October 31, 2010: Trying to Prevent Hawkeye from Starving to Death

October 31, 2010

Sunday, 11:08 am

Each day Hawkeye seems to be eating better.  Her beak is barely hanging on.  Bob told me to cut it off, but I’m trying to see what it does, will it heal like that or will she eventually knock it off herself?  Meanwhile, I try to feed her by hand as much as possible and she is now used to the routine and will fly up to the highest place near me away from the others.

Goldie and Ellie are still at war.  This morning Ellie was in her box and Goldie was as puffed up as I had ever seen her.  Farrah was in Hawkeye’s box nosing around.  When Farrah jumped out, Ellie decided to go over to that box instead.  I took the opportunity to pick up Goldie and put her back in her box and it took her awhile to stop chattering at Ellie who was now across from her, but she eventually settled down.  I went to pick some grass and weeds for the birds and when I got back into the run, Ellie was now in the box with Goldie and Goldie was not budging!!!!  Ellie had spread her wings over Goldie and couldn’t sit down.  I realized Ellie wasn’t going to move because she was ready to lay her egg, with her tail almost hanging out of the box.  And sure enough, as soon as I realized it, out plopped Ellie’s egg, still glistening wet with it’s protective coating, right in front of Goldie’s eyes.  I was curious what was going through Goldie’s mind at that moment, because had Goldie been a few inches closer, the egg would have hit her on the head.  She seemed non-plussed by the event and didn’t budge.  I stroked Ellie and told her she was a good girl and then lifted her up from underneath.  She froze in that position and let me put her into Hawkeye’s box where she then jumped down and went about her business as if nothing had happened.  They do continue to amaze me.  Anyone who ever thought chickens don’t each have individual personalities, hasn’t spent enough time with them.  People may think they are “dumb” creatures and have a “chicken brain”, but all that aside, they have a life and a world all their own, full of interactions and reactions.