One
morning (1 Sept), I became very concerned about the health of Willow, our
youngest hen (who was about 5 months old at the time ~ 20 weeks).
Usually,
when I open the coop door in the morning, Willow is always the first one to run
to the bottom of the bird feeder to get the seeds dropped by small birds. But
that day, she stayed inside the run, standing on one leg or sitting down and
dozing off.
She
did walk around the garden a little throughout the day but did not seem
interested in scratching the ground for food like the others. She would just
sit on her own and keep her eyes closed.
I
went on the Internet trying to find a reason for her strange behaviour.
- Her face keeps
changing colour, from white to red, so she might have a weak heart! Or,
- Her crop (the
"bag" under the neck where food is stored) might be infected, Or,
- A louse attack has
made her unwell, etc...
Anyway,
at sunset, they all went to bed as usual. The next day, I opened the door of
the coop wondering if Willow‘s health had worsened overnight. But, she behaved
like nothing had happened and ran past me to get to the bird feeder. Only,
there was something very strange about the way she looked: she had these two
huge whitish bulges underneath her beak!
Her
wattles had literally ballooned overnight and her neck was swollen. She looked
really, really strange!
It
took a few days for the swelling to go down. And, when it did, her wattles had
become “stretched” and floppy.
So,
my theory is that she went through the human equivalent of menstruation. My hen
had "menstruated" and obviously was suffering from PMS!
Four
weeks later, Willow laid her first egg. So, she is officially a real lady!
She now has large, red comb and wattles and I
expect they will still grow some more.
Below
is her transformation in pictures.
 |
| 1st day with us - ~ 4 months old (~16 weeks) |
 |
| 3 weeks later - she still looks like a dinosaur |
 |
| ~ 5 months old (~20 weeks) - swollen neck. Wattles are enlarged and white/purple |
 |
| A few days later, the swelling is almost gone. Wattles still a bit purple at the top. |
 |
| ~ 5.5 months (22 weeks), wattles fully red |
 |
| ~6 months old (~24 weeks), comb and wattles have grown and 1st egg laid |
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