When we bought our hens almost a year ago, I never would have thought that chickens, who always appear to be interchangeable when seen in large groups from afar, have distinct personalities and are quite individualistic.
Oh, how wrong I was.
Almost as soon as the hens set up shop in our backyard, I quickly realized that Snow, Nala and Stella (the latter of whom has since died) could be distinguished from one another by far more than their distinctive plumage.
I was reminded of that recently when my wife Liz, who loves finding new snacks for Snow and Nala, bought some sprouts for them while shopping for groceries. This seemed like a good idea because “the girls” haven’t had anywhere near as many greens this winter as they did last summer, when they had access to grass and their all-time favorite, dandelion leaves.
The hens had not tasted sprouts before, at least not since we took them in last April. So we weren’t sure how they’d react, but we had an inkling. And we were right.
When Liz stuck some sprouts into the chicken wire at the front of the pen, Snow, a cocky, noisy, all-white Plymouth Rock with a voracious appetite, hung back. But the more sedate Nala, a Barred Rock, raced to the wire and gobbled down the sprouts.
Only after Nala took the lead did Snow join in.
Liz had seen this phenomenon before. On one of the coldest days in the dead of winter, she decided to introduce the hens to oatmeal, figuring it would warm their tummies a bit and help them cope with the weather. Sure enough, Snow initially deferred to Nala, who eagerly sampled this new treat. Now Snow, too, is a fiend for oatmeal, hopping around and flapping her wings whenever she sees Liz approaching with a bowl.
The most interesting aspect of this is that the raucous, pushy, demanding Snow becomes timid and unsure of herself when faced with unfamiliar foods, while the quiet and reserved Nala jumps (literally) at every opportunity to expand her culinary horizons. It’s almost enough to suggest that chickens, easily dismissed as dumb clucks, actually have multifaceted personalities.
Whodathunkit?
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