Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Squeaky; the confused bantam

I'm not sure what's wrong with Squeaky, our bantam hen. She,s confused, poor thing. She has this obsession: She has to sit on all of the eggs that are laid inside the chicken house. Everyday, when we go out to get the eggs, there's Squeaky, sitting on as many as she can get underneath her. We know they're not her eggs because they are big brown or blue ones.
She's kind of a loner hen. She doesn't even hang with the other two bantams. She spends most of her time inside the chicken coop and is more friendly with us than the other hens. We call her Squeaky because she doesn't cluck; she squeaks. If she isn't sitting on eggs, she tries to follow us around. I think she could be a "house" hen if it weren't for the dogs.
Anyway, this afternoon I went to get the eggs and there she was, in the box, looking at me like she knew what was going to happen. She ruffled her tail feathers and squeaked at me. I reached down underneath her and retrieved three warm (BIG), beautiful eggs. She pecked at me and told me in no uncertain terms that I was violating her chicken rights.... and then, to add insult to injury,I had the audacity to take her picture too. As I left the coop I think I heard her use a derogatory squeak. It had a different tone. I'm sure it was intended for me.

3 comments:

  1. She broody! She will continue this behavior until a)you let her set on some eggs and hatch them out or b)she dies--honestly, I have had hens who will not give up and would have died of starvation if I had not broken up their brooding
    or c) you break up her brooding. there is a good discussion of brooddy hens here
    http://www.the-coop.org/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002153

    Good luck with her!

    ReplyDelete
  2. She broody! She will continue this behavior until a)you let her set on some eggs and hatch them out or b)she dies--honestly, I have had hens who will not give up and would have died of starvation if I had not broken up their brooding
    or c) you break up her brooding. there is a good discussion of brooddy hens here
    http://www.the-coop.org/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002153

    Good luck with her!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I know what's wrong with Squeeky because I have the exact same symptoms: the moodiness, avoiding others, hanging on to what's left of any mother instincts. She has ENS (Empty Nest Syndrome)! If you want to prevent her from really going over the edge, don't let her watch out the window when the trash man comes to pick up her child's old crib, throws it into the truck and smashes it in a million pieces!

    ReplyDelete

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