Pullets' first snow

Idalis has always had wanderlust. It may have started when she was a chick and spent the night in the feeder. The chicks are not supposed to spend nights in the feeder, of course, because we take the feeder out of the warm coop every evening so the meat chickens don’t grow faster than their legs can support. The top of the feeder is open, and once the layer chicks start to flutter (the meat chickens are always too bulky to leave the ground), they perch on the rim. We wish they wouldn’t because they tend to poop on the food, but a chick is gonna do what a chick is gonna do. One day, Idalis fell into the feeder and couldn’t escape. Hilda didn’t notice her in there when she took the food out. We were sure she would die of hypothermia when we discovered her in the morning, but she recovered nicely.

Whether this experience gave her a need to roam or whether the need to roam caused her to fall into the feeder in the first place is something that we will never know. As a grown up, she has figured out how to get out of the run and does it frequently. Terry says she is looking for a mate. I think his hypothesis is a projection of a common stereotype about men’s motivations. Usually as hens get bigger, they lose their ability and/or inclination to fly, but not Idalis. We tried clipping her wings to no avail. Hilda had witnessed her climbing up the fence and going through at the top, where the holes are bigger. Terry found a place in the fence where the turkeys chewed through the cord and fixed that. The next day, Hilda saw Idalis pacing in that area as if looking for where the hole had been. We thought the problem was solved, but she got out again, probably by jumping from the windbreak around the door to the roof and beyond. Hilda has also seen her and another chicken on the roof. Idalis never seems very happy outside. Terry has her trained to go back into the run as soon as he opens the gate. We can only hope that she will eventually lose interest in the world outside. You’d think she would have figured out that there isn’t any food out there.

We had half an inch of snow on the ground Saturday morning. It was 16°F with a brisk north wind blowing. I opened the door of the coop, and Idalis burst forth, as she usually does. Another hen looked out the door and went back in the coop. Idalis was taken aback by the snow and huddled in the corner of the windbreak where the ground was bare. She wasn’t sure what to do next. She walked along the boards at the bottom of the windbreak and then dashed back in the coop.

Idalis works her way back toward the coop door, trying not to walk in the snow

The rest of the girls mulled around inside while I did the chores. I figured they would venture out sooner or later. It’s winter. They need to get used to it.

Hell, no! We won't go! It's cold out there and there's white stuff on the ground!

Even though they will not walk in snow, snow on boots is irresistible. Here is a photo of Rose pecking the snow on my boots. What goes on in the tiny little brain of a chicken? They could have all the snow they wanted if they went outside!

But this white stuff on your boot is delicious!

Later in the morning, I saw the girls outside pecking at the scratch grains I’d spread when I was out earlier. I thought that they had trampled the snow, but Hilda told me she had swept for them. That’s right--she swept snow for chickens. She spoils them rotten.