I made them feel at home by making them their favorite treat, a chopped lettuce drink.
They are quick learners and go into the duck house at night where I lock them in. When they are bigger they will be allowed out to go where they please.
We have a hen that was beaten up last year by the other hens. Poor thing was a bloody mess and her eye was damaged. She will not sleep with the other hens now and has been using the duck house to sleep in. Her mere presence scared the duckings and I was worried they would panic and get caught in the wire or hide, so I'm trying to train her to sleep in a dog kennel next to the duck run. Because this hen hasn't been locked up at night she is out and about from dawn till dusk. She waits at the back door every morning and follows me around when I garden. I've never told her this but she's a nuisance, she's raked my flower beds up and made a huge mess of things. I've called her Henrietta and she's a darling.
Henrietta looks at me with her good eye.
She walks in circles around little Blondie who acts nonchalant.
Muffin has more pride than to let herself be stalked by a bird and gets to high ground when Henrietta comes near her.
Blondie has something that has caught Henrietta's eye.
Here's a closer view of Blondie's face as she keeps an eye on Henrietta.
It turns out that Henrietta thought Blondie's tail looked like the worm every chicken dreams about.
No tails were lost or injured in the making of this blog....Blondie can run fast.
4 comments:
Funny--thanks for the disclaimer at the end. ;) I was worried.
You know, I always admire your landscaping in the pictures. I like the way you placed big rocks around and then the way the grasses grow up around them. I might do some of that around here. I love the perennial grasses.
We have a hen like your Henrietta. Her name is Lucky. She has escaped 3 bad dog attacks that wiped out most of our chickens each time. She is very old, blind in one eye, and one leg is damaged. She is in with the other chickens and enjoys being left alone. When I went in to get eggs this evening she wanted me to pet her. I did.
Linda,
The grasses are a Feather Reed grass called Karl Foerster. It does really well in this climate and looks nice all winter. I have to cut the old dried grass off. I've tried Pampas grass several times but it doesn't make it through our winters. Pampas Grass makes a beautiful landscape specimen if you live in a more sheltered spot. I have to do a lot of work outside because I've neglected some areas the last couple of years.
Lea,
That's funny that some hens are tamer than the rest. I can pick Henrietta up. Maybe after all their close escapes they have decided it's us they can trust.
Oh, I just LOVE ducks! We had some when our kids were very small. I even dug out a little pond for them in our back yard. Eventually, they grew and flew away. Then, I got 3 geese that chased me ALL OVER the yard! THEY went back to a ranch in Thermal!!! We even had chickens at one time, but my collies kept catching them and pulling out their feathers, so they also went to the Thermal ranch to live out the rest of their lives in peace and quiet!
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