Monday, December 29, 2008

Enjoy your new life Raven!

Raven went off to a new home this weekend. I'd been searching for a place for her for awhile and thanks to my Backyard Chicken forum friends, a connection was made and the search has ended successfully. She will be a Christmas gift for a 5-year-old girl who loves chickens. She already has a white cochin hen and rooster, so Raven should fit right in (unless they notice she's a different color...are chickens that perceptive?). Raven just never felt welcome here and the other hens continually picked on her. She never fought back, and as a result ended up getting her feathers pulled out frequently as she cowered in the corner and let them peck and pluck away.

In the few months she lived with us she was a great surrogate mom to Wynonna, laid exactly two eggs, and was broody once. Hopefully she will have an opportunity to be a mom to her own chicks in her new home.

Raven's 1st egg

pullets

4 comments:

Susan said...

Awww, I hope Raven likes her new home and also hope she fits in better there. I've been really lucky and have not had any hens (out of 15) that have been truly picked on. That must be an awful feeling for them. Raven seems like such a sweet little girl. I'll keep good thoughts for her. :)

Cindy said...

Susan, Thank you for your note and good thoughts. Our 2 bantams are tough on newcomers. When we got the new pullets, we put up a howdy gate for several weeks so everyone could acclimate slowly, which helped a bit. For awhile I thought they would kill Raven. Anyway, now there are 3... until spring.

Our Juicy Life said...

that is so sad. i can't believe the other hens would pick on her. I hope her home is happy for her, she deserves it. What does broody mean?

Cindy said...

broody is when a hen sits on eggs for weeks or months waiting for them to hatch. They only leave the nest box to eat and drink when absolutely necessary. It would be great if they're actually incubating them, but in Raven's case, no rooster no fertile eggs.