I wanted to do something for my hens

 After a rather sleepless night of thinking my two hens had been slaughtered, then realizing they were alive the next morning, I wanted to do something for them.  First of all, I need to tell you that I didn't quite teach those chicks the proper way to sleep when they were in the house being babied and petted.

The natural way for chickens to sleep in on a roost:  They are born with the desire to roost high, away from predators.  Of course when they have no feathers, they simply sleep in place, because they don't have the ability to fly up onto higher ground.  My chicks were raised in a big plastic tub; when they grew enough to roost on top of their waterer or feeder, they would jump up on either one.  This was a messy business, because they would then poop down in their food or water.  Yuck.  But it's their nature to roost, and they were doing their best.  Then there came a time when I thought Cliff had helped me fix up the ideal home for three future egg-layers:  A calf hutch, with attached fencing in front of it.  Now they could eat grass and bugs all day in the sun or shade; they would have a happy life there, right?

Not quite, because I guess I didn't make clear to my husband that I wanted to be able to move the house and pen (a chicken-tractor).  The three half-grown pullets would poop and scratch and within a week, there would be no edible grass for them unless they were moved.  It's the grass they eat that makes those bright orange egg yolks that have more flavor than store-bought, cage-laid eggs. 

See the difference in color?  The egg on the right is from my hen; the one on the left was bought in the grocery store; imagine how surprised I was to see that the store egg was a double-yolker!  Normally you won't find those in store eggs.

Anyhow, since their calf-hutch-and-pen couldn't be moved, it wasn't going to serve my purposes and intentions.  That's when Cliff, frustrated, said he'd just clear out half of the old chicken house for me.  So the chickens are there, house-bound, unless I turn them free.  Therein lies danger, but I'm hoping they'll stay close to home without so much time to wander.  After one got killed, there developed a strange situation:  The two tamest hens were very close and always stayed together when outside, but for some reason, Spook wasn't included in their little circle.  I got all three chicks at the same time, so why two of them seemed prejudiced toward Spook is beyond my understanding.  Anyway, with only Spook and Corona remaining, they don't stick together very well.  Spook seems to be a couple french-fries short of a Happy Meal.  She's somewhat afraid of me, and has a tendency to wander off across the road by herself.  

Here's another current "problem":  The chicks never learned to sleep on the roost!  They will perch on the roost during the day sometimes, but at night they huddle together in the same corner on the floor.  This is a unique problem, one I've never had before, and I'm sure it's because they didn't have any experience with a roost until they were almost grown.  Unfortunately, chickens poop several times a night, so they are squatting on poop from the previous nights.  (Chickens are nasty.  No wonder we worry about salmonella on the eggs we buy.)

So after thinking my remaining hens had been slaughtered all night recently, I wanted to do something for them.  I happened to recall that a next-door neighbor recently posted on Facebook that her girls had some roosters for sale; the chickens over there are the girls' project and responsibility, and they get the egg money, I believe.  I messaged her to see if they still had roosters and told her I wanted to buy one.  My hens need a man to keep them in line!  Plus, I knew he would roost, and perhaps the hens would follow his example.  Besides, I like to hear a rooster crow.

The rooster is white.  Maybe my hens are prejudiced?  

They did not follow his example the first couple nights, so this morning around 4 AM I went out, picked the girls up one at a time, and set them on the roost with the rooster.  Maybe they'll get the idea.  Oh, and I have yet to hear my rooster crow!  I get myself into the most ridiculous situations with animals, don't I?  Oh well, it gives me purpose in life, trying to teach ignorant chickens how to act like chickens.  Don't be surprised if you see me in the yard flapping my wings and crowing, trying to show the rooster how to act.

I do believe the pandemic has pushed me over the edge.  Pray for my sanity.