Gertrude (the white rude one), Henrietta (in the middle) and Hennie all joined other chickens in a bigger yard in a family with children. Having chickens was quite the experience.
As they got older and bigger, as I opened the back door, they would coming running to greet me. I think it was because I was the one that fed them. They would eat grapes out of my hand with very quick and almost scary delivery. They missed once in a while and that was always a bit startling. They followed me around the yard, sometimes feeling a tad too close.
They started producing eggs at about six months and every day there would be three eggs of varying color and size. It was interesting what they loved to eat and didn’t love to eat. They love sardines and shrimp and would leave some bread uneaten. Tomatoes and grapes were the favorites, although they did eat the last of the zucchini from my garden. It will be a miracle if some of my peonies come up in the spring, as those along with some of my herbs were other favorite meals.
They always stayed in the fenced yard, never attempted escape and fertilized my lawn, so much so, I had a separate pair of shoes for the back area. They loved to sit and poop on the outdoor tables and chairs. Actually, they loved to poop everywhere. They dug in all my flower beds, spreading the bark and dirt all over the patios and walk-ways daily and pooped there too.
My gardener came yesterday to take them to their new home. He has a larger area for them to run free. The chickens had never gone under the deck till yesterday. Miguel crawled under the deck to get Henrietta, while Hennie squeezed easily through the fence to enter my neighbor’s yard. They squawked a whole lot, till they were lovingly held by their new owners. They calmed down and left in the back of his trailer, in their coop on the way to their new home.
I do miss their funny noises, fresh eggs, but not the poop. Chickens are very poopy animals and my back yard was starting to smell very fertilized. Bye chickies. We enjoyed having you and have you go.
