- May 29, 2019
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My 4+ y/o RIR, Willy Honka, is a great chicken.... most of the time. However, since this time last year, when my BO Glory starts to molt and blood feather nubs start showing up around her vent/rear end, Willy Honka becomes OBSESSED with plucking and pecking them. Inevitably, this causes bleeding and thus even more interest. So, every year, at this time, I have to separate Willy Honka until Glory's blood feathers grow in and stop looking tantalizing to Willy.
My SO and I built a separation pen in the interior of the run so that Willy can still be near her flock but unable to harass Glory. It's pretty spacious (4' x 4' ish?), with a roosting bar, food, water, and dust bathing area. For a nesting box, I used a wooden board and leaned it against one of the walls in the shaded area and made a little nest under it. I know this isn't ideal, but this is what I had on hand at the time. Yesterday, her first day in her separation pen, I could tell she was extra agitated and it became obvious she had to lay. She was super worked up and didn't seem keen on laying in her area, so eventually I put her in the coop to lay (and she made all the jurassic noises she usually makes when laying).
Afterward, though, NO EGG. I'm really worried that separating her interrupted her laying due to stress and may have incurred internal laying or another issue. She's in her pen again today, but I'm super stressed already about if she'll need to lay, and whether not being in her normal area will cause her to become egg bound or to lay internally. What do ya'all do with bully hens in separation areas? Do you find they'll just lay in their space? Or should I create a better nook for laying? I understand some people keep their bully hens in a large dog crate in the run--and in those cases, how/where do they lay?
My SO and I built a separation pen in the interior of the run so that Willy can still be near her flock but unable to harass Glory. It's pretty spacious (4' x 4' ish?), with a roosting bar, food, water, and dust bathing area. For a nesting box, I used a wooden board and leaned it against one of the walls in the shaded area and made a little nest under it. I know this isn't ideal, but this is what I had on hand at the time. Yesterday, her first day in her separation pen, I could tell she was extra agitated and it became obvious she had to lay. She was super worked up and didn't seem keen on laying in her area, so eventually I put her in the coop to lay (and she made all the jurassic noises she usually makes when laying).
Afterward, though, NO EGG. I'm really worried that separating her interrupted her laying due to stress and may have incurred internal laying or another issue. She's in her pen again today, but I'm super stressed already about if she'll need to lay, and whether not being in her normal area will cause her to become egg bound or to lay internally. What do ya'all do with bully hens in separation areas? Do you find they'll just lay in their space? Or should I create a better nook for laying? I understand some people keep their bully hens in a large dog crate in the run--and in those cases, how/where do they lay?
) I lost two of my best girls to this a year ago, when they turned three.
