babies looked at her for like a millisecond, and then proceeded to cram up under her wings and as close to her as they could possibly get. Eliza hasn't left since. We tried one afternoon last week to bring her outside with the other chicks her age and this is what she did the ENTIRE time we were outside, and we were outside for several hours:
She refused to eat or drink, she wouldn't even look at the grass. She just seemed to stand there and pout. She was glaring at me too. Once we came back inside and she was back with the babies, she perked right back up and went back to eating and drinking and snuggling with "her" babies. What I want to know is, is that normal behavior for a Lakenvelder? From all that I've been able to find on the breed they are friendly but not affectionate, tolerant of people, good either as foragers or kept in a coop, and they aren't broodies. So...did someone forget to tell Eliza that she's a Lakenvelder instead of a Buff Orpington? She eats fine, she poops fine, she isn't lethargic or in any pain, she just prefers the company of the babies to the company of the Speckled Sussex and Marans chicks that she was in with originally. Can anyone who has raised them give me a more detailed idea of what to expect with these two as they get older? I'm not sure Eliza will do well in my current Standard flock. I may have to create a special pen just for her and Monty. Any words of wisdom with this breed would be much appreciated.
She refused to eat or drink, she wouldn't even look at the grass. She just seemed to stand there and pout. She was glaring at me too. Once we came back inside and she was back with the babies, she perked right back up and went back to eating and drinking and snuggling with "her" babies. What I want to know is, is that normal behavior for a Lakenvelder? From all that I've been able to find on the breed they are friendly but not affectionate, tolerant of people, good either as foragers or kept in a coop, and they aren't broodies. So...did someone forget to tell Eliza that she's a Lakenvelder instead of a Buff Orpington? She eats fine, she poops fine, she isn't lethargic or in any pain, she just prefers the company of the babies to the company of the Speckled Sussex and Marans chicks that she was in with originally. Can anyone who has raised them give me a more detailed idea of what to expect with these two as they get older? I'm not sure Eliza will do well in my current Standard flock. I may have to create a special pen just for her and Monty. Any words of wisdom with this breed would be much appreciated.
