Free at Last........

Or not.  Chickens are truly blockheads but oh, so entertaining!  The other day I was home for the rest of the afternoon so I decided to just go for it and let them out of their small and perceived (by me) jail.  So I sat down to watch, at the ready to chase and capture rogue birds as they flew over my fence..................an hour later I was still waiting.  I even put a little food out to taunt them.  Oh, they saw it, and they were curious, but I obviously don't have the bravest of chickens.  Apparently one of their characteristics is the love of safety.  Okay, so at least I eased my guilty mind that I was being cruel keeping them all cooped (ha!) up in their small haven. 

Speaking of being cooped up.........all of those chicken phrases I've heard all my life and have used without even thinking of their meaning are becoming so relevant in these initial days of chicken raising.  "Pecking order", being called "a chicken", "going to bed with the chickens", "up with the chickens", "hen pecked", and "mad as an old wet hen" (I haven't experienced that one  yet but give me time!) are just a few. 

"Coming home to roost" is also a common phrase but I haven't experienced that one first hand either since mine won't even leave the roost.  This morning I put their food AND water outside the coop and it worked.  For about three minutes.  Two of the hens ventured out and crept carefully around the coop.  But I soon realized that they were only looking for the way back in.  The Barred Rock found the opening pretty quickly but the Buff paced frantically around the coop, getting more and more stressed when she just couldn't spot the door.  It was, sadly, really very funny.  And now that they are safely back in their home they haven't left again.  We'll see what happens when they get hungry and thirsty enough.   

This new venture of mine has only so far produced the one egg so I'll continue to wait not so patiently for my next little miracle.