Guess Reba is Feeling Better... Here's Why

Reba, my old RIR girl who had recently been suffering from some egg related malfunction and not doing well, led an expedition of older ladies into the deep forest (of ferns and brush) in search of the knee high wild blueberries and the blackberries along the power line easement fence. She and Sunny, the Buff Orp, were raised free ranging and went far and wide with their flock, but the Brahmas, one of which you can just barely see in the middle of the pic, are a year younger and didn't know exactly where they were. One had sat down, panting, because it's extremely hot and they were pretty far from any watering hole. Even Nugget and her 5 week old Delawegger chick were cruising along for the ride so we put our elderly pointer/lab mix on a leash and took her to scare the explorers back up toward the house. The power line easement is a predator highway. About 2 acres of our 5 1/3 are perimeter fenced and apparently, it's a good thing, or Reba would have led her motley crew out into more dangerous territory. I went outside our gate on that side and hiked down the power line easement road to get a picture of the free rangers from outside the fence.


Here are the bad girls:




This is Nugget with her Delawegger son, who were also caught up in the adventure:

 

We used to have good trails cut, but they're overgrown. Guess we need to re-cut them so at least, when Reba gets wanderlust, we can get to her better. Crazy old hens. I'm glad Reba feels good enough to travel that way--she was on the nest for awhile today, first time in ages, but no egg, so she may be on her way to relapse before she ever gets back to laying again, poor thing. At least she's enjoying herself.

 

Might explain the bluish poop in that pen over the last few days, LOL. We have chased her out of the woods twice before today, but didn't realize the attraction till yesterday, the patch of those tiny wild blueberries right at her mouth level all over that area. Now, she's taking the others with her so we are in for some hiking ourselves if they keep going back there or we'll have to cut some of that area.

I was worried about snakes when I heard the chick back in there--till I heard him, I didn't even realize Nugget was also in there with her baby. He'd be easy pickings for a snake.