Adding Another Hen

If you've read my story "Looking Back at Our Building Year," then you know that I have a free-range chicken flock. I've had a flock of three for almost a year now. A few days ago, Dan sent me another hen who had stopped laying eggs. The introduction did not go well. Rooster Roo saw her from across the yard. His 100-yard dash toward her sent the poor thing into paroxysms of terror. Finally, she allowed herself to be herded toward the other hens--who then proceeded to beat her up. She eventually took refuge under the hay shed, where she stayed for the rest of the day. Obviously, she didn't roost with the rest of the chickens at dusk. We have foxes, owls, opossums, raccoons, and the occasional coyote that hunts in our area, so I didn't hold out much hope for my new hen.

The next morning, she was missing from the flock. I looked in all the usual places where my chickens hang out to get free food: goat feed buckets, nope; garden rows, nope; cat dishes, nope. I checked under the hay shed again and under the cottage. No new hen. I walked the fence perimeter and was encouraged by failing to find feathers at any point. Usually, if a fox or a raccoon steals a hen, it will drag the hen to a place of safety to eat it. It will leave a trail of feathers along the ground and a great puff of feathers where it pulled the hen through or over the fence. Similarly, there was no puff of feathers on the ground in any clear area from what I could see, so she hadn't met her fate by way of an owl. I fed the goats, milked Sunshine, and went about my day.

About mid-morning, I had to go out to the store. I have a "bargain" with my feral cats: I will toss food on the ground before I drive away, and they won't stray under my wheels to accidently get run over. The chickens think that offer is the best thing going and will dash over to get whatever the cats are eating (usually a handful of dog kibble). There they were, one, two, three of them. And yet, I still heard a chicken growling, as if one of them were in distress instead of scratching around in the grass. It took just a minute to find the new hen, roosting five feet above the ground in a yaupon bush. She was doing a balancing act, wings outspread, as she tried to walk down a branch that touched the ground. I could see that she wanted to jump to the ground, but chickens generally don't fly and she had been raised in a large chicken tractor. She'd never had to jump from anything more than 18 inches from the ground. I took mercy on her, picking her out of the bush and scattering more food on the ground, since she'd missed most of it.

That evening, after returning home from dinner at Dan's, I found her in her yaupon once again. Once again, I pulled her from the bush, intending to put her with the rest of the flock. She beat me with her wings and let out shrieks as if an entire army of foxes, raccoons, and maybe even a black bear were about to eat her. Rooster Roo let out a mighty crow and left his roost, charging at the predator army to protect his new hen. If I had been a fox, I might have been given pause by being assaulted with his three-inch spurs. Being just me, I walked by him and put her with the other hens. Rooster Roo is a good rooster, protective of his hens, but gentle around me, so I didn't think twice about turning my back on him as I went into the cottage. He stood guard outside the roost for about twenty minutes to make certain that no other predator was emerging from the vicinity of the yaupon.

That event was the turning point for the new hen. She stays with the flock now during the day and she's been roosting with them at night. She's learned that when I call out "chook, chook, chook, chook, chook!" that there is food in the offing. She's even learned how to steal from cat dishes, although the goats still make her nervous. It will be interesting to see what happens when the ground dries out and the Toy Fox Terriers can go back into their outside runs. Penni loves chickens. She thinks that they're delicious, especially when they're farm-fresh!

Anyway, I think that the new hen has earned a name. I only give silly, reusable names to my chickens: I've had many Henny Hennys over the years, for example, but she needs to be something other than "the new chicken." I was thinking about "Yellow Band," but that name is too similar to Yellow, my handsome blue egg breed rooster who sired Rooster Roo before going to his reward in defense of his flock. If you have any suggestions for a good name for her, please feel free to leave it in the comments below.

And, as usual, I welcome any constructive comment or observation--and (you know I have to say this!) subscriptions, tips, and pledges are definitely appreciated! Take care and I'll catch you on the flip side.