Every morning, just after the crack of dawn, I head out to the coop to give Snow, Stella and Nala fresh water and a bowl of feed, which they always gobble down quickly, and with gusto.
But that doesn’t satisfy them. And I know why.
Snow's after-breakfast squawking reminds me that she and her pals haven't had their morning salad yet and she’s none too pleased by the delay. So I scrounge the yard for tufts of grass and dandelion greens (we are expert dandelion growers) to give to the girls.
The racket doesn’t let up until I toss a handful of greens into the pen. At that point, all three girls set to chowing down once again, as if they’ve already forgotten that they knocked off a bowl of feed only moments earlier.
There’s no doubt that grass clippings and dandelion leaves are among the hens’ favorite foods, so it may be a long, hard winter for them here in Maine, when both of these treats will disappear. Of course, being omnivorous, the girls also like such supermarket staples as lettuce, apples, tomatoes and yogurt. So I’m sure we’ll manage to scare up a few acceptable substitutes. Even when the yard is buried in snow.
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