Chicken update

I think I have finally reached the point where I can sit back and rake in the returns of all my chicken-related efforts. We now have three excellent layers providing 2-3 eggs a day, and they have a relatively predator-proof run where I can leave them during the day. (Dad helped me build it. I quickly realized that I am not detailed-oriented enough to build a sturdy chicken run by myself).

Not that there aren't still challenges. Yesterday I made the mistake of letting them free-range in the back yard while I went to pick Melina up from preschool; I had forgotten to close the bamboo fence across the driveway, and when I returned, there were no chickens in the back yard at all. Melina picked up on my little wave of panic and started crying, but pretty soon we found them all under the bushes in the front yard. This was the first time they've all left the back yard, so I guess we're entering a new era of chicken adventurousness.

And speaking of adventurousness, chicken Dolly (pictured above) has become so tame (and demanding) that she now goes in the kitchen whenever possible to eat the cat food. (Note to self: buy the fish-flavored, not the poultry). She also begs at the table whenever we eat outside. She seems to like being picked up; both Melina and I can carry her around in our arms when we want. That's kind of nice, because I've gotten home late a few times this week and have had to move all the chickens from their roosting place on the deck to their coop. Dolly is the easiest to move, by far; Martha will put up with it, but Abigail acts like you're trying to kill her.