White Hen And Zip

Yesterday Kitty and Anne came out of the coop for the first time in a week.  They didn’t choose the best day, it started to snow early in the afternoon and they spent a good deal of time under the hen house.

It made me wonder if they know that White Hen is close by.  If they can hear her or smell her.  If they even remember her.

White Hen is so chatty when I see her sometimes I wonder if she’s lonely.  She spent her whole life around other chickens.

She could easily hop on the other side of the stall and walk around the barn or even leave it.  But she she seems content where she is.

And she’s not really alone anyway.  She can hear and see the sheep and donkeys when they are in the pole barn.

And then there’s Zip.

Sure, Zip likes to follow me around and he’s followed me into the barn more than once when I was feeding White Hen.

But today I saw something between him and White Hen I had’t before.

While I was cleaning up White Hens stall, Zip showed up climbing over the gate from the pole barn. He hopped onto the haybale and rubbed up against the makeshift gate that White Hen roosts on.

White Hen didn’t move,  no quick movement, fluttering of wings or loud clucks.  It was as if she was used to Zip spending time with her.

It made me think of our barn cat Minnie who loved the chickens.

I was convinced she thought she was a hen at times.  Back at Old Bedlam Farm, when Jon’s rooster Winston was dying Minnie sat next to him, keeping him company and no doubt protecting him from the hens.

I don’t know what goes on between Zip and White Hen.

But he likes a certain amount of attention and company as much as any of the animals on the farm.   He spends a lot of time alone in his barn, but then he spends time in the barnyard and pole barn with the sheep and donkeys too.

Zip might be after White Hens food, but it seemed like more than that. Like they were at least comfortable being in such close proximity to each other.

Zip likes the chase the hens, to see them run, but that’s just a game to him.  Like he plays with the Zinnia.   He never tried to harm them.  And I have seen White Hen stare Zip down.

So maybe White Hen and Zip are curious about each other. Maybe they’re learning how to be together on the farm in a new way.