Early A.M. Nest Box Occupant

It was not quite dark (but way beyond dusk) when I went out to lock up the girls last night. They had already gone to roost and I had only to shut and latch their coop door and then the gate. When I checked the nest boxes for eggs, though, I came nose-to-butt with two feathery hen bottoms. Those Americaunas just will not follow the rules!

I shone my flashlight over to the roost and saw that the two Wyandottes were where they belonged, snugged up close together and leaving plenty of room for those independent Americaunas. This morning, though, when I took my camera down to document all the sleeping arrangements, one of the nest-boxcrs had joined her friends on the roost. Only one girl was left in the nest box.

Early A.M. On The Roost

One occupant plus one detached tail feather. I think that was my fault. Last night when I closed up the nest box door, one of the girls had re-positioned herself just enough so that her tail feather was in the way. I nudged and she shifted just a little, but apparently not enough. It will grow back, but it will take a while.

The Wyandotte that Osa had been harassing once had several long tail feathers. She looks sort of ‘unfinished’ now and I think she realizes that something is amiss. She usually distances herself from the others, as if she is ashamed. Or maybe she always was aloof and her undoing was the marauding cat. Perhaps she doesn’t know the “safety in numbers” rule.

Three Girls, One Tail

Except for Ms. Loner, all the girls seem less skittish now. It’s been the better part of a week that Osa has been gone and that we have kept the girls confined to their pen. Maybe next week they’ll feel confident enough to free-range once more. I hope so. I miss seeing them in the garden, tails or no tails.