My darned chickens! One of them isn’t being nice and I think I know which one it is. Lynn. Not Smokey. She’s been so nice . . she’s letting me pet her and she will come right up to me almost all the time now. Lynn . . she’s that goofy gray chicken that doesn’t look quite right. She looks at me with evil in her eyes. She runs at me like she’s going to scare me. She does but I try not to let her know it. She’s not a rooster but she sure acts like one. She also isn’t laying. I can live with that . . being mean to me, not laying, but, I think she’s the one pecking the feathers off one of my other chickens.
Poor girl! I have 9 very sweet chickens and I’m about at the end of my rope with Lynn. I hope Vince is today getting some medicine to put on this chicken and I think if Lynn (or whoever) pecks her with the medicine on, I’ll be able to see it on her beak. I’m not telling Lynn but . . Vince is asking a friend at work if he knows how to clean a chicken. My guess is . . she probably won’t even taste good in a gumbo! 🙂
pdudgeon says
have you tried putting Lynn in ‘Time Out” for a week yet?
Try separating her from the other chickens by putting her back in the big wooden box that you had, and see if that works. If the other chickens are happy then you have your answer.
Pat says
Oh, my…….I sure hope the culprit doesn’t turn out to be one of the OTHER chickens that you really like a lot.
Judy L. says
Me too!
Judy says
Try putting some salt in their feed. Sometimes if they are not getting enough salt, they will peck until they bring blood. If they do, they will kill the chicken.
Judy in MO
Marsha says
I watched my Mother kill and clean chickens many times. I know how to take care of the problem!!!
Judy L. says
I just don’t know if either one of us could ever do it. Even though Lynn isn’t friendly, they’ve all become pets. She’s the only one we can’t sit and pet but we do have hope though if she’s hurting the other chickens, she can’t stay.
Michele's Quilting Journey says
Now, that I’m an accidental chicken farmer, I can SO relate! You did come to my blog and read my ridiculous chicken wrangling story, didn’t you 😉 They’re so hilarious and SO MUCH WORK…little dickens!!!
Chickens Ala Carte
Amy says
If she does not taste good in Gumbo then you did not use enough spice! Hey that sounds good – turn her into a spicey chicken – I now need to buy a chicken. (Well we are having chicken soup for dinner, maybe that’ll do.)
Judy L. says
Michele, once your chickens go home, are you going to be addicted to fresh eggs and get a few of your own? The story is hilarious!
A.L. says
Take a walk around the chicken coop area with a frying pan! Maybe they will get the idea and shape up!!! (LOL)
Sue H says
We lived on a farm when I was a little girl. My grampa had chickens on the same farm. Grandma would relieve the chickens of their heads, I would chase the chickens around and catch them, my mom would pluck them. I definitely had the fun job! Since yours have become pets, though, Lynn is likely to be adopted out if she doesn’t learn to get along. The “time out” sounds like an interesting experment.
Mary Beth says
Hey Judy, show that gray bird who’s boss!! Don’t be chicken… :o)
Linda says
I agree with whoever said to separate Lynn from the rest to be sure she’s the culprit. If she is and you can’t bring yourself to turn her into gumbo maybe you can give her to someone who doesn’t have an emotional attachment & they can turn her into gumbo…..or maybe chicken noodle soup. That sounds good!!
Bon says
I just love reading your chicken stories. They always make me smile. In fact, today I was talking to a co-worker who is an honest-to-goodness farmer about your chickens. She got quick a kick out of it.
Julia says
I was raised on a farm, so chicken catching, cleaning and dressing was a normal task. First thing is to catch the chicken, chop the head off, toss the bird away from from, once it stops flopping around .. I know more than you wanted to know … you need a bucket of HOT water, dip bird in to lossen the feathers, then start pucking the feathers off. Once that is done, the dressing of the bird can be done. That part I won’t give details… Good Luck!!
Karen Langseth says
Good luck with finding the problem chicken…….if I were mine and with only one chicken to clean…..I would load it up in a pen and take it to the Amish place to take care of the job for you!!!!
Shirley says
Pin the one who is getting pecked up by herself until she heals.
They are needing protein. Shirley
SANDRA CLARKE says
Hi Judy, I too enjoy your stories about cooking and chickens and quilting. Poultry was my project in 4-H club. Today I saw a very cute pillow with a chicken on it in the Pottery Barn catalogue. Keep up the good work. Sandra
Trish says
Do you have a rooster? If not, Lynn could be taking on the “dominant” role and acting as rooster (check out http://www.backyardchickens.com). When she runs at you, try to grab her and carry her around with you as you do your chores. You need to show her that you’re in charge. My son does that with my roosters when they get a little bit too big for their britches, and he even carried one of them into the kitchen one night and showed him the stove, “where we cook chicken!” *LoL*