There and back again: A Hen's Tale
The funniest thing happened today. Karen had a phone call from one of our raw milk customers. Lynn told her that they had a hen hanging around their house that had suddenly appeared a few days ago. They didn't want it, so could they bring it over to our farm. Karen said sure, we'd be happy to give it a home. Lynn's husband, Ricki, came over to the farm about 6:30 with the hen inside a small animal transport cage.
As we walked down to the barn to put the hen inside for the night, I told Ricki that one of our chickens had gone missing a few days ago. It was a hen that roosted in the apple tree in front of the barn, but we hadn't seen it for a few days and there was no sign of a struggle suggesting that another animal had killed that chicken. Ricki took the hen out of the cage, and I made sure to look at the legs of the hen. Sure enough, on one of the legs of the hen was a plastic band that we had put on her two years ago. The hen that had showed up at Lynn and Ricki's house 2 1/2 miles away was our missing hen!!!
I burst out laughing upon the realization that it was our hen. Ricki asked me if I was sure, and I said absolutley. We then checked to see the last time he came to get milk. He had been here four days ago. While he was filling his milk containers, the hen must have flown into the back of his pickup. Once Ricki started for home, the hen must have been too frightened to fly out and had gone for a ride all the way to Ricki's place. I thanked Ricki for bringing her home and for solving the mystery of our missing hen. The hen seemed glad to be home, and her buddy who she hangs out with was glad to have her back, too. Before going to bed I checked the apple tree, and she was back in her usual spot.
--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont
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Posted by Blogger Chris at September 30, 2005 07:42 PM
I've enjoyed your blog! Also, I have a question. I have a very small herd of 10 cows and 8 of them are due to calve soon. (One already has, 3 weeks early and with lots of TLC the baby heifer is doing great and one did not take.) Anyway, in researching signs for impending birth, I keep coming across two things - 1.)relaxation of the pelvic ligaments resulting in raised tail head and sunken croup and 2.) strutting teats. Being new to the game, I can't find any pictures of either. Do you know of any sites with pictures of these, particularly the signs of relaxed pelvic ligaments? At the very least, vivid descriptions? Thanks!
Jonathan Gates reports from Howmars Farm in Franklin, Vermont.