Impressions

It seems that Barney is feeling a little more at home this winter. We’re hoping that he is able to stay here all through the tough months. Last winter he disappeared for about six weeks. We thought he was a goner. Then – suddenly – with spring – he came back. He sure looked beat up.

The section of chicken run that we covered in used to be a favourite place of his to ride out storms. It is sheltered from the north and west winds – and usually he could get up to the top hay bale and avoid the snow and rain. I was worried once we covered it in that he would not want to venture into that area. Each night I leave the far entrance open. AND I leave a pop door into the paddock open. So he’d always have a back door. I was happy to find him there one morning this week!

It was a rainy day … I let Paddy’s flock have the ‘clubhouse’ and kept the door to the covered run closed. Barney settled in and rode out the rain right there on his cozy bale. When I add that day to tonight when he let me drive the tractor into the hay barn and stayed put up top … I think we’ve made LOTS of progress. He is feeling much safer around us. Now … if we can just deter the HUGE black cat that has figured out where Barney’s food is on the front porch!

Paddy and Beauregard have also been ‘making nice’. Well – nice because there is a fence line between them. This mild weather has set the hormones off all over the paddock. The Brahmas were crowing – BOTH Beau and Bram. (Bram is not usually allowed to crow … Beau is the top guy.) Charlie and Norman (newbie roosters from this summer’s hatch) were making nice with hens all over the yard. Had to chuckle when I heard Charlie cooing and chucking at a hen and then watched he and Agatha hop up into the coop together. He scuttled around bringing her sunflower seeds and anything else he could muster. If Paddy got a bead on either of them courting HIS hens there was a major fuss – chase – squealing – and scolding.

I think he figured he had better educate Beau as to whose hens were whose. Thank goodness there IS a fence line there. As I think Beau would trample any roosters (other than Bram) lickety split!