Chookswill keep you on your toes

Each mob of chooks has its own personality.

I have had mobs that have been friendly, feisty or even flighty, but they are all fun as they get to know you and learn to trust you.

I think I would call our latest pullets defiant. I generally clip wings on our chooks so they can’t fly high enough to leave their run.

This just consists of trimming the wing feathers back on one side, which doesn’t hurt, and their run has plenty of room to roam, scratch and lurk so it’s no hardship.

Trouble is, no one told the new girls that clipping wings is meant to stop them going vertical.

The second day they were here I popped out in the middle of the day to check on them, only to find one less pullet than there had been the previous day.

I searched the run, crawling under trees in case she she was lurking under low hanging branches. I even climbed one to peer over the fence; even though I was convinced she wouldn’t be able to fly over it.

The next morning, not unexpectedly, there was a pullet missing. She wasn't hard to find; I just followed the avian swearing over the fence.

It wasn’t until I turned around to jump down from the tree that I saw her. She was perched up a tree opposite me and I swear she was smirking.

Later on that night I sneaked into the run, suspicious about where she was sleeping, only to find she had led her mates up the same tree. It was dark and they were too high for me to get down so I had to leave them to it.

You might be wondering why I was bothered about letting them do something natural like sleep in a tree.

The issue is that they can get confused about where to come down, especially in a new home.

Chooks descend from trees by leaping and flapping, and the more height they have, the more likely they are to cover some distance – and maybe end up accidentally visiting the neighbours.

The next morning, not unexpectedly, there was a pullet missing. She wasn’t hard to find; I just followed the avian swearing over the fence.

She was unimpressed at not being able to get herself back home. As the pullets had not had time to get to know me, her reaction on seeing me was to run rather than squat in submission.

As a result the retrieval operation involved a collapsible laundry basket, the other half, and a broom as a herding tool.

Oh, and clambering over a neighbours’ fence. The result was a very annoyed pullet, albeit one that was back with her mates.

The next night I lurked in the chook run at dusk, scooping up each sleepy bird before she headed for the heights and locking them all in the henhouse.

Three nights later my wayward pullet was again smirking at me when I checked up on her – this time from the comfort of the henhouse perch where she and her mates had put themselves to bed.

I still haven’t told them that is where I actually want them to sleep.

mandyevans.co.nz

Chooks can have very different personalities, from friendly to fiesty.