Patridge bantam chicken poorly foot?

[Omletina Kyckling]

.........the reason I ask this is that I originally had my three Omlet girls and when they were free ranging, they picked out a spot under the Wisteria against the house to lay their eggs. They haven't free ranged the whole garden for some time now, since I got my Omlet netting and gave them their own corner of garden.

 

I got my three new girls in June, and in the past few weeks I've decided to let all six girls out into the whole garden to free range again (to let their area recover a bit to be honest)

 

The Omlet girls all tend to lay first thing in the nest box, but Britta, my blue egg layer lays a bit later.....she headed straight for the exact same spot under the Wisteria to lay her eggs and has done ever since. There are lots of bushes/trees etc. in the garden which she could have picked, yet she went straight for this same area that the Omlet girls used. There are other areas under the Wisteria where she could lay yet she has gone in the exact same spot!

 

Is this a coincidence or have the others somehow told her about it?!!

 

Interesting....

[daj198]

Interesting... it would appear that they can talk!

 

One possibility other than the talking is that their previous nest still smelt of chicken and so she smelt it out. I know that, when you get a new cat bed, you're supposed to put some of it's hair in the bed to make it smell of it. Maybe a similar thing is true with hens and nests.

 

Thanks for telling us, will ponder this some more

[Mrs Slats]

Ours talk to each other, but mostly when they are queuing for the nest box.

 

You can clearly hear the chatter going back and forth

 

"hurry up I'm bursting"

 

"shush, you can't rush these things"

 

"but you've been in there ages"

 

"go away, I can't lay with all this racket"

 

 

You can hear them from the house!

[dancing cloud]

Mine certainly communicate too - usually about the nest-box, but I've also noticed there's always one on look-out in the garden and they chirrup to tell the others if I'm bringing something for them.

 

Best communication I saw, was Dandelion and Chance stood together at the top of the garden, looked at each other like they were counting (one, two, three - go!) and set off together haring down the lawn, legs and wings going, in what was clearly a race. Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it happen

 

For creatures with brains not much bigger than peas, they can be quite impressive - worrying really isn't it?

[Angels4]

My sister (who had no intrest in my chickens) went out yesterday to remove the shower cover off the girls run. About an hour later it started to rain so she went back out to put it back on. This is the converstation she says she knew the girls were having while huddled under the omlet shade.

 

"Helloooooooo we are getting our feathers wet."

 

"Could she move any slower."

 

"I knew it was going to rain, why did she remove our shower cover."

 

"Hurry, hurrry, hurry! My feet are getting wet."

 

I guess you had to be there (my sister is a brillant story teller) as I was rolling on the floor with tears pouring out of my eyes. Ann Marie claims the girls were also staring at her with a certian amount of disdain in thier eyes.

[Cinnamon]

I have always assumed that they do talk to each other.

 

They are not very bright though,because when one gets a worm or something they make a very distinctive cluck which alerts all the others who chase her & try to get it off her!

[Rhapsody]

Mine have definite and distinctive 'predator in the sky' chirrup which makes them all freeze if a hawk or any large bird goes overhead.

[hillfamily]

I have always assumed that they do talk to each other.

 

They are not very bright though,because when one gets a worm or something they make a very distinctive cluck which alerts all the others who chase her & try to get it off her!

 

I have often wondered why they alert everyone to their juicy find If it was me - I'd eat it quick

 

My girls definitely chat to each other and are also very good at letting me know when it's time for their supper