Friday, October 21, 2011

Farm Friday - Clueless

That hen I wrote about last week? I am clueless as to what ails her.

Symptoms:

Sits in her nesting box all the time.
Not laying.
Pooper looks weird.
When I take her out, she eats and moves and drinks and clucks and poops normally, but her feathers are all fluffed out.
She is not standing in an "egg-bound hen" (not to be confused with "south-bound train) posture, which supposedly looks like a penguin -very upright with tail pointed downward - her posture looks just fine. Her Mama done taught her right.
When I do take her out of her box, she sometimes behaves in a gender-confused fashion. She points her wings to the ground and chases after some of the other hens, and even the roo, trying to hop up on their backsides.

So, all you chicken people out there, what am I dealing with here?

Is she:

a) molting?
b) egg-bound?
c) sick-as-a-dog-and-about-to-die?
d) transsexual?

She's such a nice little hen. So pretty and sweet. Help me to help her.















Here she is back when she was healthy as a horse. I want to put a little tiny tiara on her head, she's so pretty.


My chicken group has been of no help. The vet has been of no help. So now I am reaching my hand out into cyberspace to all my bloggy friends. Surely one of you must know a thing or two about chickens?

Shirley, any thoughts?



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4 comments:

Miss Meg said...

Could she be transgendered? Infertile perhaps? She knows she's supposed to sit and make eggs but maybe she can't?
I'm not good with chickens (I think we've "discussed" this before lol), but if she truly is just gender-confused, try to love her for the chicken she IS, and not the chicken you want her to be. :) She may already be fighting the stereotypical gender roles within her peer group, and trying to find her place, so just offer her love and unconditional support :)
On a random side note, I was wondering if I could ask your advice on something since you DO write my favorite family/adoption blog? Can I email you?

Karon said...

OK, when you said she just sits around until you get her up to do something, my first thought was maybe she is a he:) Our chickens are molting right now and not pleased about the season change. Thus no eggs for us and a lot of weirdness and senesitivity. They might also be sad because an owl ate two little ones the other day.

Anne Birdsong said...

Thanks Meg and Karon. I'm hoping she's just molting, I just don't know enough about them. Fingers crossed...

Anne Birdsong said...

Meg, email me at anne@bringingboryahome.com.

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