Serious chook issues…

So, there are some serious chook issues happening at my place. It’s all to do with winter. There is not as much daylight and the chooks are going a bit stir crazy due to how winter is affecting Dulcie.

Dulcie is a chook. She’s also going through a massive manic depressive stage where she is refusing to leave the chook house, that is unless no one is watching her then she will wander out, eat food and scuttle back inside and sit on the lower floor of the chook house and not move. This presents a problem for the other two chooks – Laverne (accomplished escape artist) and Ursula (beauty challenged) in that they have a 89% preference to lay eggs were Dulcie is sitting. 11% of the time they lay them who bloody knows where. So, they wander into the chook house and stare at Dulcie. She stares at them. When nothing happens with the stare-off, they go and attempt to sit on her in an attempt to move her. She doesn’t care for this and mayhem ensues and feathers can be found on the lower level. After a scuffle between three chooks, two who really, really, really want to lay eggs to the point that have their legs crossed, Dulcie stands up and allows them to share the space. Once they’re done, she then sits on the eggs for the rest of the day brooding about man’s inhumanity to chooks.

When I get home, the other two chooks are standing out the front of the chook house waiting for me with a look of ‘she’s at it again’ and I go in and chat to Dulcie. She eyes me like I’m mad and clucks something I believe is ‘piss off.’ I then, pick her up or more often roll her onto her side and take the eggs explaining to her 'this deep, moody shit has to stop' where she then closes her eyes and ignores me. The other two, watching on then follow me around to the patio as if to say ‘we’re the good ones. we’re not like her.’  

It’s all too much some days…