Well I've been sick all week, and among other things that haven't gotten done, I have not been to the store to replenish supplies of my chickens' favorite breakfast treats...yogurt with cheerios, oatmeal. At sunup, I let the girls out of the coop and collected the first egg of the day. This is when I'm supposed to put their breakfast dish down, and they know where it's supposed to go, so they're standing there waiting and not too pleased with me when I apologize and go into the house. About an hour later, I'm settled nicely on the couch, and I hear the egg song. Now I'm feeling guilty. A quick check of the fridge shows nothing appealing, and then I spy the corn on the cob. I bet they'll love that! So I cook two ears of corn, wait for it to cool to the proper temperature, and take it outside in the breakfast dish. The girls come running. I put the dish down and go to the coop to collect the still-warm egg, then go back to sit and enjoy watching the girls attack their corn.
Nope. They circled the dish as if they were playing musical chairs. This does not look like yogurt with cheerios. It does not look like oatmeal. It does not look like anything that MY girls want to eat, and as Nellie pecks my toes, honking at me, she lets me know she is not a happy camper.
OK. So I pick up an ear of corn and begin pulling kernels off the cob. All four girls are now interested and fall over themselves to grab corn from my fingertips. I can't get the corn off the cob fast enough! Meanwhile, I'm coughing and sniffling and it's way too cold to be outside in my nightgown. The girls like the corn, so I put the cob back in the dish and go back to my couch.
A few hours later, I hear the egg song again. Stepping outside, I was amazed to see the corn, untouched, still in the dish. Huh? They were loving it, what happened? So I collect the egg and come back to pick up the dish. All four girls are suddenly interested, again. You guessed it, I had to sit there and pull every kernel off both cobs, letting them pluck from my fingers and tossing handfuls to make sure everyone got her fair share. When both cobs were bare, I put my hands down and the girls were pecking the scraps off my fingers.
So we've all learned something today. My chickens have learned that Mommy will do anything for them. I've learned that my girls are rotten and I love them anyway!
Nope. They circled the dish as if they were playing musical chairs. This does not look like yogurt with cheerios. It does not look like oatmeal. It does not look like anything that MY girls want to eat, and as Nellie pecks my toes, honking at me, she lets me know she is not a happy camper.
OK. So I pick up an ear of corn and begin pulling kernels off the cob. All four girls are now interested and fall over themselves to grab corn from my fingertips. I can't get the corn off the cob fast enough! Meanwhile, I'm coughing and sniffling and it's way too cold to be outside in my nightgown. The girls like the corn, so I put the cob back in the dish and go back to my couch.
A few hours later, I hear the egg song again. Stepping outside, I was amazed to see the corn, untouched, still in the dish. Huh? They were loving it, what happened? So I collect the egg and come back to pick up the dish. All four girls are suddenly interested, again. You guessed it, I had to sit there and pull every kernel off both cobs, letting them pluck from my fingers and tossing handfuls to make sure everyone got her fair share. When both cobs were bare, I put my hands down and the girls were pecking the scraps off my fingers.
So we've all learned something today. My chickens have learned that Mommy will do anything for them. I've learned that my girls are rotten and I love them anyway!
