Every morning, during ‘break time’ from home ed, whilst our son cycles or pedals his go cart for half an hour, I go around all the animals; making sure everyone has water, is where they are supposed to be and looking normal. This morning I noticed one of the Light Sussex ‘chicks’ crowing, and limping.
The light Sussex ‘chicks’ are 16 weeks old – how did that come around so quickly? He seemed a bit uncomfortable, more inclined to sit down, but making it to the water and food. Later we checked him out, as he was still the same and he seems to have a wound on his chest. The first thought every time there is a limping chicken is mareks disease, but he seems more sore than paralysed. So, we have decided to see how he gets on. Meanwhile, we have taken the only female out and into the main run, as she is being chased a bit, and it might be fighting over her that is causing the trouble. The whole reason we have Light Sussex is because our son really wanted one, just like his grandparents had for years. He takes everything we are doing here in his stride, accepts that plans might change if something comes up, joins in with the animal care, accepts that we eat our livestock calmly. It doesn’t seem a big thing to let him have his own pet chicken in our flock.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t want to be in with the big girls, she wants back in with her brood crowd. I can see her point – it’s a scary world out there – ground she has never explored, her brood mates separated, Lucky Too, the smallest newest pullet has someone to lord it over, and Alvin, the cockerel, sidling up to her doing his special wing down winning dance (“so chick, do you have any welsummer in you? do you want some? …..”).
It would, of course, have been much easier on her if she had a few sisters to huddle together with, forming a junior flock. But she was the only one. This, is a good reason for incubating more eggs next time, and perhaps getting more of each sex. And with that in mind, along with just wanted to have more to justify using the heat lamp etc, is why we have bought a bigger second hand incubator, and eggs are in it as I write.
Meantime the new white hen will have to adjust.
Good luck with your hatch, how many more days? I do hope the little white one soon finds her place in the flock.
If the young cockerels are fighting it sometimes works to put the older cock in with them to calm things down a bit.
we are on day 8 now. little white pullet was nestled down next to the fence.. but was put in the house with the big girls… hopefully will be ok. its what we did with the last ones and they were fine