Alohacayo
Songster
Tl;dr 11/12 mo old polish hen, paces and whines almost constantly, no eggs, no crow… possible roo? Possible congenital issue (based off feathers, behavior)?
Background:
(4) hens
•the welsummer mouth-of-the-west, clockwork egg laying, 6/wk, we have a system now (lol, ie, she’s still a mouth but we are managing to get along). 12mo old. Dark brown egg. 60-70g each.
•cream legbar, also clockwork egg laying, 6/wk, super sweet little escape artist. Also 12mo old. Mint green egg. 60-65g each.
•gold laced polish, been laying since 6-7mo old, 4-5 eggs per 7days. She’s 10mo old. White egg, 50-55g each.
The silver laced polish is the weird one. She’s 11+mo old. Has never laid an egg. She’s been parking herself in the nest box since December, she paces A LOT. Kind of a loner, but doesn’t bother anyone else & no one bothers her. She’s the same size as the gold laced.
How do I know she isn’t laying? Well, I’m outside, within eyesight of the nest, all day, everyday, and Carla the mouth tells me the literal moment someone drops an egg. Also, I have a camera pointed at the nest, so I know who’s in, who is out, and if Carla happens to miss an announcement, I can literally roll the tape.
Zero eggs from Ethel.
No crowing, no breeding behavior, Ethel DOES occasionally harass the other 3, usually by trying to sit ON them when they are in the nest, occasional sideswipe on the heads of the others if they are near something she wants.
Ethel is also vocal. She does what google says is a “gakel”. Basically she whines all day. And paces. She always seems to be looking for something.
I thought it was maybe a sight issue, so I trimmed her head feathers around her eyes; no change.
Thought it might be a food issue, but as far as I can tell, nope. She comes running just like everyone else, is always right in the middle of getting food (free choice 20% pellet, a hung cabbage, a flake of alfalfa, miscellaneous greens, miscellaneous leftovers, free access to a compost pile where
what they find). Fully enclosed run (approx 300sqft total), the night run is 8-10” deep wood mulch, and their other section is a “Chunnel” 4’w x 40’L x 3’h with garden on both sides, plants/vines over the top.
So, she eats fine, mostly acts like a hen, isn’t picked on, doesn’t crow, doesn’t lay eggs, mostly doesn’t harass anyone else, digs holes (just like the other 3)… but she paces 75% of her day, and whines about that same amount-not always at the same time, whining/pacing is linked, but a fair amount is one or the other.
She also doesn’t roost most nights. She sleeps under the roost. 4 chickens, 6’ of roost, all same height. I’ve got a camera there also, and there is no bullying. She just plops herself down and stays there.
Pictures below. Based on the wisdom here, polish hens have the rounded feathers, and more of a globe shape. The gold fits that to a tee.
The silver on the other hand has had a bad hair day since she got feathers. Headdress is also 50/50 round feathers, but definitely pointy ones in front. And her hackle area is also pointy feathered, but not any more length than the gold hen.
Questions are:
-wait how much longer for an egg?
-is it possible she is a he?
-any tips for her “anxiety”?
If it wasn’t that she’s always whining/pacing, she could stay, but I got chickens for the entertainment for my elders and Ethel is causing *them* distress. We’ve been dealing with her pacing/whining since December (same time she started nest exploration). Normal chicken noises are fine. This is not that.
Background:
(4) hens
•the welsummer mouth-of-the-west, clockwork egg laying, 6/wk, we have a system now (lol, ie, she’s still a mouth but we are managing to get along). 12mo old. Dark brown egg. 60-70g each.
•cream legbar, also clockwork egg laying, 6/wk, super sweet little escape artist. Also 12mo old. Mint green egg. 60-65g each.
•gold laced polish, been laying since 6-7mo old, 4-5 eggs per 7days. She’s 10mo old. White egg, 50-55g each.
The silver laced polish is the weird one. She’s 11+mo old. Has never laid an egg. She’s been parking herself in the nest box since December, she paces A LOT. Kind of a loner, but doesn’t bother anyone else & no one bothers her. She’s the same size as the gold laced.
How do I know she isn’t laying? Well, I’m outside, within eyesight of the nest, all day, everyday, and Carla the mouth tells me the literal moment someone drops an egg. Also, I have a camera pointed at the nest, so I know who’s in, who is out, and if Carla happens to miss an announcement, I can literally roll the tape.
Zero eggs from Ethel.
No crowing, no breeding behavior, Ethel DOES occasionally harass the other 3, usually by trying to sit ON them when they are in the nest, occasional sideswipe on the heads of the others if they are near something she wants.
Ethel is also vocal. She does what google says is a “gakel”. Basically she whines all day. And paces. She always seems to be looking for something.
I thought it was maybe a sight issue, so I trimmed her head feathers around her eyes; no change.
Thought it might be a food issue, but as far as I can tell, nope. She comes running just like everyone else, is always right in the middle of getting food (free choice 20% pellet, a hung cabbage, a flake of alfalfa, miscellaneous greens, miscellaneous leftovers, free access to a compost pile where
what they find). Fully enclosed run (approx 300sqft total), the night run is 8-10” deep wood mulch, and their other section is a “Chunnel” 4’w x 40’L x 3’h with garden on both sides, plants/vines over the top.So, she eats fine, mostly acts like a hen, isn’t picked on, doesn’t crow, doesn’t lay eggs, mostly doesn’t harass anyone else, digs holes (just like the other 3)… but she paces 75% of her day, and whines about that same amount-not always at the same time, whining/pacing is linked, but a fair amount is one or the other.
She also doesn’t roost most nights. She sleeps under the roost. 4 chickens, 6’ of roost, all same height. I’ve got a camera there also, and there is no bullying. She just plops herself down and stays there.
Pictures below. Based on the wisdom here, polish hens have the rounded feathers, and more of a globe shape. The gold fits that to a tee.
The silver on the other hand has had a bad hair day since she got feathers. Headdress is also 50/50 round feathers, but definitely pointy ones in front. And her hackle area is also pointy feathered, but not any more length than the gold hen.
Questions are:
-wait how much longer for an egg?
-is it possible she is a he?
-any tips for her “anxiety”?
If it wasn’t that she’s always whining/pacing, she could stay, but I got chickens for the entertainment for my elders and Ethel is causing *them* distress. We’ve been dealing with her pacing/whining since December (same time she started nest exploration). Normal chicken noises are fine. This is not that.
