Tales from the Hen House

Number Seven loves the "chicky-chickies" and asks to see them every day he is here. I've never seen a child so enthralled with a bunch of silly birds.

One of my "hens" has me a bit confused as "she" is looking so different from the others. They say the comb is not necessarily a reliable way to sex a bird, but this one is completely different from the others in regard to the comb and wattles. The feet and legs too appear larger than the other birds. I'm watching the tail feathers to see if they start getting fancy. Barred Plymouth Rock roosters are supposed to be lighter in color than the hens so that part isn't different... And it hasn't started crowing yet.

It appeared as though I had a new "chicken" hanging out with us on Monday. He thinks he wants to be in there but I'm fairly certain those biddies could change that cat's mind in a hurry.

 Yesterday we fed the chickens the last of our picnic watermelon. They loved it! Ate the little white seeds first and then completely devoured the fruit. There wasn't a speck of red left when I went back to collect the rinds.

They're also enjoying their tire dust bath, although it appears they are running out of dust. I haven't actually witnessed them using it, but the dust round about the tire tells me someone has been stirring up the dirt. Guess it's time to dump another bucketful in there. Maybe the grandkids will help me out with that tomorrow.

I have to smile at this little guy when he gets down there in the coop. He really wanted to climb up the hill to see what was on the inside of the hen house, but his momma said it was not for babies.