If you stick a new chick into a henhouse, the other chicks tend to get their feathers in a bunch, you know, all uppity like.
But don't sweat it, this is normal.
Although the ritual can get a little noisy, you should probably keep you mitts out unless a chicken is being denied food or drink by one of those uppity chicks.
If you do come across this situation, ever so gently slip in some food and water some distance from the new arrival.
Broody or Moody, The Hen's Doing Her Thing.
Okay, it's incubation time and your prize hen is sitting on her nesting box looking all depressed and moody.
If you try to disturb her she might snap at you or growl.
This can be a touchy situation.
If your hen has not been near a young domestic cock in the last week, her eggs will not fertilize and will never hatch.
Yet if you are not pulling eggs everyday, this hen's situation will get worse.
She'll become one broody mother.
And she ain't budging if you try to tell her stand up.
Now What? Since it takes up to 21 days for eggs to incubate, you can't just let your hen sit there like statue.
Besides, she's letting the other hen from laying her golden eggs in the nesting box.
You are going to have to open the egg port and lift that broody mother off her eggs.
You can block her from the nesting box if you have to.
She may give you a dirty look, but after 48 hours she won't be so prone to sitting on her eggs and you can freely enter the box without worry.
This Chick is Low Maintenance If you're allergic to cats and find dogs too ornery than a chicken is a hell of a pet.
They're easy to wash, easy to maintain, and pretty darn self-reliant.
They only need water and nutritious layers mash and the odd slug salad to survive, yet these chicks produce.
What other pet gives you a product that you can eat or sell? You can give a cracker to Polly the noisy Parrot, but a chicken will give you more eggs than you'll know what to do with.
A Riot In The Henhouse?