Chicken bald back

[patsylabrador]

Our chickens were behaving oddly yesterday, very frantic, loud- crowing like cockerels and over-excited. One of them found a bit of bread I'd put out for the crows and she went crazy, as though it was something she had never experienced.

DD and I thought it was hormones, a touch of PMT and that they'll be going broody soon as they are showing signs of that. However I have been chasing them off some dried honey fungus on a tree stump. They were going crazy for it and I wondered if it had had an odd side-effect, like them being a little high.

Out of interest do you think something like that is likely? I wondered if anyone has thought their chickens might be under the influence because of something they've eaten.

Other than that they seem fine.

I also just realised that Fungus would be a great name for a chicken.

[Beantree]

Fungus would be a superb name for a chicken Patsylabrador! I seem to remember a cartoon character with that name and may Google later?

 

We've all heard of magic mushrooms so perhaps there is some side effect. As long as they all return to normal.

 

We've had two drunk chickens. They ate fallen pears, which must have fermented in their crops. Birds have an incredibly low tolerance to alcohol. An old poachers trick was to soak grain in whisky and throw it to the pheasants. Then come back later and catch them as they fell about unable to stand properly or fly. We spotted both of ours standing motionless just staring forwards at nothing in particular. They were fine next day. No idea how bad a hangover they get.

 

The cartoon character is 'Fungus the Bogeyman'.