G-n-L Ganesh and Lauren

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Observations on Chicken Behaviour...

Sunday, 17 January 2010

This has been one of the more interesting weeks of chook-keeping that we've had. As you may already know, our game hen Russet has always been extremely timid and is often pecked by the largest 2 of the red hens (Big Red and Copper). The situation had been slowly improving until friday when G left the chook pen door open accidentally. I'm not sure what happened during the day but when we returned home all the chooks were in the backyard, Russet was visibly distressed (but un-injured as far as we could tell) and wouldn't stop making noise (which is extremely unusual, she's usually very quiet). When we rounded the chooks back into the pen the largest 2 kept chasing and pecking Russet for no reason at all. Then out of the blue the 3 large hens (including Sienna) turned on a pigeon that had walked into the coop and tried to eat it!! They managed to swallow a large number of feathers before we could intervene to save it. I guess that explains all the pigeon carcasses in the chicken coop.

We made the executive decision that the 3 big hens had to go. Obviously Russet was never going to improve with 3 crazed pigeon killers as coopmates. We listed an ad and separated Russet from the others as a short term measure. G was of the opinion that Sienna was a good chook and that she and Russet could be friends while I was of the opinion that Sienna was only being nice to Russet because she was smaller than Red and Copper and as soon as they had gone Sienna would be 'queen of the nest' and start pecking Russet too. G decided to test the theory and purchased 2 new game hens (yet to be named!) to form an army with Russet to defend against the gang of 3. My theory turned out to be correct. As soon as Copper and Red were separated Sienna turned nasty. So we halved the coop with the game birds on one side and the gang of 3 on the other side. The two new game birds were about half the size of Russet and things started off well... but soon even they turned on Russet!!

I started to consider that perhaps sometimes my shy behaviour led others to treat me in the same way Russet was being treated! Not that I've ever noticed that but it really made me think... People treat you in the way you behave. And even tiny game hens thought they could beat up on Russet because she was timid. If you demand respect you seem to get it in this world!

Labels: behaviour, chickens

The first eggs...

Thursday, 21 May 2009

The first eggs have finally arrived!! This morning there were 2 freshly laid eggs in the straw... Amazing! They are supermarket size and surprisingly heavy (I was expecting much smaller ones at first!)... It's very very exciting... I'm not sure which of the 4 chooks to congratulate, but I have now deemed all the chooks name worthy:

Russet : Our first game hen... smaller than the other chooks, scared of humans, likes to fly and has slowly integrated into the group. Has taught the others how to fly and prevent being put back into the coup during the night. Has learnt how to forage.
Big Red : The darkest chook and most aggressive of the bunch with a large red crest and a tiny white tail. Always the last one into the coup and always the first to try and escape to eat grass (and the veggies!). Not at all scared of humans. Likes to dig holes.
Copper : Tends to stay under the radar and follows the crowd.
Sienna : Has a big white tail and was one of the more aggressive towards Russet initially.

As yet not sure how really fresh eggs taste as these first two are going to Jeannie for winning the original naming competition!

Labels: chickens, eggs

Happy Easter!

Saturday, 11 April 2009

Happy Easter Everyone! I hope you're enjoying the break (if you have one!)... We've celebrated the occasion with a few more hens... Bantam hens! From a fantastic place in Sunbury... A cross behind recyclers heaven and the industrial wasteland of the future. Nestled in a white, rocky crevasse opposite the airport, we descended down a steep, rocky road past abandoned and burnt out tractors, cars, sheds and odd mechanical devices. Hundreds of tiny fluffy kittens were crawling over rusted farm equipment and junk while the chooks tried to avoid being caught! (Ganesh managed to catch all 3!)

Unfortunately when we got home I realised that not all chickens are friends. The 3 new chooks (as yet unnamed - I haven't deemed them nameworthy given their appalling behaviour!) have taken to pecking Russet. Occasionally they even chase her just to peck her. It's horrible. We've built some extra (higher) places for Russet to go that the fatter, larger Bantam hens can't get to... But it's really upsetting. Short of standing there poking them with a stick every time they peck Russett, I'm not sure what to do. Ganesh is of the opinion that they will adjust and it's natural behaviour in the animal kingdom... I hope it improves!

Apart from that I just wanted to thank friends and family for such a happy easter. It's been great seeing you all, and of course a big thanks to mum for the annual easter egg hunt - never a dull moment... or an easy clue! :-)

Labels: chickens, easter, eggs

Feathering the nest

Monday, 16 March 2009

The chickens have arrived! 2 lovely game hens - names yet to be decided. We brought them home, cooked them some lovely oats with warm milk and honey... warmed up their beds and put them into the enormous coup we'd spent all week on - and they wouldn't get out of the box! I think they were just tired because they've been very jumpy ever since. The whitish hen is much more friendly and placid, while the brown one seems to be petrified of humans!

I've learnt a lot about chickens in a very short time frame... From how to hold them (palm up, 2 fingers between the legs, the other 2 fingers either side) to the fact that they need garlic in their water for 4-5 days per month, and even that you should lime the dirt they run on to prevent bacteria build up! One of the most surprising rules was that they can't eat bread or potatoes...

Depending on how much trouble they are, the chickens may have to serve as May's mini adventure!

Update: Names decided! Drum Roll.... Introducing.... Amber and Russet!!

Labels: chickens