Casual Conversation

Lordy!

I know my chickens are likely boring as hell, and this one will be no different than my usual.

That being said, it has been an interesting week with the birdbrains.

The hen that's inside a lot has been her usual self, except my kid has annoyed her enough that she will follow the kid around scolding like crazy any time the kid looks at her wrong. See, a teenager is pretty much a wild animal to begin with. This particular teenager doesn't watch their feet, or much of anything else, when walking around, and has bumped the hen often enough that the bird is sick of that shit, and ain't putting up with it.

So the kid goes to the bathroom, and the hen jumps down and follows them, brrrrraaaaawwwwking the entire way, then comes back to complain a little. When the teenager comes back, the hen gets all puffed up and squawks at the young'n until they are sat down and most assuredly aware that no contact will be allowed.

So there's that lol.

But the rooster! My big, dumb homie. He has decided that I'm his favorite human. This means that my rubber masturbatin shoes are his favorite thing, that he has to see me before he will settle down for the night, and that he will stomp his way into the door and through the house to find me, if someone leaves the door open long enough.

Now, when I say he won't settle down, he ain't playing. When he's outside, he roosts outside my dad's window. Once it starts getting dark, he's pecking at the window, bawking and crowing, pacing back and forth. My wife can go out, and he'll stop for a bit. Same with my dad. My dad can talk to him through the window, and the bird will stop pecking and pacing, but will keep screaming his feathered head off.

Until I go out. Then he burbles at me, stretches his neck out for scritches, gently accepts some treat or another while tuk-tuking (there's a sound roosters make when they've got something good and want the flock to know it's there). At some point, he's happy, fluffs his wings and tail, and settles down to sleep. There's a similar process when he's on the porch in bad weather. Doesn't matter who else tries; until I give him scritches, under the neck feathers, he ain't settling down. Which was discovered when I was at my mom's late earlier in the week.

Yesterday, he decided at lunch that he was not waiting for me. Normally I go out about 1 or 2, give the birds some treats, make sure they're set up food wise, etc. But my wife had gone out earlier, and while she was putting some scraps out for them, he busted ass through the open storm door, up the ramp, into the house, and straight for me.

I hear this crazed buk-buk-buk, accompanied by his talons clicking. I look over, and he's sliding sideways across the linoleum around the doorway to the kitchen. He sees me, crows, flaps his wings and promptly comes over to hump the ground at my feet. Once satisfied, he struts back and forth until I manage to get my dad to help me. See, I fucked my back up, and it ain't healed. So I can't pick either bird up currently.

While I'm waiting for my dad, this rooster is getting all antsy. Absolutely shocked at having to wait to get his scritches.

My dad gets there, picks the bird up and laughs, "two birdbrains for the price of one" and walks off.

Many scritches were given.

However, my wife goes to take him back out after a while. My homie wasn't playing that. He gave her the old "oh hell no!" crow and angry tea kettle when she went to take him from me. He's not dumb enough to peck her (or me), but he did tilt his head angrily at her and groan the entire way back outside.

Chickens!

Which, that would normally be the end.

However, today, we had a guest!

We used to have a volunteer hen that made our yard her home. She went missing last year during the hurricane, and we haven't seen her since. This morning, my wife is setting things up outside, and up comes this little bantam hen, the same size and general coloring as the volunteer hen was. When the volunteer came around, there was a roving flock of chickens that were a common sight. This one was most likely from that same flock, as she very much looked like one I remember as being extra friendly.

By bedtime, she had scarpered off somewhere we couldn't see, but she had been hanging around with us all day. She has a leg band on though, so we've got word out in case someone is missing her. If not, and if she decides to stay around, she's certainly welcome. Cute little thing, if not as cute as our marans, the hen that comes inside with us at night. And she's pretty friendly. More with my wife and kid than me, but she still comes up and accepts a gently dropped treat. My wife even petted her a little, when she was on top of the coop. The chicken, not my wife. My wife doesn't climb the coop. That I know of.

Anyway, that's how they're doing :)