Can chickens have Tourettes?

[CandJ]

We've just got three - had them a week now and it really hasn't taken long to figure out the personalities. Maude (gingernut ranger?!) is the leader (or so you'd think) as the other two follow her everywhere. Doris (Lavender Pekin) is actually the boss and is pushihg all the buttons. She attacked a very big male pheasant (Lawrence) who frequents our garden today "ITS MY SWEETCORN _ GET OFF".
Patricia is the odd 'un. She's also a Pekin and she has this sort of involuntary tic (like tourettes.) It's not sneezes or hiccups we don't think and it doesn't seem to worry her but its just a bit odd to us newbies. She sort of stands around looking vacant quite a lot too, and is generally far les determined than the other two to get into EVERYTHING.

any thoughts

Cheers

[Snadger]

I have no ideas about the answer to your question but you are to be congratulaed on making me take a look at the 'Rule the roost' thread which I usually don't read!

I shall visit again to see if the answer is forthcoming!

[welsh veg grower]

Gosh I dont know, had lots of chickens over the years and its a new one on me. is she eating/ drinking / laying. If so I guess she must be ok.

Hope you enjoy keeping chickens they are funny little things and yes do have personailities we no longer name them as it make sit harder when eating sorry fokes

[Nicos]

Is she swearing then???

[CandJ]

Hard to say what she's actually saying but it's still going on. It's sort of a clucking "blah" noise which you could certainly imagine was swearing (depending on your imagination/experience of children who swear a lot - I was a teacher of London Yoof so feel quite quilified here!)

[CandJ]

She also does sem to be drinking plenty, and eating (though less than the other two). Tis hard to say whether she's laying or not - we're getting small eggs every day or two but they may all be from the other one. They're all white (to help answer one of the other threads that's running at the moment.)

[welsh veg grower]

Dont know to be honest, looked it up in my books and it could be stressed does she look like the teachers you used to work with or more like the kids

[yoanbob]

It could be that she has somthing stuck in her crop that she is trying to dislodge, this happens from time to time and usually works itself out in a few days, the first time one of ours did it we thought she was possesed! very jerky movement of the neck, and circular movements.
we have others that do it to, even ducks, tends to happen most when they first arrive and are still sorting out whos boss, they see a chance at the feeder and gobble too much at once, they think they can hold it in their crop and digest later, which they can, but they tend to underestimate the size of the crop.
it should sort itself out, but if you pick her up and massage her neck this somtimes helps.
also you could try putting out two lots of food away from each other till they get the pecking order established and then things should settle down, can take up to 4 weeks.
hope that helps.

[CandJ]

Thanks yoanbob - that's really useful. We think she's getting a bit picked on by the big one, MAude, which we hope will sort itself out soon - poor Patricia! Whether she's being picked on becasue she's weird or whether she's weird because she's picked on it's hard to say. A bit like the chicken v egg problem - yup.

[chickenjane]

Lovely thread,informative & amusing.
Yes,chickens can definatley swear..if you've ever had to remove a determinedly broody one from sitting on tonight's omlette you'll know what I mean.
It's less a yob's foull language shouted across the street,& more a deeply resentful grumble full of F's & B's & comments on your ancestry.

[Nicos]

'foul' language???? ha ha!

[TPeers]

Lovely thread,informative & amusing.
Yes,chickens can definatley swear..if you've ever had to remove a determinedly broody one from sitting on tonight's omlette you'll know what I mean.
It's less a yob's foull language shouted across the street,& more a deeply resentful grumble full of F's & B's & comments on your ancestry.

Now that sounds facinating! Haven't had 'language' from my girls yet but having hear them telling a fox where to go, I would imagine that it is similar but quiter! (I saw the fox at the same time the hens did - ran at it (in my PJ's ) hissing like a goose - it stood its ground until I was about 10' away, then legged it with me in close pursute . Richard - TOH - said it was very funny! )

Good luck finding an answer to your hens problem - I'm too new at this to have any ideas, sorry

Terry

[Egluntine]

'foul' language???? ha ha!

Cringe.... ....very good!