I don't know if anybody cares, but I thought I'd flesh out Rich's chicken story a little bit. Not only did that new mama say bad words to me when I tried to shoosh a couple of the chicks out of a corner, but she actually FED THEM FIRST when I tossed treats to them. Previously, she'd been eating for herself, which is fine in the closed up barn, because I can make sure the babies get enough to eat, but if they go outside, she'll have to find food (bugs, worms, seeds, etc.) for them and make sure they get to eat them. What a mama hen does is pick up the "tasty tidbit," whatever that might be, and make a specific clucking sound that means "Come here, there's food." (Yes, chickens have a language, and I've managed to learn most of it.) When she makes that sound, the chicks all run to her, and she drops the tidbit in front of them, the fastest one being the lucky one to eat it. But she has all day to find food for them, and eventually they all get enough.
So yesterday morning, the fact that she fed the babies before she stuffed her own face,
and that she cussed me out royally for messing with "her" babies, was what I'd been waiting for, and I knew she had fully accepted them as her own, and would care for and protect them with her life. So we left the door open and allowed them to free range if they wanted. I'm not sure they went very far, if they even left the barn, because I checked on them mid-day and they were snugged down in the hay chaff in the barn, taking a snooze, and when we went out to do evening chores, she had them all gathered under or right next to her, getting ready to go to sleep. Daddy rooster wouldn't go in when we shut the door, so he had to sleep in the cow barn on the other side, but he was waiting at the hay room door bright and early this morning, so I let him in with them and gave everybody some treats. They're locked inside right now, but I'll go ahead and spring them when we go out to do chores in a couple hours.
Also, there's still no sign of Ms. Coyote this morning, which is good. All is quiet and peaceful at the moment, and hopefully will STAY that way. Jasper's still moping, but at least he's barking when he hears something, and he does get up and patrol every now and then, so he's improving a bit.
