Sometimes the chickens roost on the tall stacks of rabbit cages in the barn. The top of that cage is about six feet off the ground, so it’s not surprising that I didn’t notice that one of the banty hens wasn’t just roosting at night. She’d made herself a nest on top of the empty
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These banty hens don’t know when to quit. They don’t consult the calendar — or the farmer — and they just don’t recognize that it’s the wrong season for bringing more babies into the world. They keep nesting. They keep hatching out chicks, leading them through the leaves, teaching them to scratch in the dirt for seeds and other tasty snacks.
December isn’t prime nesting time, but we can’t convince this banty hen of that. This is her first nest, but she seems to have the basics mastered. Puff up and spread out to cover the eggs, screech at anybody who gets close, peck when the screech isn’t enough. The chances of her raising young through
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Warning: property protected by attack banties. Photo by LauraP
Seabright banty roosters, spoiling for a fight. Note the dropped wing on the middle rooster. He’s getting ready, but . . . so many targets – who to attack? Photo by LauraP