I have nine hens, mixed breeds. All of them are pretty good layers as I keep all of my neighbors in eggs. However, I have this one Barred Rock hen who insists on being there when ever another hen sits in the nest and lays an egg. She sits there and clucks while the other hen is laying. And afterwards I get two hens proudly clucking their heads off, "I laid an egg, this has never been done, I laid an egg!!!" Some times the clucking really gets loud, every bit as loud as a rooster. I'm sure the neighbors do not appreciate it. If I'm home I usually go out to the coop and point a broom stick at them. I've even just used my arm and finger and pointed at the cluckers. This pointing business really freaks them and they immediately stop clucking. Anybody else have a midwife hen or pointed a stick your hens?
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Re: Midwife
Thu, January 3, 2008 - 6:38 PMthats sounds so cute
sorry, never had this, but it still sounds pretty cute and I can visualize you pointing really angry..
its the chicken world, I suppose -
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Re: Midwife
Thu, January 3, 2008 - 9:20 PMI too have happy cluckers when an egg is laid, actually one goes off and then the others start then the rooster goes off and there is always one spectator chicken while the other is laying.... funnier than hell, and yes I had one that was louder than my rooster too, unfortunately she got killed by a raccoon a few months ago. I dont care what the neighbors think about the little egg celebrations, they are so joyus about each egg I think it is sweet, and the time I did ask them nicely to quiet down they all ignored me anyway.
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Re: Midwife
Fri, January 4, 2008 - 7:40 AMMy female duck, Comet, quacks along with the hens, when they are announcing their egg laying prowess to the world, even though she does not make a sound when she lays an egg. It makes me laugh. Must be a girl power chant they are doing...:) -
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Re: Midwife
Fri, January 4, 2008 - 5:37 PMI gotta pay more attention to my girl duck when the hens go off next time! -
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Re: Midwife
Fri, January 4, 2008 - 7:40 PMWell, try pointing a broom on them. Another thing that sends my hens into Chicken Little mode is the waving of cloth. I have a clothes line near to the chicken coop. When I hang up clothes and if I happen to shake a pair of pants or a sheet, my hens go ape, "The sky is falling. The sky is falling." -
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Re: Midwife
Fri, January 4, 2008 - 9:02 PMMine freak when the snow is falling, they head up under the biggest tree they can find or go to bed early in the coop.... -
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Re: Midwife
Sat, January 5, 2008 - 8:38 AMMine hate hate hate the snow! One day they got a double whammy as it was snailing here (snow and hail) with lots of wind. They got separated in their panic and I had to go out and rescue them... which meant that I was standing in the middle of the yard making my chicken noise and coaxing them into their house to be with the friend who was smart enough to run in there and hide (while the other two ran in opposite directions and wound up under the boat and one in the covered carport). They were really freaking out.
oh, and so far I haven't heard my ladies announce their eggs once... but then they have only been laying about 2 weeks now. Maybe they don't know they are supposed to do that.
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Re: Midwife
Sat, January 5, 2008 - 10:09 AMOh man I got an mental image of snails raining down out of the sky...lol! I think my birdies would love that...:) Treats!! -
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Re: Midwife
Sun, February 10, 2008 - 10:18 AMMakes me thing chickens learn just like we humans to follow the flock. My chickens don't care about the snow at all. I find there little feet prints all over. So funny. ON a differnt subject They don't like to be held at all. the blcak on used to let us hold her but now that the others don't let us she is acting like a "chicken" and runny away too. -
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Re: Midwife
Sun, February 10, 2008 - 2:04 PMi have a humongous dog crate, When it was freezing here I put it up in the garage, stuffed it with straw and covered 3/4 of it with towels, at night I snuck in the coop and picked them all up and in the crate they went.
They weren t too happy about it in the morning, but i just couldn t bear tos ee my little banties running around outside in pouring rain and freezing weather, because of course they don t look for shelter.
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Re: Midwife
Thu, March 20, 2008 - 2:07 PMIs the barred rock an older hen? I have some older white sussex hens that do the same. I swear they could get an Oscar for their acting. You would think they have laid every egg themselves.
