Is it possible we have a rooster disguised as a hen? She has not comb, has a vent, does not crow, and plays second fiddle to Barbara. Or, as an Ameraucana do her eggs gradually turn to be blue, starting out light brown? Or, is she younger than they told us, or do hens ever just not lay eggs?
The are questions Ask Jeeves cannot answer.
They are both growing, but Barbara is twice as big as Mabel. She also bullies Mabel, so I am keeping a close watch to make sure Mabel gets her share of scratch. treats and feed. They both seem to be happy, not nervous or skittery. They groom, take dust baths, jump up on us fro time to time for some petting, and have a peaceful existence, as far as I can tell.
Last night we heard an owl in the up in the big redwood tree in the yard next door. I was worried the girls would be scared, but checked on them and they were sleeping in their coop, snug as two bugs in a rug. Boy that dates me, huh?
We are leaving the for 3 nights this weekend. That will be a first. I think I'm going to separate them so Mabel can grow some tail feathers back, and not have to deal with bully Barbara. We have devised a plan for doing this that should work fine. Meanwhile I am trying to teach Mable to not turn her back on Barbara. So far my attempts have failed.
On the success front, dog and chickens now pretty much ignore each other. Annie tries to eat their feed, and scratch. So I threatened to give them some of her food. Quid pro quo. Oh she did not like that.
A storm is coming, but today is warm and partly sunny so yard time has been great. Annie is now sleeping on the chaise on my right and the girls are grooming them selves on my left right next to my chaise. Ah farm life!
No comments:
Post a Comment