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| not leftovers |
Last Friday, I fed the three hens before I left. Food for Saturday morning and Sunday morning was supplied. My neighbor, Tony, agreed to feed them those mornings. The following foods are for two days.
I gave him a box of food:
two cans of whole kernel corn
two sandwich bags of Quaker Oatmeal
two mellow apples
4 sweet potatoes
two bags of leftovers from the church dinner (meat, slaw, baked potato, baked beans)
Tony said he would smash the pumpkin on Saturday morning. Now, chickens love pumpkin seeds. You see all the pumpkin seeds? They love sweet potatoes! But, they are still there.
Only the corn and oatmeal are gone, plus the church leftovers. The hens don't even seem to like me anymore. I put oatmeal in every morning and they look at me and the oatmeal warily. Only after I leave will they eat.
Nothing in their lives has changed. They pretty much are friendly now with Maggie May instead of chasing her around and pecking her. I do keep them locked up more, but this attitude has been present before the more pen-time happened.
Since my swing broke, I am not very present for them. I have a bench nearer to them. I usually sit there to talk to them. But, exbf took some rotten wood from their pen about a month ago and stacked it NEATLY on my bench. I don't get what he does some days. I hate to complain to him all the time. Then, he carried the plastic chair far away, and I forget to put it back. So, I hang onto the chain link, swaying, trying to wait out their slow entrance into their pen so I can lock them up for the night.
I have given up on their laying again this year, so I bought some expensive eggs. The carton purports to hold cage free and free range eggs. Then, the carton states they are fed vegetarian feed. But, I am going to go with it because I have not had an egg for seven weeks. When I opened the carton and looked at them, I was impressed with the appearance. They are of varying shades of brown and slightly different sizes. I may just eat three for breakfast with bacon. And orange juice. And milk.
Your turn
Do chickens ever go feral after being so friendly? Okay, not feral, just wary of me. Do they ignore their food? They are not moulting, so that is not the answer.
My best friend only eats fresh eggs that one of the men that she works with sells her. She says that it is the only way she will eat eggs now. I'm tempted to buy some but at $3 a dozen it is a bit pricey and I'm worried that I will get hooked.
ReplyDeleteSonya Ann,
DeleteI paid $3.48! I will still cut back on eggs and not buy them over once a month. They are good. I hate to think of a tortured hen working to make an egg for me.
How very odd. I hope they come round again. And can you get that wood removed from your bench next time exBF visits?
ReplyDeleteEC,
DeleteMe too!
Every time I see it when he is here, he is exhausted. I may get someone else to do it for me.
Sometimes, mine would act weird if they had something bothering them: needed worming, something harassing them along the fence line, etc.
ReplyDeleteCherdo,
ReplyDeleteThey are bothered by too much pen-time. I know that for sure. I have been trying to figure out what else it could be. Thanks.