W got back from our trip to the mountains to find Barbara not behaving like herself. Our chicken sitter Jim and my sister, who checked in on the girls, said Barbara had not left the nest much. So out we went to see the girls, first thing.
Mabel came running to greet us, but Barbara was not in sight. We found her looking weird sitting on one of Mabel's eggs. She looked dazed and had a scratch on here forehead. WTH was going on. I tried to pick her up and she pecked at me, hard! I was afraid she was sick so we brought her water feeder and she drank a lot. We brought her raisins and she ate them all. We brought her yogurt and she ate it up. So I figured she was probably not sick, but she still looked crazy. When Cal tried to move her to clean the nest of some poop, she tried to peck the crap out of him. Was she hurt?
Mabel was no help as she just stayed out of her sister's way.
Cal was finally able to pick her up so we could carefully look to see if she was injured. She was not, but she puffed her feathers up so she was about three times her normal size.. A frightening sight I'll tell ya. Cal said, do you think she might be broody, whatever that means.
To the Internet I ran. And sure enough Barbara had all the symptoms listed. Turns out they are much like PMS symptoms, and I know of where I speak.
She is cranky, listless, snarky and even mean, wants to be left alone, or to pick a fight, whatever, and is bloated. God bless the little thing she is hormonal, in spades!
It is a natural thing with most hens and there are several ways of helping her cope. We can leave her alone and let her get over it, which can take weeks, and deprive Mabel of a nest as Barbara does not want to leave the nest AT ALL! So that won't work.
We can get some fertile egg or baby chicks for her to sit on.......NO!!
Or we can put her in time out away from the nest, in a Taj Mahal of dog carriers with water and food and supposedly she will recover in a few days.
So she has been sequestered since morning. I let her our having closed the chicken yard door and she paced up and down in front of the door frantically. I recognized the feeling and knew it was back in the carrier after a brief foray into the yard. Mabel is confused and looks in at Barbara as if to say "what did you do?" In solidarity with her sister Mabel has not laid an egg yet today.
If this goes on I may have to resort to the only cure I know of......say it with me ladies....Chocolate!!!
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