When the kids stay up longer, high jinks sometimes ensue. So it was last weekend with our little flock.
We’re getting close to 12 hours of daylight as the official start of spring approaches. That means our hens, who are biologically programmed to rise at dawn and go to bed at dusk, are spending more and more time up and about these days.
How are Snow, Nellie and Hope coping with the extra waking hours? Generally, quite well. They’re laying again after a three-month break, for one thing. But then there’s the occasional tomfoolery.
Such was the case last Sunday.
“The girls” were still scratching and pecking late that afternoon, so I figured I’d bring them a treat. It soon became obvious that they had engaged in some monkey business while I wasn't looking.
When I got out to the pen, I saw that Snow, Nellie and Hope had moved one of their feed bowls quite some distance from its normal location, for no obvious reason. They had knocked over their water bowl, which was resting on its side, empty and dry. And they were squawking angrily, probably because they were thirsty.
As I removed the water bowl from the pen so I could refill it, Nellie, one of our Rhode Island Reds, headed for the snack I had just placed on the ground nearby. In the process, she stepped on the edge of the box that I use as a platform for the water bowl.
The box flipped over, landing upside down. This caused great consternation among the hens, and much flapping of wings. They scurried around for a bit in what I call Chicken Little Mode, screaming "the sky is falling" in Chickenese before finally calming down.
The hens don’t just feed us at this time of year. Their goofy antics and slapstick routines tickle the funny bone as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment