Fay 106 of 365
Juliet is, perhaps, too spoiled, and her behavior has me wondering about chicken behavior in general. It also has me thinking about my own decisions and the role I have played in this. Juliet is pretty much out of control. We have always had an agreement that she doesn’t have to follow the rules the other chickens follow. She trades eggs for treats, and I don’t make her stay with the rest of the flock. She gets to come and go as she pleases.
But, lately, things have gone a little too far–at least according to Ron and my son. And, I have to admit, that I am a little worried Juliet is out of control. I am not even sure how this is possible, but I guess Juliet is one of those people who you give an inch and they take a mile. I have known some people like this in my life. I guess now I know a chicken like this.
She has taken to hollering, and I mean full-on hollering, when she doesn’t get her way. Her way is that she wants a treat every time one of us walks outside. She goes the extra mile for me and charges my feet to make it hard for me to walk. She also hollers super loudly when she lays an egg because she knows she gets a treat for her eggs, so she screams her head off until I come from inside the house to give her a treat. She also complains to me when Ruby is in the dog crate laying an egg. She charges my feet like she wants me to do something about Ruby.
The worst is that she has taken to charging the car when I get home. I have to stop in the middle of the driveway until she finally decides to move and then, when I open the car door, she’s right there. Waiting. And then, she charges my feet. Thankfully, she does not do this to other cars. She knows my car!
On top of all of this, she’s being mean to the babies, some of whom were her babies. If she’s in a mood, she won’t even let them get a drink out of the waterer. How is this even possible?
This morning, she hollered so loudly that she woke my son up from sleeping. “I hate that chicken,” he said.
Ron says she’s going to have to back with the flock. Normally, I would argue, but I have to admit that Juliet is a bit out of control. I’ve never seen anything like this. Surely, she’s highly unusual in the grand scheme of chicken behavior, right? My worry, of course, is that going back to the flock will break her little spirit. But I can definitely see that Ron’s right in that things have maybe gone too far. I mean, you can’t be terrorized by a chicken all day, right?
Right?
Farmer-ish 