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Barnyard Buddies:  Ticked off Chicken and a grouchy farmgirl  |
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emsmommy5
True Blue Farmgirl
1547 Posts
Angie
Buckley
WA
USA
1547 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 20 2012 : 4:32:05 PM
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HELP!!! I am totally new to this whole chicken raising scene. We built the 4 girls a cute little chicken tractor. I let them out in the late afternoon to run around. Now one of the girls decided to sneak off and create a nest under the blackberry bush next to the dog's fence. He HATES the chickens and got loose one day a while back and killed one. So when they wander over there, he barks and barks.
I found her the other day sitting on her two brand new eggs (some of the first she's laid). I took them and now she is PISSED! She stands back there where the eggs were and yells and crows. I can't have her doing that because we live in town and I don't want to get in trouble.
I tried putting a golf ball out there this afternoon to see if that would appease her, but she's been yelling for 20 minutes and nothing I have tried will get her to stop.
The dog is barking. The chicken is crowing. I am laughing and totally at a loss.
The other three --- one lays in the nest box. One lays under the roost in the poop pile so her egg got crunched the other day. The third laid in the nest box, but her little egg hardly had a shell.
What do I do????
Do what you love, love what you do. |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Aug 20 2012 : 5:00:40 PM
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I had to laugh though I know this is very frustrating for you & the dog a well....What I recommend is you either take a bunch of fire wood & lay it all under the blackberry bush...fill every space so she is uncomfortable under there...make sure there are no spaces big enough that she can work her way thru them to the ground....or this is super mean but works...take the hose to her each time she goes under there, don't hurt her with the hose but spray her if she gets near it......make that area also as muddy as you can...unfortunitely they are stubborn so this will have to be done q lot..probably every day but make sure there isn't any other areas near by that she can nest in as well.........if all else fails you will have to take her eggs & keep her closed in the coop until she is no longer broody......You may have to make her a special little box just for her in the coop so the others can get to the one they normally use.....this means probably caging her or fencing her into a section of the coop with her own water & feed until some eggs hatch....for some reason this girl is really wanting to be a momma so if you can just let her be but try the things above to help you keep the peace....Michele'
Chickens RULE!
hen #2622
theoldbatzfarm.blogspot.com |
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emsmommy5
True Blue Farmgirl
1547 Posts
Angie
Buckley
WA
USA
1547 Posts |
Posted - Aug 20 2012 : 5:07:43 PM
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Guess the chickens don't understand that when there is no guy around, you aren't going to be a momma chicken anyway! lol
Do what you love, love what you do. |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Aug 20 2012 : 5:16:35 PM
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Oh sorry didn't realize no roo was there...poor girl :(...Michele'
Chickens RULE!
hen #2622
theoldbatzfarm.blogspot.com |
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rschaaf
True Blue Farmgirl
174 Posts
Renee
Wooster
Ohio
USA
174 Posts |
Posted - Aug 20 2012 : 6:35:13 PM
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you could just keep them all in for awhile and not let them run around. i supposed i would have been upset too if you took my "babies" away. i use fake eggs, not golf balls to train them to lay in the nest. sounds like shes definately broody and it will last a little bit. mine buff orpington stays broody for several weeks, then moves on.
"There is beauty, there is grace, in my peaceful country place!"
See what I'm up to at: http://www.lifeonctfarm.blogspot.com |
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Aug 20 2012 : 7:54:50 PM
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Try dunking her rear end in a bucket of really cold water to get her to stop being broody. I have to do this to several of mine when they do that. When they are broody, their rears are really hot to incubate the eggs so when they are dunked in the cold water it cools them down. I'd rather have eggs than chicks right now. I also keep a cage in the coop for the ones that are very persistant. I call it the "time-out" cage. I'll put them in there for a few days then let them out and they are over it by then. When one goes broody, it messes all the others up and they quit laying. Because I only have 6 nest boxes and they all want to lay in the one that the broody hen is in for some crazy reason.
Good luck!
Kris
Happiness is simple.
www.kris-outbackfarm.blogspot.com |
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Lorie.Vance
True Blue Farmgirl
200 Posts
Lorie
Tampa
FL
200 Posts |
Posted - Aug 21 2012 : 07:36:21 AM
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Angie, you just made my day. I laughed and laughed! I have 4-girls (Bitty, Birdie, Hattie, and Fannie) who are not laying yet, and can hardly wait for all the fun I'm gonna have soon (Bitty is my trouble maker). Keep us posted!
Lorie |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Aug 21 2012 : 08:16:38 AM
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I'm laughing with all of you! Funny! I can almost hear that chicken yelling.
Thanks for the laugh.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Aug 21 2012 : 08:22:45 AM
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Yes broody hens can be very nasty at times & sooo cranky...lol...Even if you dunk her rump in cold water she will still go out to the blackberry bush cause she finds it a safe place, you need to do something like mudding it up so she gets it that its no longer a safe quiet place for her cause even if she is not broody she will continue to lay eggs there & drive the dog crazy......its not easy breaking them of places they like to lay their eggs but if you want peace & calm you will have to stay on top of her over this blackberry bush....another thing you can do is put chicken wire around it...right up to & into the bush so you can still pick the berries but she or others can't get under it...she will be mad & maybe noisy as she tries to find a way in the first few days but once she figures it out she will go somewhere else to lay her eggs...hopefully in the nesting boxes like you want....Its funny they places they decide to lay...sometimes its like a treasure hunt if you are free ranging & they have plenty of places to lay.....:)...hope this helps....Michele'
Chickens RULE!
hen #2622
theoldbatzfarm.blogspot.com |
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emsmommy5
True Blue Farmgirl
1547 Posts
Angie
Buckley
WA
USA
1547 Posts |
Posted - Aug 21 2012 : 08:45:08 AM
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All your suggestions are helpful. I went out after my plea yesterday and blocked off the area with a make-shift fence. She couldn't get to her nest. She was pretty confused and wandered around trying to figure it out, but at least she quit yelling about it for now! We will see how things progress. =)
Do what you love, love what you do. |
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queenmushroom
True Blue Farmgirl
985 Posts
Lorena
Centerville
Me
USA
985 Posts |
Posted - Aug 22 2012 : 08:48:27 AM
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This is too funny...I never knew the meaning "Madder than a wet hen". Now I do. LOL
Lorie
Patience is worth a bushel of brains...from a chinese fortune cookie |
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Barnyard Buddies: Ticked off Chicken and a grouchy farmgirl |
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Ticked off Chicken and a grouchy farmgirl
