Aggressive Hen

Options for an Aggressive Hen

I contacted our Vet to ask about options to deal with an aggressive hen after our buff Pekin hen Holly, went a bit feral recently and pulled several hundred feathers from her sister Alice's neck and back of head.  Holly was at the very end of her feather cycle, on the cusp of a full molt and became very aggressive in the last couple of weeks. 

We ended up separating Alice and keeping her in her own hutch inside for the week to break Holly out of her feather plucking behaviour.  Putting Holly inside would have been a disaster as she was so wound up and kooky that she would have run riot and screamed all day.  I do admit to love having my Alice in the house as she is such a sociable and sweet, little hen.  She chats away and comes into the kitchen to preen and watch us making breakfast.  If we move away she calls non stop until we come back to her.  But back in the hutch she settles in beautifully and relaxes completely. 

Hormone Therapy

So anyway, I was worried that if Holly did not calm down that Alice would be permanently needing her own bedroom.  I called the Vet and got some really interesting news about an option for Holly - a hormone implant.  Basically Holly could have a series of fortnightly injections or a one off implant placed under the skin between the tops of her wings (near the base of her neck).  It would be effective for between 3 - 6 months.  I figured it was definitely worth a go if Holly did not start molting and calm down. 

In the mean time we assigned Holly to our Jack Russell to keep her behaviour in check. 

However in less than a week Holly started molting.  She lost so many feathers she was shaking in a puffed up ball and looking miserable.  As Holly definitely has the ILT virus, she has been brought inside to keep her warm and well fed.  The worst thing for a hen with ILT is to be skinny, cold, losing weight and stuck out in Winter weather.  She was miserable and not eating for several days and then when her feathers stopped falling out, her appetite began to return.  She's stopped attacking Alice who comes inside for sleepovers and has gone from a 10 to a 2 on the crazy-ometer.  Just crazy enough to be her usual, slightly obsessive self. 

If anyone has tried the hormone implant for their hen I'd surely be enormously interested to find out the results.  

Holly, this morning - keeping warm, suburbhen style. 

 That's love by the way, I don't spoil my chickens...much. 

Feather Picking

Feather Picking in Chickens

Seems we have a feather picker in the flock.  When the girls came out of the sleeping hutch on Tuesday morning, I noticed that Alice's head was much lighter in appearance and upon inspection found that someone had plucked a large amount of feathers off her head and neck. 

Alice is a really gentle and submissive hen.  I have noticed our Silkie hen Farrah pecking away at her face whilst Alice just submits, frozen on the spot.  So to prevent us coming home to a bald birdie, we put Alice in a hutch in the lounge for the day until we could work out what was going on.

Yesterday Alice went out in to the garden with the other hens and took herself back into the pen after a few hours and settled in.  I watched her for a while and her sister Holly sidled up.  Holly loomed over the top of Alice, whilst Alice froze underneath.  Sure enough, Holly began to pull at Alice's neck feathers until she soon pulled one out.

Straight into the pen and I picked up Alice and took her back inside.  The problem I have is that Alice does quite well inside, settles into her hutch happily and loves pottering around the kitchen.  Where as Holly freaks out and demands to be released from the hutch by calling loudly and consistently and then poos everywhere out of anxiety.  With Alice inside, when she does go out with the other girls for some garden time, the rest of the flock act aggressively towards her to punish her for disappearing. 

The other issue with Holly is she is fairly single minded, predictable and very one directional in her orientation.  She is very focussed and not easily distracted, so she thinks it's just weird when I move her away from something I don't want her to be involved in and she just tries to go straight back to what she was doing in the first place.  Holly is also a bit aggressive at present, as she seems to be at the peak of her health and could do with a good feather moult and a drop in her crazy-cuckoo hormones.  We are thinking we may take her to the Vet for a hormone injection to chill her out if she does not start to moult in the next week or two. 

This is a real frustration as the girls have masses of space (usually feather picking is prompted by confined living conditions) and with the girls in good health at the moment, we really thought we could just enjoy them and not have to nurse anyone back in the house. 

Here you can see Alice's neck all exposed.  The back of her head has been thinned out and in doing so exposed some ingrown feathers which I teased out with my fingers.  That would be the only positive I can see from Holly's bad behaviour so far.  Having said that it is lovely to have our little girl in the house again.  We keep looking in the hutch and seeing Alice preening and bustling about and it is so heart warming.  Loving have her in the kitchen in the morning.  We had Rosie in last night for a sleep over with her.  It's unlimited gorgeousness. 

Frankie Magazine Article Review - Feeling Clucky by Eleanor Venables

Frankie Magazine - May/ June Edition

I read an article in the May/ June edition, Issue 53 of Frankie magazine - Feeling Clucky by Eleanor Venables.  It's a half page article so it's not intended to be a complete guide to keeping chickens in a suburban setting.  It's a short piece to encourage city dwellers to consider becoming hen parents for company, eggs, gobbling of kitchen scraps, garden maintenance and for something a bit different.  Unfortunately the article drags up some standard clichés about hens and that just annoys me.  The article is meant to encourage people to consider keeping hens, however it also presents chickens in a less than positive light.

 Stupid?

Whilst recommending that chicken owners offer their flock a sturdy water bowl, one that can not easily be tipped over by a pair of roosting feet, the author uses this topic to segue-way into a slight about how apparently unintelligent chickens are.  She references a story that a headless chicken once lived for 18 months.  The story comes from an event more than half a century ago, where allegedly someone tried to cull a chicken by cutting its head off, did not do a proper job and so they left part of the head in tact.  Thankfully (if the story is in fact at all true anyway) the bird did not succumb to infection and die a hideous and prolonged death but apparently lived for a number of months afterwards.  The author uses this vile tale to highlight how chickens are "not the smartest of animals".  Can you imagine how upset people would be if a dog sustained a severe head injury from an attempt to exterminate it but yet managed to survive and stay alive for months afterward?  It would be this enormous mixture of outrage at the person who mutilated it and celebration at the marvellous dog.  But for a chicken it's assumed that pain and discomfort are either not an issue or of no consequence as it's 'just a chicken', they hold no value anyway so who should care - let's make a joke out of a badly wounded bird and as this author suggests, chickens have minimal intellect, this story backs it up.  I have had some great chickens with long term memories, problem solving skills and gorgeous and varied natures and others who are simple, straight to the point and predictable.  Much like people there is no such thing as 'you've known one you've known them all'.  They are varied, unique and you never know what you're going to find once you get to know them.  Certainly I'd trade the most difficult and unusual chicken for the most difficult and unusual human every time. 

Nasty?

Then there's the description of a rooster.  I do hate generalisations that put everything (especially an animal for heavens sakes) in one box and determine it to be abhorrent.  The author describes roosters to be nasty, having mad, beady little eyes and being known for their aggression.  Some roosters are very aggressive and a real handful.  This is often a combination of genetics (some breeds are particularly skittish and difficult) and a lack of frequent, caring, human contact from a young age.  However the few that I have purchased (hoping they were hens) I have had from tiny chicks, handled them every day, treated them with great care and respect, have grown to be spectacular gentle-men.  I've never been silly enough to tick my neighbours off with pre sunrise crowing and more or less beg the local council to come confiscate them, by keeping the boys in the long run.  Roosters keep the hens beautifully in check, lower the petty squabbles amongst the girls and nurture and protect the hens to such an extent that they often run themselves down.  They are amazing, gorgeous and might I add completely innocent animals who are doing nothing more than following their inbuilt instincts - crowing to announce the day, determine territory, bring the flock together and protecting their girls from any perceived threat.  
If you saw something unknown, untrusted, 40 times your size coming at your family, wouldn't you try to protect them? 

Poorly Researched Dietary Advice

As for the advice about feeding chickens, not so good.  The author says that "aside from onions and garlic, most veggies and fruit are great for them".  Garlic is considered a go-to as a natural remedy for pest control and a general tonic for good health.  My girls get an occasional spoon of garlic granules for a little treat and when their father gives them a cheese free hamburger, they all enjoy a little sliver of onion.  I don't think any reasonably brained person would think of raising an onion and garlic fed hen (imagine that on the packet of a frozen chook next to the grain fed choices) as it's clearly not intended to be a staple component of their diet.  I don't remember evolutionary history being full of chickens frolicking in the garlic fields, guzzling onion rings for dessert.  As an occasional aspect in small amounts, there is absolutely nothing wrong with onions and garlic in a chicken's diet.  I get curry about once a fortnight and there is always plenty left over for the girls the next day.  This is certainly no way to take a short cut to curried eggs!  
What I would say about something not to feed chickens is that feeding them huge armfuls of lettuce (such as you can find in a lot of produce departments on-floor bins that people have peeled off the lettuce heads).  Lettuce has almost no nutritional value at all and in large amounts it leads to chickens having really watery droppings and therefore soggy bum feathers to attract flies and burn the skin. Feeding a few leaves between several hens should be no problem amongst a variety of other food choices.  We feed our girls silver-beet as it has some great nutritional elements.  It's also really easy to grow if you're inclined. 
I don't mean to be intentionally picky to the author but there is no such breed as a 'Silky Bantam'.  The term is Silkie and they are not bantams.   They are also not a chicken you would buy for their fabulous laying prowess as the article indicates.  They do indeed "look awesome", are generally easy to handle and tame-up well with regular calm and gentle human contact.  They do not have "scrawny feet", they have feathered feet which I have had people gush over for years in excitement and amazement.  

I wish that if someone writes an article to encourage people to keep chickens that it be factual, fair and do what it sets out to do - encourage, celebrate and spotlight chickens.  

Sorry Eleanor Venables but in the immortal words of Kath Day-Knight, "It was good but I don't agree".  

Rosa and Farrah (Silkie hen) - beautiful, brilliant and beloved.  

Dermatitis in Chickens

Dermatitis in Chickens - Holly

I have noticed flaky, dry skin on the right hand side of Holly's head and around her right ear.  There is a little on her left side but it's minimal.  She's not scratching, yawning constantly or rubbing her head so it's not uncomfortable for her.  I was a little worried it may be mites but as there was very little dry build up in her ear, the dryness was restricted to one side and no scratching, it seemed very unlikely. None of the other girls were exhibiting the same issue either and mites are usually really catching.   
The Vet felt that it was likely to be dermatitis or similar.  Possibly due to a vitamin deficiency (zinc perhaps) so gave Holly an injection to counteract this and said I should see a difference in 5 days or so.  He said although it may be due to a reaction with something from her environment, it would seem unlikely, as what would she be in contact with which just touched the right side of her head and not the rest of her?  Confident me agreed wholeheartedly and as Holly is in no pain, I was not too worried for her.  
So the next morning I was in the pen with her and I picked her up and to give her an encouraging cuddle.  I was dotting kisses on the right side of her head and telling her how sweet she was when it hit me - I was kissing the right side of her head!  I always kiss the right side of her head.  Me, smothered in lip balm.  I'm a cosmetic testing monster.  
I have checked Holly's head today, four days after the visit and her face certainly has a lot less dry patches.  At this point I don't know if it's just a coincidence, the injection or the kissing removal. 
So Holly is now kiss free.  Well, I do admit to eying off her wing as a future site of affection.  This morning I found Holly napping on the sand in the pen.  Everyone else who was out (Holly's sister Alice was on the nest working on an egg) was preening all around her and she was snoozing away with her head under her wing.  Hens sleeping with their head under their wing, especially out in the open when they're healthy and well, is very unusual. 
 

Holly - Sunday 18th May 2013.  Sleeping soundly. 

Holly, being watched over by Jewel. 

ILT in Chickens - Update

Vet Visit - ILT Check Up

Rosie went off to the Vet this week to have the ILT plaques (soft growths) in her throat checked and cleaned.  She has one constant plaque that flaps over her trachea and makes her cough several times an hour.  It grows slowly over several weeks and I have now had it removed three times this year.  She has one small plaque on the roof of her mouth but that seems not to be such an issue. 
As usual Rosie was great during her visit.  She finds it very uncomfortable to be picked up by placing your hands around her body so I now take a thin towel (thick towels actually make it more difficult for handling hens) and wrap her up so she can still be in a standing position but just has her sweet, little head popping out the front.  I then hold her with her head facing away from me and the Vet props open her mouth and plucks the plaques piece by piece from her mouth.  The size of the largest plaque is only about a quarter of the size of a pinky fingernail.  It looks so petite and insignificant but the difference its removal creates for Rosie is anything but.  She also had a combined vitamin A, D, E and C injection.  It's terribly cute to watch as the needle goes in and the syringe is half way through the plunge when she makes a small, protesting call of discomfort. 
The Vet commented that Rosie is in excellent condition, that the two plaques do not appear to be advancing and that the remainder of her throat is in excellent condition.  He feels that she may be one of the lucky hens to make it through ILT.  Of course I am really happy to hear that but I still have my reservations.  ILT has been vicious to our baby girls and I don't hold stupid fantasies of happily ever after.  This time last year we had 10 hens, we now have 6.  

Rosie - Sunday May 19th 2013. 

Escape to the Country - not suitable for chickens

Do NOT allow your chicken to watch 'Escape to the Country'

Enjoying a night in with Wyandotte Bantam hen Rosie, we were watching an English program, allegedly rated PG - 'Escape to the Country'.   It featured a couple who were looking at buying a country property to escape their hectic city life and noted that as owners of two cats, they needed to make sure that their new home was not located near a busy road. 
All going along well until the camera panned over to the two cats and showed them generally frisking about and acting in a cat-like way.  Rosa sprung to attention and began to call at the top of her voice to alert...well, I guess me to the danger in the room.  Try as I might I could not soothe her.  I turned off the program and she stared at the blank screen, seeing the movement of our reflections and continued to fret and yell loudly.  It got so bad that I had to 'evacuate' her back to the sleeping hutch with the other hens.  
I would strongly suggest that the producers of that program preface each episode with the warning that, "This program may contain feline images and may not be suitable for chickens".  
If I were in America we'd be lawyering up for a class action right now.  

Rosa - blue is so her colour.  April 22 2013. 

ILT in Chickens

ILT Update

Little Rosie was a super star at the Vet last week.  She has a few plaques on her throat as a result of the ILT virus.  A couple of insignificant ones on the roof of her mouth and one more substantial flapping about behind her tongue.  This one is getting in the way of her breathing and her eating.  I opted to have this plaque removed with forceps.  if was about half the size of a little finger, fingernail.  Rosie was wrapped up in a towel (so gorgeous) and had her mouth held open whilst the forceps went down, trimmed off the piece of plaque and lifted it back up for examination.  It's not nice that this leaves Rosie with a bleeding throat afterwards.  Rosie also got a vitamin injection to help keep her radiant.  The Vet is impressed by Rosie's vitality and energy and feels that her weight of 1.2kilos is very healthy, even a bit porky.  This is great news as she must be in prime (preferably prime+) condition to face the Winter ahead which treated her so miserably last year.  The Vet was unable to take Rosie away to be weighed.  Rosie is so particular about how she gets picked up that she won't tolerate anything other than to stand on my open palm and have my other arm circled around her - with neck extended as long as she can get it, pushing forward into the crook of my elbow.  So she had to be escorted through the surgery with the Vet leading the way.  

Wrapped and ready for her throat cleaning.

We were less than 2 minutes away from the Vet when Rosie started chopping down mouthfuls of seed.  The small area of bleeding in her throat seems to bother her very little.  She is such a trooper.

Cosmetic Testing

I have to admit to a chicken kissing incident.  The Vet was out of the room and Rosie was so cute wrapped in her towel.  I was giving her the usual two dozen kisses on top of her head, when I noticed that I had left a big smear of pink, glittery lip balm behind.  This was at the same time as I felt something stuck to my mouth and realised that as Rosie is moulting and my lips were so sticky, I had accidentally removed 4 or 5 feathers and they were stuck to my lip balm.  So I'm madly trying to quickly and gently rub off lip gloss from the top of Rosie's head and at the same time pick off the feathers from my mouth - all with one thought in mind (to the Vet), "Don't come back in.  Please don't come back in".  When she finally did, Rosie and I were all ease and serenity, both with our best, "What?  Nothing strange going on in here" look on our faces. 

 Rosie - Tuesday 9th April.  Relaxing on the Vet's table. 

 She's been great ever since.  Such a lovely little hen.