Let Them Be Chickens...

Well I'm happy to report that a week later, Hila and Hae are still alive and seemed to have figured out that my backyard is a pretty good place to live. :)

I'll be honest- I was worried in the first day or two that they would freak out and go hide somewhere and never come back, but it seems that the abundance of food in the yard is enough to keep drawing them back. I've learned a few lessons this past week- mostly that wild chickens are simply wild chickens and they'll pretty much do what they want. In good news, their instincts to survive are quite strong and even though my 3 domesticated chickens tend to chase them around a bit, Hila and Hae have not been deterred by that little nuisance.

Last week I wrote that I was worried about how I was going to train them to go into the coop at night with my other girls. Well, I've given up on that. It's not going to happen. I did see Hila start to check out the coop the other evening... she scoped it out as a potential place to roost but then opted against it. Next she checked out the fig tree... hopping from branch to branch but again opted against it. I think the fig tree doesn't have enough leaves coverage for them to feel safe? And they haven't flown into the neighbor's plumeria tree for a while. Last time they tried that the big dog saw them and barked like mad and that was enough to scare them right back into my yard. So it seems the avocado tree has become the favored place to roost each night and that is fine with me! I actually think it is super cool that they like that tree. Plus, I can easily see them from my bedroom window.

The most interesting thing to me is how one of my pet chickens, White, watches every move Hila and Hae make. It seems clear that she wants to emulate them, so I wasn't surprised the other night when she followed them into the tree at dusk. It was like somehow they sparked a reminder to her that she is a CHICKEN and that chickens are supposed to roost in trees.

So for two nights now White has slept in that tree with Hila and Hae. Elsa is my other white one and she's been watching as well... last night I thought she was going to make the leap... she thought about it and almost did, but in the end chickened out and went into the coop with Ellie.

I posted something to the BackYard Chickens Facebook page about how my girls were opting to roost in the tree at night vs the coop. One guy replied that I should lock them up and clip their wings.. Um, thanks for the suggestion buddy but I think I'll go ahead and let my chickens be chickens. That's why I keep them after all... to (hopefully) give them an opportunity to have a better life than being locked up and unable to fly.

In other news, my cats could care less about the chickens.

But they do have a pretty good life...

Enough about the animals. Things are good with me too. I've given up the pursuit of the Honolulu marathon this year. None of my long runs had been going well, and then I got sick last week which eliminated running altogether, and that seemed like the final straw. I am sure I could get through that marathon ok but not in a way that would actually feel satisfying so it didn't seem worth it. So right now I'm pretty much just doing some off-season type work- spending time in the weight room, addressing quickness and agility issues, etc. My swim volume has gone up a bit though b/c I've still got the Double Roughwater coming up in December. I'm on a little swim bender right now swimming every day recently and I like that. I think I'll end up with ~26K this week and I'm handling it fine.

Lastly, if I play this game tomorrow I think I'll end up quite drunk.