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Wednesday 25 September 2013

Chicken PMS

I thought I was done posting about chickens for awhile.  Well, at least until I got to the fascinating story of insulating and whitewashing the coop.  Oh, and there will be the one about dusting the birds for lice.  That will be a blockbuster post for my city readers!

But, today we have to deal with angry chickens. ~


When chickens are stressed, they get very, very mad!  And, you'd be surprised at how many things can stress a chicken.  For creatures that don't have to climb any corporate ladders or pay mortgages, they sure can make a big deal of the little bit they do have to put up with.

Then again, I've never had to give birth every day or had all my feathers fall out twice a year.  Still, you'd think they'd count themselves lucky to never have to worry about their breasts drooping.

One of the biggest stress factors for chickens is going through their semi annual moult.  When you start to see this in the coop, you'd better be on guard for trouble!  ~


It gives them the worst case of PMS you have ever seen!  You see, they don't have access to wine and don't have husbands to take it out on so they do the next best thing.  The gal with the worst case of PMS decides to kill whichever one is on the bottom of the pecking order.  That looks like such a good idea that all the other hens decide they should join in.  It's the same thing that happens in big offices only these girls actually draw blood.

My gals seem to be going through this moult without turning homicidal.  It could be that they free range or it could be that I'm religious about giving them a food mixture that builds up the calcium in their bodies. ~


You can see how to make this yummy meal by clicking here.

I'm afraid a friend of mine has not been so lucky with her gals.  They pecked one poor chicken almost to death. After a couple of weeks of segregating her they tried to reintroduce her to the coop.  Failure.  They isolated the most aggressive chicken and the others started in on the poor thing.  So, the decision was to end her suffering quickly by chopping off her head.

I said, "Great idea!"  Just kidding. You know me better than to believe that.

Guess who came to live at Bramasole today?  I've renamed her Ann Boleyn.  But, this Anne has escaped the axe. I couldn't get a very good shot of her because she doesn't quite trust the lady who stuffed her into a cat carrier and dumped her in my quarantine coop. ~


So far Lizzy, Kay, Molly and Gertie are ignoring Ann. ~


Look at poor Molly's bare spots.  She gave Ann a glance and that was about it.  Ann will have to stay in there for about a week and then I'll referee the fights while she finds her place in the flock.  Did you notice she's not white?  We finally have a lady of colour!

She was a little suspicious of the special dinner.  Yay, she's eating it! ~


Now, if no one calls any of these girls fat or looks at them sideways, we may be able to make this work and Ann won't lose her head to the block. I'm even hopeful my friend is wrong when she told me Ann doesn't lay eggs.

Yeah, I know, I've officially become the crazy chicken lady.

26 comments:

  1. nice post!! what a fun little farm!

    schilderijen te koop

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  2. Hahaha! I love that you've renamed her Ann like we joked about! And I sincerely hope she starts laying eggs for you and gets along with her new friends. Chicken PMS is a great way to describe it alright! xo wendy

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  3. So long as Henry doesn't come around Ann should be okay, poor pmsing chickens. Lice treatments, done enough of the human variety to want to do it to chickens, please tell me you don't have to comb!

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  4. You're a great storyteller, Maureen! Love reading about your chickens! Ann is one lucky chick!

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  5. So Ann has won the jack-pot. I love happy chicken stories when there are so many that suffer. Thanks for this. It started my day off on the right track..

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  6. Ha! The crazy chicken lady is right and I love it! Time to write a book about your chickens?

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  7. Love the post!!! My chickens have been molting also...but no PMS ing yet...:)))

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  8. Oh you are so funny. My MT friend has chickens, lots of them. I would like to have some but this city gal isn't quite sure. My hubby knows about them from his grandmothers. LOVE your post. Thanks for stopping by.

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  9. hahahaha! sooooooo funny... oh my gosh how i love your chicken stories and the way you tell them... you should be writing a book, and i'm not kidding one little bit!

    cindy

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  10. Good for you for saving Ann. If I gave birth everyday I would be a tad ornery.

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  11. This is just too funny ... likely not as funny to you, but the way you tell it ... it is !!!
    You are one special lady to put up with all this. Good luck in getting these ladies happy so they can live together peacefully. Yes, you are a funny lady.

    Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures

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  12. It's a much harder life for a chicken than I thought. I'm so glad Ann Boleyn didn't have her head chopped off, that story always upset me at school. Now she's moved to the best palace ever, where she will be well taken care of !

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  13. Oh. Em. Gee. First off, never think about not posting about the chickens for even a little while. They're far too entertaining. I had no idea they could be so aggressive! Does it make you mean when you eat their eggs? Anne just looks plain mean. I'm scared of her. Maybe put some valium in with those soybeans...YIKES!

    -andi

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  14. The life of a chicken and a chicken lady sure is interesting Maureen. Never a dull moment with the girls. I hope Ann fits in with the others. Talk about pecking order! :)

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  15. You are so hilarious Maureen - really - your comparisons leave me laughing out loud!!!
    XOXO

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  16. You are such an awesome chicken lady!! You crack me up! I wish I didn't have to worry about drooping breasts!!

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  17. my word -- you have the most exciting backyard shenanigans going on. Glad you could rescue another -- hope they are able to mingle peacefully.

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  18. Wow! I just got my first two eggs ever...now I'm scared to death of them moulting!

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  19. So, I am desperately trying to get info on how to care for the hens come winter. I actually just read every single post you have on them. What do you do about snow and their feet in their run? Throw out straw? I can keep their coop warm, but I worry about them being outside in the snow. I am an extreme beginner, if you can't tell.

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  20. Maureen, I had to take pauses while reading this...laughing pauses! So entertaining. Like LittleMyoo said, never think about not posting about the chickens. You are one of a kind.

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  21. :-)....you are really unpredictable...I will share with my chicken rancher hippy daughter! she also has turtles

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  22. I just love hearing about your chicken themed escapades! I never knew about moulting. I'd be made too. :)

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  23. I don't know how I missed your last couple posts! You are hysterical as only you can be- PMSing chickens! Poor Ann!! She will soon come to love and appreciate what a good mom you are to your flock of girls. You have a good heart- xo Diana

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  24. I would never had expected that when I woke up I would be reading about chickens...and that I would actually like it! This was hilarious. Poor chickens with no wine or husbands :). I love that you saved that Ann. I hope all the girls are able to play nicely together.

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  25. Hope all goes well with Miz Boleyn! I dusted for lice this summer. What fun. Not.

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