When I opened the barn door this afternoon, White Hen who was on her roost, jumped off onto the barn floor.
It’s the first time I’ve seen her do this, so I left the door open to see what she would do.
It didn’t take White Hen long to walk to the door and hop off the step onto the ground outside. But once there, she looked around her as if she was confused.
Slowly she made her way across the grass towards the barnyard.
The last time White Hen was around the Kitty and Anne, they attacked her. That’s why I put her in the barn to give her a safe place away from them.
This time when Kitty saw White Hen she ignored her. But as soon as Anne saw her, she came running across the yard and pecked at her. White Hen tried to moved away, but made no effort to defend herself.
I chased Anne away, picked White Hen up and brought her back to the barn.
When White Hen jumped off her roost and showed an interest in leaving the barn, I was curious to see what she would do. I also was wondering if the other hens would leave her alone.
But White Hen just seemed confused by it all. And when I brought her back to the barn she hopped onto the roost, her safe place.
I guess I was hoping that the hens would all get along. But I can see that’s something I wanted, not something any of the hens want or need.
And it’s not natural for them either. The other hens do not want a sick hen around them. A sick hen can attract predators and be dangerous for everyone. And if I hadn’t intervened, White Hen would have already been dead.
You can see how unhealthy she is by how pale her comb and wattle are compared to Kitty’s in the photo. When she jumped off the roost onto the barn floor this afternoon, there’s a good chance she was just confused.
She’s not eating as much as she used to either. And now I often see her sitting on the hay in the back of the stall. That’s where she wants to be, where she feels safe.
So from now on, that’s where I’ll make sure she stays.
