The bald ladies have been forting up in their chicken house for weeks. I knew some of it was caused by Upgrayedd, because I’ve seen him chase them inside several times. But it might also have been caused by the cooler weather. They’ve obviously been under a lot of stress, and the smallest one is now damn near completely bald: I wouldn’t want to go outside either.
But they were staying inside even in the warm afternoons. They weren’t coming out even to eat and drink. When I moved the feeder and waterer inside in the evening the hens attacked them. They stopped laying eggs.
Yesterday evening I closed all the doors on the chicken house with the hens inside and Upgrayedd outside. Then I didn’t open it up this morning until Upgrayedd had finished his appointment with the hatchet and the knife. I cleaned out the chicken house, topped off the food and water, and left the hens alone all day.
This afternoon I came back with some scraps for them, and all three were trotting around the yard active and hungry for veggies. Maybe I’ll be able to keep them through the winter after all…
