Chickens don't love you, they just love the food you bring

I love my chickens. They are cute, good tempered and have each their own personality.
But this is just "one way street": my chickens don't love me, they just love the food I bring.

Below is a video clip to illustrate what I mean:



They know that they will get seeds out of him!

Thrush with a headache

We found a thrush on the patio looking worse for wear. It was standing still with one eye closed and one wing slightly open. We realised that it had hit the dining room window (the little feathers stuck on the glass was a clue!) and was completely dazed.
After a few minutes, it felt a little better and hopped toward a bush with its sore eye not so closed anymore.
I hope it fully recovered!

Menstruating Chicken

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