After four years, I thought I had my banty chicken Buster all figured out, but this year she keeps on surprising me. In previous years she had a short laying window, and, once she went broody, she would be done until the following spring.
She started the year normally. In March, she was back on her laying schedule. Not long after, she went broody and I was quick to break her. Unfortunately, as soon as I did, she started crowing big time. In the past her crowing did seem tied to her broodiness, so I expected it.
A little while after this, we noticed that she started looking really good. Her comb was bigger and turning that healthy red color. We thought, “Wow, we think she is actually going to lay again,” and sure enough, she did.
I thought that once she started laying I would not have to worry about her crowing, but a few days later she was back at it. In the past, laying and crowing did not go together. We thought she definitely had issues. Thankfully, she did eventually ease up on the crowing.
When she went broody again, I was not so quick to break her as long as she was eating, drinking, and spending time out of the nesting box. I figured if I could ease her out of the broodiness, maybe she wouldn’t start crowing. I also needed to go out of town, and I didn’t want to leave my chicken sitter with a crowing hen.
At first I thought my plan worked, but she did end up crowing. Then we started noticing that she was looking really good and her comb was letting us know she would lay again. I definitely could not believe that we had our cute little Buster eggs in August.
She is still providing us with eggs and the occasional crowing. I sure don’t get her. She is having quite the unpredictable year. I don’t know what to expect next. She sure seems very healthy, and she has been handling the hot North Texas summer like a champ. She is so full of energy and such a vocal girl, too.
