Look me in the eye

This is ‘thing one’ she is team leader, supervisor, forewoman, maverick and one bossy chick, I know she’s ‘thing one’ because her beak is clipped, it was done before we bought her, at ‘point of lay’  she was destined to be a battery hen, so her beak was clipped to stop her pecking at the other birds, something all hens do if stressed or bored.

 

Yesterday I thought I would sneak up to the pond and get you a great shot of a heron that is calling in daily, in search of a few wriggly frogs for lunch, I had no hope, I was followed by six hens all clucking and squawking. They are not camera shy, so inquisitive is ‘thing one’ that she jumped on my knee, had a good look at her reflection in the lens, before pecking at it (thank goodness for lens filters)

Below is thing two, as you can see she is not so bright eyed and her comb is much smaller, she doesn’t seem to be ill, she’s eating well and clucking about, but she is always lagging behind the rest of the flock, she’s just getting old I think, occasionally she forgets to go to go back to the hen house at night (we did wonder if dementia is setting in!) and I’ll find her sat on Toms bike saddle in the barn.  We will just have to keep an eye on her, so long as she is not suffering she can enjoy her retirement

She likes basking in the sun, underneath the bird feeder, waiting for any thing that falls,we don’t keep chicken for commercial reasons, so we are a bit soft on the old girl.