4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[mattandruby]

Blossom and Petal joined us in June. They roam free in our garden after laying. Blossom is, I guess, a few weeks older than Petal. Both Gingernut Rangers.

 

Blossom's gone broody, about 5 days ago, and for the last few days, I've been unceremoniously throwing her off the nest and closing the eglu door.

 

But I'm not seeing a change in her pattern. Once kicked out, she leads her normal happy life (after passing the king of stools) for the rest of the day, but until she gets the boot, she's just a big feathery pancake.

 

One repeating thing is that, once booted, she'll be indignant for about 5 minutes - if she could, she'd write to her MP, then 'suddenly remember something' and dash to the front of the garden with a squawk. It's like clockwork.

 

But OTOH, Petal seems to have stopped laying. Huh? So Blossom's broody, but laying? Petal's been pushed off the nest and has stopped laying? I thought broody hens didn't lay?

 

So what's going on?

[The Dogmother]

You're right, broody hens don't usually lay, but if they're 'on the turn' (broody that is) then they can still lay just before they finally turn into a squawking hormonal mess.

 

There's an excellent thread about broodiness inthe FAQ section. I find that a broody cage works best... 3 days and they're back to normal.

[Snowy]

Are you sure it is Petal that has stopped laying though? Could she be laying, then Blossom sits on her egg? Just a thought!

[mattandruby]

Well, we finally got Blossom out of her broodiness (thanks for everyone's contributions throughout the forum!). Just in time for her to start her molt. Heigh ho.

 

Four weeks on, and she's still rather scruffy, lost her 'blonde wig' and big tail though still 'sufficiently feathered'. Her comb has gone a bit pink and flabby. Legs are looking a little yellow. And yet still laying regularly.

 

Petal, on the other hand, is as perky and beady-eyed as ever, in fact she seems to have usurped her companion as Boss Chicken despite being the younger one. No molting yet. And no eggs since Blossom went broody.

 

The two seem very happy and content - chasing cats, haranguing mice, and so on. I'm not too concerned that anyone's ill, but just wondering...

 

... When will Blossom get some new feathers?

 

... When will Petal start laying again?

 

... They have Omlet pellets, whatever they find in the garden and some kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s - is there anything else I need to feed them to get one laying and the other fledging?

 

... Have I got it totally wrong and is it Petal who's been laying? I'm pretty sure it isn't as Blossom tends to hang on inside the coop and there's a warm egg afterwards, and I'm pretty sure Petal's eggs were darker and speckled (we're consistently getting solid paler eggs). But if this is a biological impossibility, I stand corrected.

 

... Are the yellow legs a sign of maturity or something else? The scales and feet are fine, it's just a coloration thing...