Fun with chickens

The ladies broke a new coop record by spending a full 12 hours outside yesterday. It rained off and on, but they didn't mind. In fact, they seemed quite fascinated by the sound it made on the coop's metal roof.

As soon as we released them into the coop, Lady M, Coco and Babette flew up onto their roost. Miss Buttons tried...and failed. Repeatedly. That poor chicken has great wing power, but really bad depth perception, or something.

Her response to failure was to peep as loudly and pathetically as she did the day I put her back in the brooder first. My goodness, the drama!

So, to the fun part. After dinner, instead of the usual grass blades we feed the little monsters through the coop mesh (yes monsters...there is nothing ladylike about how they go after those slender green blades), we offered a small clump of about four or five blades, with a bit of root and dirt attached. Lady M was the first to grab it, and this is what happened next:

Run run run run run run run. Change direction. Run run run run run run run. Change direction and nearly knock over the feeder. Run run run run run. Run over Babette. Run run. Change direction.

And so on, and so on. Miss Buttons stayed in hot pursuit, eventually getting the clump away from Lady M. This is what happened next:

Run run run run run run run. Change direction. Run run run run run run run. Change direction and nearly knock over the waterer. Run run run run run. Run into Coco. Run run. Change direction. Repeat. Repeat.

Again, better than television. Well, maybe except for "Lost." And NBC Thursday nights. But I digress.

"One grass clump, please, and make it snappy!"