Devonviolet Acres

[Devonviolet]

Maybe the hen that died is the one you chased off the duck

Nope. The dead red had been dead for a while when we got home from Lowes. She was bloated & her legs were sticking up in the air.

 

[Bruce]

Hmmm, not fun. Are you going to do a necropsy?

 

[Devonviolet]

Production reds are nasty! They've not been bred with good temperament in mind. I will never get any because of that. Mind you, there are bad apples in any breed of animal. I had a down right nasty buff orpington. We didn't have a rooster so she took on the role. She "crowed" and mounted all of the other hens. Her behavior didn't last long. She was quite tasty I hope your ducks are ok.

Our reds didn't start mounting the other hens until we butchered the last of the rooster. No crowing, but if you didn't know they were hens you might think they were roos!

At one point we had 8 reds. We are now down to two. A few got butchered, but then one by one they have just dropped dead. Not a hardy lot!

I think the remaining two are about 3 years old. If they make it to butcher time, they will be gone too! We'll probably have to stew the tough old birds all day to make them edible!!!

 

[BoboFarm]

Their behavior is likely directly linked to no rooster. Our BO was about 3 when we butchered her. We put her in the crockpot on low for the day. She wasn't too tough.

We're going to get Australorps when we're ready for chickens. I've had easter eggers, orpingtons and Rhode Island reds.

 

[Bruce]

Their behavior is likely directly linked to no rooster

That would be my experience. When I posted my Anconas were mounting the other hens, someone with many years of chicken raising posted back that they had never seen such behavior. The difference? She always had roosters.

I believe it is a show of dominance. Seems kind of odd that the hens "thought up" such behavior never having seen a rooster in their lives.

 

[BoboFarm]

It is dominance. We've never had roosters and a hen has always assumed the role.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

We'll probably have to stew the tough old birds all day to make them edible!!!

A pressure cooker is your friend!

 

[Devonviolet]

Hmmm, not fun. Are you going to do a necropsy?

I thought about it, but wouldn't know what to look for.

 

[Devonviolet]

Their behavior is likely directly linked to no rooster. Our BO was about 3 when we butchered her. We put her in the crockpot on low for the day. She wasn't too tough.

We're going to get Australorps when we're ready for chickens. I've had easter eggers, orpingtons and Rhode Island reds.

We've had all of those too. One of my Buff Orpington hens was the sweetest things!

You should consider trying some Barred Rocks! We really like ours. They are very friendly. And smart!

 

[Devonviolet]

I agree with you all, about the dominance thing. None of it started until we butchered our last rooster.