Can chickens choke? Our first rooster "Big Cogburn" mysteriously died. I found him in the coop one day just killed over. Not a feather out of place, the shavings weren't disturbed at all. His beak seemed all clear, no fluid. Couldn't see anything stuck. He was closest to where the food was. No puncture wounds or anything to indicate something malicious had happened.
So we ended up getting his half brother "Cogburn Junior". I joke we should have named him Marine because of his seriousness about his girls and his matching flat top. This is only our second rooster so I don't know what to expect. He gets very upset when his girls get messed with. I had one of my girls hurt her leg and I had my husband help me catch her and boy did he get upset. He wasn't physically aggressive but he was definitely telling me to put her down. Then he had to check her out when I was done to make sure she was ok. He has only tried to peck me once when I tried to pet him while he was roosting. I smacked him back.I have learned to let him sleep and if I have to mess with him, wait until the morning and he is sweet. I got 6 more chicks last night and my friend came over to see after dark. He was fine with me until I picked one up and when she flapped her wings he got so upset with me! He just yells at me to put her down! They were just there an hour or two and he was already the protective father of them! I'm amazed at how good he takes care of his girls. He will also find a bug and call all the girls over for it, he never eats it himself. He watches out for hawks and will call out for them to take cover while he runs the other way to sacrifice himself. They never have a feather out of place. He dances all the time for them! He has a stern beak for the little ones if he thinks they are out of place but never any blood or missing feathers. He knows where his girls are all the time and if they get too far apart, he calls them all to him.
My next question is more about hen behavior. I have a 5 hole nest box with 16x16 inch holes. Rarely do my girls sit together. They will take turns. When each one is done they start making a total ruckus. They are just a hollering and sqwuaking. So Cogburn runs over there and escorts her back to the flock in the yard. Then you see the next hen take off for the coop if she isn't already waiting on the floor of the coop. Is this normal behavior? I didn't know they made such a ruckus after they laid an egg! I mean they are loud. Each one does it although I think some girls are a little quieter about it.
Oh I have a third question. The other day I went to collect eggs and one was on the ground surprisingly not broken. My nest boxes are about 3ft. high. They never lay out of the boxes. None of my hens have ever gone broody but they are just a year old. Is that a sign that a hen didn't like that egg? Or maybe she just accidentally knocked it out when she got out? I haven't seen any signs of varmits but the door is open all day.
Any advice appreciated. EM
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