Lucy: Gotta Have a Baby!

...continued from previous post: SCANNING THE SKIES

Lucy survived Marek's Disease and began to regain the use of her legs, although it took a lot out of her.  She remained very weak, and she slept a lot.  While she was living in the dog crate on the porch, we really enjoyed her company.  She was always up for a good chat on a summer evening.

But  when I put Lucy out with the girls, Lil'White continued to go after her like a crazed assassin.  

Since Lucy couldn't get far on those sad twisted feet, I fashioned her a little pen to keep her safe from vicious predators while she was out in the yard.

That pen turned out to be the best little invention. I made a couple more of them, which I could toss over the gals whenever I had to run inside to take a flaming pot off the stove.

Here Hatsy attempts to peck my eye out from the pen she's sharing with Lucy. 

I don't worry too much about foxes and coyotes because Marky is always in the yard and he diligently patrols the perimeter of his 1.3 acres. 

He loves his job.

He does not love the chickens.

But that's another story.

Lucy really missed living with the girls.   So when I built her little special-needs coop I made sure she had a view of the big coop, even from her nestbox.

  

 

Here's the mini-coop from the back.  Lots of doors so I could reach Lucy in case she needed me.

Lucy settled into her new digs okay.  

Hatsy liked to come over for visits, and sometimes she had a sleepover at Lucy's.

Now and then Lucy came back to our house for a little visit.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Last summer, sometime in May, Lucy went broody.

She wanted a baby.

It was a hormonal thing.

It was unmistakable and it was fascinating.

She sat in the nestbox all day, except when I lifted her out and shut the door so she couldn't get back in.    She  was  all puffed up like a speckled balloon.  And she started chanting,  "budup     budup     budup     budup ..."    nonstop--  all day, all night. 

If we had a rooster, Lucy would have had a clutch of fertile eggs to sit on. But we had no rooster.   

budup.

Observing Lucy in her broodiness reminded me of how I felt when I was about 30 and suddenly really really really wanted to start a family.

So I called up my friend Trish, whose hens happen to have a lovely little rooster.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  next blog entry:   BROODY LUCY

Change o' Pecking Order

...continued from last entry: LUCY LIMPS--part two

 

Lil' White had been at the bottom of the pecking order from early on, and had graciously accepted her position, not wanting to ruffle any feathers. All three girls knew their rank, and this understanding kept peace in their bucolic back yard.  But with Lucy away, Lil' White was having second thoughts about her own status. 

I carried Lucy outside every day for some quality time with her flock, and the three girls had been getting along just fine in the Chicken Tractor I'd built for them (a chicken tractor is a portable coop that keeps them safe while they dine on fresh grass and bugs in different areas of the yard).

 

In the wild, a sick chicken like Lucy wouldn't last long.  A predator would find her and take care of things pretty quickly.  Lil' White sensed that Lucy might cause all three of them to be in danger, and her instincts told her to take command of the situation.

After a week or so of Lucy's daily visits, Lil' White attacked Lucy, pecking her on the head repeatedly.  Lucy bowed her head and submitted, having no choice but to do so. 

   

I watched the attack, and was horrified.  I  removed Lucy from the tractor before much blood was shed. The next day I tried to integrate her again, but Lil' White went at her swiftly and purposefully.  I removed Lucy and placed her outside  where Little White couldn't reach her,  but Lucy's head remained low.  Clearly, she knew what had transpired. 

 

All along, Hatsy remained Lucy's loyal friend. While she didn't seem to know how to prevent Lil' White's attacks, she did not join in.   Sometimes she inserted herself between Lucy and Lil' White, but Lil' White would just work around her. 

So I just set Lucy on the grass by herself with some garden fencing to keep her safe.  At times I'd put Hatsy in with her.. It was apparent that when Lucy was with her friend Hatsy,  her spirits and energy rose.  Lucy attempted to stand up on her gnarled feet,  and in time she began to take steps.

 

  

  

 Lucy's preferred mode of transportation:   Sarah's Easter basket.

 

At night, Lucy slept on the screened porch in an old dog crate.  All through these weeks of illness, Lucy laid eggs, beautiful as ever, and as regularly as the other girls.  But I chose to throw her eggs away because I couldn't really be sure what disease she had, and that old rhyme resounded in my head: "when in doubt, throw it out". 

Lucy was getting stronger and the color was coming back to her face and comb, but she still hobbled and limped.  It was apparent that her feet had been damaged by the Marek's Disease, and they did not improve.   

 

Little White didn't change her mind about Lucy. Whenever she got the chance, she launched a vicious attack. 

Since this was looking to be a permanent situation, I designed yet another coop.

. . . . . . . . . click here for next blog entry: Meet the Girls: Hatsy