I decided to clean the refrigerator today. I think that is one of those can’t miss New Year’s activities. You can get rid of all those old Christmas leftovers, free up a bunch of plastic containers, and make the chickens really happy. The latter was definitely a priority today, because the flock met me at the door when I got up this morning.
It got pretty warm around Christmas and I decided the chickens needed a break from their run, so I opened the door of the coop and stuck a cement block in front of it to keep it open. Toward evening a cold front blew through and we got some pretty strong wind gusts. When I went out to close the coop door for the night, I noticed it was already closed and had a cement block-sized hole at the bottom corner. The chickens were delighted to have a new hen-sized opening in the door and have been letting themselves in and out ever since.
When my daughter, Linnea, was about six, my parents gave her six chicks which were supposed to be Polish Crested hens, but turned out to be three Barred Rocks and three Black Cochin bantams. Not only that, but one of the bantams was a rooster. Linnea named him Beauregard and he became her special friend. Whenever he could get out of the chicken yard, which seemed to be most mornings, he would wait at the door for Linnea to come out and play. Beau’s been gone for quite a while now, but he apparently passed on his secret. One bold biddy even made it in the house the other day. I heard a tapping sound in a corner of the kitchen and when I went to investigate, I found a red hen scratching next to the wood stove. She must have followed a cat in through the cat door. I quickly ushered her out again.
So now I have a clean fridge, lots of containers for packing my lunch and a flock of satisfied chickens who are happily scratching through a pile of browned lettuce, gummy stuffing and stale Christmas cookies. And while they aren’t looking, maybe I can patch that hole in the door.
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