Last night, Bill was mowing the outer pasture that borders
the coop. When it was “bedtime”, I clapped
and called the girls, “Time for bed!” and headed to the coop as usual. They all decided that they were NOT going to
bed since Dad was mowing … so I did some other chores and milked Gertie, and
when he was mowing not so close to the coop, I managed to get most of them inside. Miss Ruby, though, thought she was going to
be a Big Girl and roost with the rest of the Big Girls. (The chickens and rooster that came with the
farm roost outside of the coop on an old large birdcage, and I can’t get them
to stay in the coop at night … yet. They
fly to the top of the tall fence and then down to the ground.)
Well, Ruby tried to roost with them and they wouldn’t let
her. She then went behind the barn in
the tall weeds that we haven’t gotten to take down yet. The poor girl followed the fence line, trying
desperately to get through the mesh – she could see the coop but couldn’t get
to it. Then she doubled back and got
lost. I was trying to encourage her to
keep going but she was having no part of it.
She sat down next to the fence, gave a sad little “buuuuuck” and laid
her head down. Translation: “I’m
going to die here. You’ll find my body
here in the morning.” I had to go
after her. Using a stick to check for
Gary and Roger (the garter and rat snakes, respectively), I went through the
weeds and picked her up, reassuring her that she would be okay. When carrying a chicken, I’ve learned to use
one hand to hold their feet, and to keep
their wings tucked down with my arm and against my body – sweet little Ruby
grasped onto my fingers very tightly like she was holding on for dear life and
she snuggled right up against me as we walked to the coop. I think she was relieved!
After getting her safely inside, it was time to get Myrtle. She was on the trunk of Bill’s car pretending
that she forgot how to get down: “Oh no, I am so high. I can’t get down. You have to come and save me.” Well, when I picked her up, she grasped onto
my fingers and tucked her little neck right around my neck! She was giving me a chicken hug! I petted her and walked over to the pasture
with her and she was making these soft little “pip pip pip” sounds and just rubbing her head and neck against
me. I opened the gate and walked across
to where Bill was just finishing the last strip of grass – the mower didn’t
even scare her. He turned it off and
just sat there watching me walk all the way across holding her with her neck
wrapped around mine! She was actually
cuddling. He petted her too, and noticed
that she was making the little soft sounds.
J Amazing!
I never knew that chickens could have “feelings.”
I thought I was making it all up, and just personifying her
behavior – but when checking the internet, I found several articles and blog
posts about chicken hugs! It seems to be
that some breeds and some individual chickens are very fond of cuddles and
human interaction and others don’t care that humans exist. I can’t wait to share with the kids; I’m sure
they will be as excited as I am!
On a sad note, when I was giving Henny Penny and her chicks
fresh water and food last night, I noticed that there were only 7 chicks in the
cage. I don’t know if one fell out or
was grabbed by a snake. L I’ll keep an eye on things, and if needed, I’ll
close up any gaps.
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