We had some interesting things going on with our laying hens ever since we let them loose for fall. We normally let them all run loose for the few months of fall so they can clean up any stray cow piles that may have gotten missed. They do a great job with this. When we got Maggie she didn't like them but she's been getting used to them. There are a few older hens who liked to lay their eggs right under the tray in the milking stanchion where Maggie eats while we milk. A few days of exuberant hens crowing LOUDLY about their new eggs cured me of my snoozing habit while milking (a good thing really as Maggie still lifts her feet up when we milk) and got Maggie used to the noise of an excited hen. The next thing both Maggie and I had to get used to was the hens trying to 'steal' milk out of the 2nd bucket while I'm milking into the other bucket. With her foot habit we milk into one bucket and pour it into another bucket and then take both buckets inside to strain. The 1st few days were fun as I'd use my hand or the cow towel to chase the chickens off while keeping one hand securely on the bucket of milk in case Maggie takes offence. She did several times. By the way Papa does not have these chicken problems as they are all roosting while he milks the most he has to do is move a sleeping chicken out of the feeding area so he can put feed in!! By day 3 I was bringing a towel to cover the 2nd bucket and bringing out the strainer as well. So the strainer goes on the second bucket and the clean towel covers the whole mess. This works!! Papa laughs at me BUT IT WORKS!! The next chicken problem was that the little hens ( I could use a worse word!!!) would run around looking for the milk (not that they ever really got any!) UNDER Maggie!! Maggie got used to this before I did and I got to the point were I'd chase all the hens out of the milking area before I let Maggie in. It's very startling to see a brown fuzzy thing just flying by in the corner of your eye while your trying to milk the cow and have a snooze! I think I jumped every time! Thankfully the little 'hens' soon decided that mad humans are too be avoided, I got a few rather well with the tip of my toes, and now they leave me alone. So I thought the chicken problems were finished until the other morning when Maggie just WOULD NOT hold still!! I hollered at her and she bawled back at me? So I looked over and here she is trying to PUSH a pullet out of her feed box with her head!! That pullet hung on with it's feet and would NOT let go. Maggie was asking for help but by the time I got the bucket moved and got over there she's squished it up against the wall several times and finally one of her head swipes had knocked the pullet off the feed box. When the pullet was gone poor Maggie gave me this LOOK that said. "You see what I have to put up with??" I got the impression that it was not the 1st time she's have to defend her feed from a chicken. That same pullet tried 2 more times to eat Maggie's sweet mix before I picked it up and threw it over the fence. It landed with a loud squawk and ran off. A few days later we found a dead pullet by the chicken barn. I was sorry to see it dead at first but now I'm wondering if she didn't somehow hit it too hard or flatten it when she had it between her head and the wall. Either way we are both happy as there hasn't been a pullet in the feed box since!! Soon the hens will go into the new barn with a small pen off one end. Until then I'm on the lookout for those "hens!!"
Update; This morning we had another HEN problem. One of the hens was climbing up onto a 6 foot box, for tools and things, we have in the milking area. She jumped and fluttered, scrambled and scrabbled, and generally made a pain of her self until I 'motivated' her off!! Oh of the joys of laying hens. They also like to roost up on the board that we put up to keep Maggie out of the house, thru the window and so every night we hear a 'chicken fight' over the 'best' spot!! It's funny to listen too!! But it sure startles visitors :)
Here is an old picture of the hens in the milking area. That pretty white rooster got 'done in' this summer. He was getting much to cocky!! On the bottom left of the picture you can see the door of the box that hen was climbing on this morning.
