Ask Aunt Maisie

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

Dear Shabby,

I am sad because a little girl who visited our farm said my best friend was a bad rooster, so the farmers banned him from the farm. How can I get the person to leave me and my friends alone?

Sincerely,
Heartbroken Hen

Dear Heartbroken hen
Your friend may have attacked the little girl. Roosters often try to defend their flocks from creatures that aren’t really predators.
All my love to you and your flock!
Shabby.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Dear Heartbroken hen
Your friend may have attacked the little girl. Roosters often try to defend their flocks from creatures that aren’t really predators.
All my love to you and your flock!
Shabby.

Dear Shabby,

Does that mean he wasn't a bad rooster? I sure do miss him. I haven't seen him since that girl reported him.

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

Dear Shabby,

Does that mean he wasn't a bad rooster? I sure do miss him. I haven't seen him since that girl reported him.

Dear heartbroken hen.
It depends. If the little girl was chasing you and the other hens around and trying to catch them, then no, that was a good rooster. If she was just walking around with the hens and minding her own business, then the rooster needs to learn what is a threat, and what is not.
Shabby.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Dear heartbroken hen.
It depends. If the little girl was chasing you and the other hens around and trying to catch them, then no, that was a good rooster. If she was just walking around with the hens and minding her own business, then the rooster needs to learn what is a threat, and what is not.
Shabby.

Dear Shabby,

Thanks for clarifying! I see that it was the little girl who was the problem. I'll let the farmers know. My friend was in his own yard hanging out with the hens when the little girl came uninvited into our area and started bothering us. She wouldn't take a hint when we ignored her. Maybe the farmers will send HER away instead!

Thanks!

Heartbroken Hen

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

@Summer_ @Lacy Duckwing @cluckmecoop7 Can you all help me do this?
Also, please tag anyone who you think would be interested!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

@Summer_ @Lacy Duckwing @cluckmecoop7 Can you all help me do this?
Also, please tag anyone who you think would be interested!

Ok, here you go from Valerie. (I actually forgot about this thread.)

Dear Shabby,

My name is Valerie. I'm a mostly-white Olive Egger who is almost a year old. My owner says I'm naughty. I've even heard her make remarks of rehoming me. It's all because of what I do. First off, I have gone broody, twice. She got really upset about me doing that. She said I'm too young to go broody and that I can't be a mother because there's no rooster in my flock. Then she put me in broody jail where I had no privacy with nothing but a log for me to perch on. She did that to me both times and left me in there for about a week. When I got out the first time, I was very upset about the jail time. To comfort myself, I plucked Turbulence's beard completely off her face. (Turbulence is a fellow Olive Egger who 'used' to have the biggest beard in the flock until I plucked it.) That made my owner very angry. She got so angry that she forced me to wear a Pinless Peeper for two weeks. That was very humiliating. Then, recently, she had me wear it again, for another two weeks, because she caught me plucking Owl's saddle feathers.
My whole flock is siding with my owner now. They all bully me saying that I'm naughty, especially Tweety IV, an Isa Brown who loves to follow her around. Because of their bullying and of my broody desire that I have to hide, I spend a lot of time in the nesting boxes. I lay my eggs and never talk broody so my owner doesn't put me back in broody jail. She still gets mad at me, though. She calls me an egg eater because I'm clumsy and accidentally step on the eggs, breaking them. When I sleep in the nesting boxes at night, she forces me out and tries to get me to sleep with the other hens. I often refuse to stay on the perches, so she calls me naughty again. (I think she knows that I return to the nesting boxes after she leaves for the night.) What can I do to get her to stop calling me naughty? Going broody, spending a lot of time in the nesting boxes, and plucking feathers makes me happy. Please help!

Truly your's,
Valerie

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

Ok, here you go from Valerie. (I actually forgot about this thread.)

Dear Shabby,

My name is Valerie. I'm a mostly-white Olive Egger who is almost a year old. My owner says I'm naughty. I've even heard her make remarks of rehoming me. It's all because of what I do. First off, I have gone broody, twice. She got really upset about me doing that. She said I'm too young to go broody and that I can't be a mother because there's no rooster in my flock. Then she put me in broody jail where I had no privacy with nothing but a log for me to perch on. She did that to me both times and left me in there for about a week. When I got out the first time, I was very upset about the jail time. To comfort myself, I plucked Turbulence's beard completely off her face. (Turbulence is a fellow Olive Egger who 'used' to have the biggest beard in the flock until I plucked it.) That made my owner very angry. She got so angry that she forced me to wear a Pinless Peeper for two weeks. That was very humiliating. Then, recently, she had me wear it again, for another two weeks, because she caught me plucking Owl's saddle feathers.
My whole flock is siding with my owner now. They all bully me saying that I'm naughty, especially Tweety IV, an Isa Brown who loves to follow her around. Because of their bullying and of my broody desire that I have to hide, I spend a lot of time in the nesting boxes. I lay my eggs and never talk broody so my owner doesn't put me back in broody jail. She still gets mad at me, though. She calls me an egg eater because I'm clumsy and accidentally step on the eggs, breaking them. When I sleep in the nesting boxes at night, she forces me out and tries to get me to sleep with the other hens. I often refuse to stay on the perches, so she calls me naughty again. (I think she knows that I return to the nesting boxes after she leaves for the night.) What can I do to get her to stop calling me naughty? Going broody, spending a lot of time in the nesting boxes, and plucking feathers makes me happy. Please help!

Truly your's,
Valerie

Dear Valerie.
When you said that plucking feathers made you happy, I became greatly disturbed . That is not a good thing to do, because it harms others.
Spending lots of time in the nesting box is the best thing you can do right now. I hear there is a lot of snow where you are, and snow is very chilly. The nesting box is the warmest place in the coop.
Lots of people (including me) want hens who are specifically broody. It is a quality that not many chickens have. Please try not to lose it.
All my love to you and your flock!
Aunt Maisie

 

[Shabby Chic-Hens]

Any more letters?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Any more letters?

No.

Maybe I'll check with my birds tomorrow.

 

[Kiki]

Dear Shabby,
I will never lay an egg. My tail is is long and colorful. I make LOUD noises all day long.
Both of my feet have long sharp things on them. I chase kids for fun.
Why do some people think I am a hen?

Roo