Cosette My French Hen

"I'm ready for my close up Mr. DeMille"

As with all flocks or groups of animals, there is an order.  Pecking order to be exact.  The leader of my flock is "Cosette," a Dominique French hen.  She is the first out, last in at night.  When I bring my set chair (collapsible, I toted around in the movie biz) into the coop she immediately hops on.  When I sit in the chair, she hops on my lap.  Anything new in their pen, she is on it first.

She really likes this chair!

Cosette talking to the "Tenacious 4"

Last Monday I brought the 4 Australorp chicks and their nursery into the pen.  I left the door closed for a day.  Then opened it up and put the ramp to it.  Immediately Cosette hopped up the ramp, went inside and spoke chicken to the tenacious 4.  They cocked their heads and listened to whatever she was saying.  Then she went up and down the ramp several times to show them how to do it.  Yesterday none of them wanted to venture out of their nursery.  But this morning, I opened the door and in seconds Cosette was up and down the ramp instructing them.  One followed as she watched like a mother at the bottom of a slide. 

Posing, a black Langshan hen

Talullah with her head between my knees...asking to come up on my lap.

We had our/their first rain yesterday.  It really drenched everything for the first time in 7 months.  They were under their porch watching the drops fall.  Wondering what the heck was going on.  When it stopped, they all were digging and scratching and rolling in the dirt.  On my final check for the night, all were in the sleeping coop, and Cosette was in a deep hole (chicken bath tub) rolling around all by herself.  Like a mother of young toddlers in bed for the night taking a bubble bath.  So funny.  I will try to remember to take my camera out at night to get a picture. 

Talullah keeps an eye on me :-)

Thanks for reading,
Each day is a gift. Open now.
xo,
Suz