Chicken In Charge

This afternoon the temperature was in the mid-50s, nice enough to be outside, but on Monday afternoon I prepare dinner for the clergy so I stopped at the grocery store for ingredients and headed to the parish office to cook.

Tonight's meal was tacos (with lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, cheese, sour cream, and salsa) and refried beans. After preparing the meat I turned to the lettuce, cutting the ribs out of a head of leaf lettuce before slicing it into shreds. Instead of discarding the ribs decided to walk them over to the chickens. I hadn't been to see them for months and wondered how they were doing.

Per the pastor's request last week's Sloppy Joe meal included frozen corn. When I was buying the ingredients I found out that, thanks to shrinkflation, frozen corn had been downsized to 12-ounce bags (four servings, according to the nutritional label). I was feeding six people, and hate to run out of food, so I bought two bags. That turned out to be way too much. I put the leftovers in the refrigerator, and no one had touched it. so I dumped half the kernels into the bowl with the lettuce scraps.

When I neared the coop I could see that all three of the hens were out enjoying the day. I greeted them, then opened the gate and tossed the contents of the bowl in.

The chickens went crazy over the corn kernels. I had heard that flocks have a pecking order, but before today had never seen it in action. However, one of the hens was definitely the Alpha. Although I tried to spread the goodies in a wide area she gobbled up much of the corn, and chased the other two hens away when they tried to move in.

Five years ago today: Has It Been Ten Years Already?