Hm. Must be Autumn
Behold my posse. My crew. My flock. Yesterday was the first time all four of them hopped up on the kitchen chair. Evening roosting behavior. Hilarious — I threw a towel over their heads and they all promptly conked off asleep. Then I could dust them for mites and have a good look at their feet (Mapp needs a pedicure) and their vents.
Yes, dear readers, I inspect chicken bottoms.
They flock together well enough in the daytime now, but the new girls and the old girls still sleep in separate enclosures. That has to change by Winter; there’s plenty of room in the main henhouse for four.
Sadly, it feels distinctly Autumnal out there tonight. So I let them fall asleep in the dark kitchen, then I tiptoed them out one by one and put them on the perch together in the big house (except Violet, who prefers to sleep on the floor).
I’ve put this off for so long because they all pick on Vita (the big, beautiful bird on the left). Even her nestmate Violet has a go at her. It’s horrible to watch. Vita meekly accepts her place at the bottom of the pecking order and lies still, beak down in the grass, patiently letting the other girls give her a few good pecks whenever they like. First time I saw this, I thought the poor bird had dropped dead and the others were trying to wake her up.
Nature. What an asshole.
They don’t peck hard enough to hurt her, but I worry about her being stuck inside the small run, unable to get away. So! I have set the alarm for six in the morning. I haven’t seen six in the morning since I left the Motherland.
I better get drinking.
September 5, 2011 — 8:49 pm
Comments: 29