Day 284 of 365
In the last week or so, I received three messages from people asking how Ruby was doing. Apparently, I have some distant friends who share this blog with their kiddos when there are chicken stories, and people love Ruby. I mean, of course they do, right?
Right now, Ruby is back living in the coop but coming outside every day to have her front-yard time. She stayed in the garage for several days after the extreme cold temperatures but then decided to move back into the coop, which was a good thing because Ron was starting to complain about Ruby poop in the garage. I tried to keep it picked up, but chickens poop a lot.
Today was pretty typical for her. This morning, when I opened the coop, she hopped off of her spot and went outside to play away from the flock. Later, it started to rain (before the snow), so she stood at the coop door to be let back in. I check on her from the windows about 100 times a day because her comb has been pale from her molt. When chickens molt, it takes a lot out of them, and their combs can go pretty pale. But pale combs are also a sign of health issues, so I keep checking and checking on her. It’s hard to give her health checks though because she hates for me to hold her, but I do my best. Poor hen. I ‘m such a bother to her, but I try to make it up in treats and giving her her way as much as I can.
I try so hard not to get too attached to chickens after losing Poe, but Ruby is so interesting and quirky and a little bit grumpy. She’s just the personality type I love. As an aside, people may wonder why I like grumpy people, and I have wondered this myself. I think it’s because I totally understand why they’re grumpy. But, also, they can only be a little bit grumpy.
Anyway, one new and interesting bit of information about Ruby is that she has been able to claim prime real estate on the roosts in the coop. I don’t know how she has managed this, but she roosts (usually all by herself but sometimes with a chill friend like Schubert or Schumann) on top of the wooden cage Ron made for the oil heater. We don’t use or need the heater anymore, but since Ruby likes the cage, we left it in the coop. I don’t know how she has managed this, but this is always a favorite spot for everyone in the coop. Somehow, Ruby, low as she seems to be in the pecking order, has claimed this space.
This is impressive to me.
Farmer-ish 