With the fall harvest season complete, I decided to spend the weekend visiting K and the girls at the farm. I missed everyone so much, but especially little Pokey, who relies on me for protection, good food, and friendship. I'm beginning to think that she doesn't realize she is a chicken. And in turn, I'm beginning to treat her less like one.
She hasn't really spent time outside since the nor'easter last weekend, so she was very curious about the snow. She, and the other chickens, chowed down on the last remaining strip at the end of the driveway. A snow buffet. Pokey has learned where I spend most of my time (in the house) and now has the strength to fly/walk all the way to the doorway to sit and wait. She peeps and peeps until I come outside and pick her up. While we were making breakfast she enjoyed grapes and a pear core, along with some lettuce roots from last night's dinner.
The feast continued this afternoon when Pokey and I walked out to the abandoned corn maze to harvest some of the field corn for "chicken candy." She is so content traveling under my arm, trusting that I'll protect her. She pecked around the field (enjoying a break from getting picked on by the other chickens) while I harvested a box of corn. The bigger girls enjoy the challenge of pecking off the kernels one at a time and even though the corn doesn't have many nutrients, the extra calories help to keep them warm during the chilly evenings.
I made stuffed butternut squash (with ground pork from this summer's pigs) and apple turnovers for dinner. All the girls enjoyed the squash seeds (which can act as a natural de-wormer) and the apple peels and cores. There is very little waste with a bunch of hungry hens in the backyard.
With daylight savings, the girls were in bed by 5PM tonight, a welcome change that means we also settle in earlier in the day. The shorter days mean fewer eggs, but everyone deserves a little break.
Dogs may be man's best friend, but little Pokey sure is mine.
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