Laura & CTB Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Havent posted on here for ages - mainly because there are others more experienced than me to respond! but have a question: I lost my top chook a couple of weeks ago - she had a prolapse and although I got her to the vet in 20 minutes there were other complications and she had to be pts. Since then my other girls have been behaving very differently - nornally when I open the cube up in the morning they would all come bombing out - now they stay in there for about ten minutes. Also when I put out treats in the afternoon there is not the frenzy there would normally be and some treats are left untouched. I kind of expected this for the first couple of days but it's still going on - can someone tell me if they have experienced this? I would like to know if one day they will get over it or if there is something I can do to help them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 I have experienced similar behaviour Laura, I have lost my top chook twice now and it really does shake them up and it takes them a while to adjust and find where they fit. Just give them time hunni, I promise they will sort themselves .. lots of love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Hens love consistency and now "Ooops, word censored!"ody's telling them what to do, they're a bit confused. At some point a new top hen will emerge, and they'll start 'functioning' again. The dynamics will be different when this happens, not worse, just different but they'll still be very much your hens. You'll probably find they'll start to sleep in different parts of the eglu, dustbathe in different places etc. Sorry about your girl BTW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 We've had a few situations here too following deaths, but each time they have resolved themselves in a few weeks. It'll be ok, just give it time *big hugs* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chick wiggle Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Fairly similar situation here too. I rehomed a cockerel and one of my hens and it really does effect them, they just seem a bit confused for a while, i hope they sort themselves out soon hun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Awww, that's very sad. They miss their friend and leader. Not had this problem yet - but I did see an article recently that said chickens do have the ability to feel empathy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I did see an article recently that said chickens do have the ability to feel empathy. Absolutely - I've seen it first hand. When our first top hen (Kent) died of peritonitis, our other hen (Kiki) saw the signs a few minutes before we did. We had a very ill Kent on my lap in the sun being stroked, and at one point, her bowels let go (on my leg...) - Kiki, on seeing this jumped onto my girlfriend and buried her head under her arm. She couldn't bear to watch. Two minutes later Kent had (fully) gone. Kiki then walked into our spare Eglu and clucked away to herself for 15 mins - I'm pretty certain she was crying. It was a type of cluck I only heard the once. Yep, they feel empathy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Oh that's so sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
