The Great Pullet Project has been interesting and more fun than I expected. The chickens I remember as a kid on the farm laid eggs, scratched around in the orchard, and occasionally wandered into the hog lot and became lunch for a Duroc. That's about what I expected because as a kid I never paid much attention to how their reptilian little brains worked. They seem to be almost affectionate to us at times, but the slightest noise or rapid movement sends into fits of apoplexy. They seem so gentle, but they are brutal to each other. The social order reminds me of a gaggle of pre-teen girls. If you pay attention, the drama in the henhouse is worthy of its own reality TV show.
I put wood shavings in the nesting boxes so they would have a nice cozy place to lay their eggs. They were having none of that, and immediately kicked out all the wood shavings and carried straw in and arranged it in a circular pattern to make a nest. We get a consistent 38 large to extra large eggs a week now.
Initially the Barred Rock was at the top of the pecking order, but after about a month the Comet took over, and she is a nasty boss. She took to feather picking, which is pecking off and eating the feathers of the other birds. Her favorite victim is the Barred Rock, but she has pecked bare patches on the backs of three of the other birds too.
I tried all of the recommended remedies – give them toys to occupy them, more protein in their diet, I even made a little pasture area for them to take day trips out to scratch in the grass and dirt to relieve the boredom.
Their favorite food is clover and we toss a big handfull of clover in the pen for them every day. Nothing stopped her. Feather picking is a common problem and they make little plastic blinders to put on the chicken so she can’t see to peck. They’ve been doing this for 100 years and it is proven to work 90% of the time. I don’t know how she can not see to pick feathers and still see to eat but she’s doing fine. She looks a little goofy with the blinders on. After only a week feathers are starting to grow back on the Rock.
My game camera recorded a visit from a fox about 5 AM one Sunday. That is the only interest predators have shown in them so far.
Cleaning the run was a royal pain as designed, so I put a plywood floor down and covered it with rubber pond liner. I toss a thick layer of straw over it and they are perfectly happy. Cleanup is a breeze now.
