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Saturday, December 18, 2010

Who is that knocking at my door? (warning--chicken talk)

The shopping/making/mailing of gifts is done!
Today, I will not see the inside of a retail store...let's see. MIlk...check....Cokes....check...chocolate...check....bananas...check. There is nothing I need or want. I have enough stocked to eat for a bit. The four items above are not stored! I don't want to run out of those!

So, here I am relaxing. Who is at the door?

My breakfast--banana and milk
Wake-me-up--real Coke with caffeine and sugar
Lunch--cheese and bread
Snack--Kisses
I'm hungry!
Planned dinner--chicken, salad greens, apple, blueberries
Later--potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage in pressure cooker.
Okay, two dinners instead of candy, okay?

Who is at the door? 

Earlier, I sat a bit in the bright warm sunshine to get my daily D.

Who is knocking at the door?

I am  petting (just not walking)  my knee and the ankle that now hurts from limping. Only lately have I thought I might like a recliner.

Who is knocking at the door?

It's after 3 p.m. There is not much to do that I can actually do. I really want a nap.

Now, I will see who is at the door. Actually, I know who is at the door! I was hoping Fancy would lose interest in gaining my attention. Oh, NO! Lately, she is much more persistent.

I have begun to carry my camera with me at all times. When I swung open the door, Fancy leapt inside, just like she has done several times today.
The broom is lying there because she knocked it down. Before I could speak to her, she was happily cleaning the carpet scrap inside the door.

Fancy is now quiet and happy.





Thelma is quick, too. She joins Fancy. When I tried to push both out the door, both just started climbing over my foot, trying to come further into the house.

They love me? How sweet!

Dinner
It is time to feed them. They seem to be starving. I open a can of food, pour it over two opened rolls so as to retain the liquid in a form they can eat. Sometimes, I put the liquid in a bowl and they drink it.


Laying time
I carried the pie pan of food to their pen. Oh, NO! I locked them away from their water. The pen door is always open when they are pecking around the yard, but no so today.  Obviously, Fancy and Louise need to lay an egg, too. I suppose they were going to lay one in the house. Both hens went straight to the food, took a bite or two, and leapt into the same nest. So, that was not love? They needed to lay? I do believe they would have layed their eggs behind the door. I sometimes find a hen sitting on their shower curtain cover for their cage when I don't realize a hen  is in the house.

For an hour or more I had heard the hens knocking over things or rattling around on the porch. I had finally gotten my knee in a position that would not hurt, so I did not want to move.

Hens are so clever and so dumb. Fancy was not talking her usual talkative talk. Her plaintive voice told me she needed something besides conversation with me!

While I am not an animal lover, I would never mistreat an animal.. I love my hens and am horrified that they could not access water! There is no excuse for denying them (chicken) potable water.

4 P.M.
On an overcast or rainy day, Fancy, Thelma, and Louise would be talking to me about cleaning their cage and installing new paper, whining and complaining. Today, the sun is bright. So, conceivably, They could be out another hour. Hope not--I fell asleep just now, sitting straight up!

4:09 P.M.
2 eggs--they must have been suffering when they were whining and hitting the door with their wings as they tried to settle in on the outer edge of the door. Pretty girls, please come into your cage so I can take a nap!

Your turn
Have you ever accidentally neglected your animals? How did you train yourself not to forget? Now, this was my first forgetting, but I fear forgetting them in the future. .

5 comments:

  1. I'm sure everyone has at one point or another. I know we have! Not just waster, but food AND water to the kittens we have. I dont know how they eat as much as they do, but they do!

    And piggy, we've gone about 16 hours between feedings through an emergency.

    Sh*t happens. I dont deliberately "neglect" the animals, but it happens. They are loved and well cared for all the other times. So I dont think they will ever remember the couple of mis-haps that have happened in their little lives. Speaking of which, it's time for me to go and feed the puppy and piggy. :-)

    ~M

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  2. Thanks! I fed the hens at 6 pm one night, forgot to check the water, slept late, and found out at 11 am after I slept too late that not only were they starving, but their waterer was bone dry.Yeah, they live and eat dirt, I guess...lol. I probably feel worse than the occassion warrants.You have lots of animals.

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  3. what a riot! love what you've shared here. and I'm thinking that your chickens get very good care from you, despite an occasional slip-up.

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  4. LOL. Yes...lots of animals. I had 2 cats coming into our marriage almost 4 years ago. One ran away when we moved to our home, and we still have Chance (the white one.) He is 11.

    Then Squiggy piggy was a "surprise!" gift from my mom once hubby and I moved "to the country " 5 months into our marriage. Somehow, she felt that because we had a little bit of land, it needed a pot bellied pig!! Squiggy was a rough point in our marriage, but hubby got used to him! :-) He knew that if I had to choose between him or the pig, it'd be the pig!

    4 kittens then "found us." One was on our doorstep when we got back from a vacation (we found a home for her.) Another was very malnourished and sick, and VERY tiny. None of the other neighbors would take her in, so we did. She is still with us (1 1/2 now - Logan.) And then recently, the two new kittens Red & Tux.

    Oh...and Lana, our boxador (black lab, brindle boxer mix) puppy that we got for Squiggy. Yes, we got a puppy to keep our piggy company! What where we thinking?!?

    And in the Spring, we hope to get a few chicks. May as well! We've pretty much got a farm! :-)

    I may contact you about the chickens, because I dont know what we need to prepare for them.

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  5. Just contact me, and I can let you know what you need...not all the sites on the internet say you need.

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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.