During yesterday's storm, my big girls spent most of the day going through their daily routine of foraging in the yard and digging for grubbies in the garden. It surprised me, because this group of girls DOES NOT like snow.
After dark, when the brunt of the storm hit our area, I went out to check on things see how the girls were doing. I found everyone of them roosting on the top of the fence outside the coop, soaking wet and dusted with snow. The one on the outside of the roosted group was covered with snow. They looked sad and pathetic. I got a towel and dried each of them as I put them into the coop. As I'd pick one chicken up and dry her off, the next one in line would move over so that I could better pick them up next, like a little conveyor. I had to laugh while I did this during the snow storm...in my slippers. These silly birds. :/
When my current group of hens were pullets, the Ameraucanas that I had picked on these girls and drove them out of the coop on several occasions. It is why my experience with the Ameraucana was such a short lived endeavor of just one year. My current girls will sometimes still roost outside the coop. I've tried to adjust this behavior, and it works for a few days, but chickens are hardwired. Once they "learn" something it can be next to impossible to "re-program" them. But I keep trying.
thanks I enjoyed looking at all of your pictures!
