The lives of three ordinary chickens doesn't seem like it would be overly spectacular and on most occasions, it's not. These chickens have mini-adventures that they will remember throughout their lifetimes and ours! My love for these particular feathered friends is a deep profound love, as they have shown their colorful personalities time and time again. They are each unique, containing qualities that the others either don't have or don't display as strongly.
Foghorn is the very masculine rooster of the coop. He displays his manliness by flapping his wings or crooking his neck and crowing when he feels the need arises. Contrary to popular belief that roosters crow while the sun rises each morning, Foghorn is either forgetful or just obsessive. He not only crows at sunrise, but also mid-morning, noon, afternoon, evening, and even during the dark hours of the night. Often times, we wonder if he crows to warn us to keep away from his girls. He keeps good watch over these hens, sometimes too good of watch! At times, he will mount them, forcing each of the girls to squawk at his actions. He pays no attention to their angry noises and falls off, only to get back up and shake his lacy neck feathers of tawny color. From wattle to tail feathers, Foghorn shakes about to remove the dust he just collected and to gain back the confidence he lost.
Next in the “pecking order” is Amelia. Her mostly black feathers shine with an iridescent green sheen. She is the brave hen, her eyes encircled with brown color, as if she were wearing a pair of flying goggles. Her brave soul and physical attributes are what gave Amelia her name, a name she could share with the famous Amelia Earhart. Amelia, brave and courageous as she is, still heeds the direction of Foghorn but feels like a leader herself, in the hen-world at least. She does her best to look after her sister-wife, Helen. In the courtyard of their coop, Amelia scratches around while basking under the warmth of the sun, looking for bugs and leaves of clover to eat. When she's not hunting for these things, she can be found preening herself or Helen.
The last, but definitely not the least important of the hens, is dear Helen. She is the daintiest of all, needing to be guarded at all times, even when in the confines of the coop. Her golden blonde feathers would be beautiful if she kept up with her own hygiene. I have never thought that the term of “ditzy blonde” really fit the description of any blonde women, but this little hen is the definition of that exactly! Foghorn and Amelia never leave Helen alone, as if she cannot stand on her own two feet. I am beginning to understand that without them, she would be a goner. Dainty she is, but very dirty as well! She never cleans and preens her own feathers, so at regular intervals, she can be seen being pinned down by both Foghorn and Amelia. Usually, Foghorn holds her down while Amelia gets busy at cleaning the dirtiness off of Helen's feathers, especially her rear tail feathers. Although Helen appears sickly most of the time, she is finally growing to catch up with Amelia's weight and height. Helen leads a more boring lifestyle than the others. Her days are usually spent basking in the sun or making nests in the nesting box. Foghorn feels that Helen will do well in sitting on a pile of eggs awaiting the arrival of chicks.
That concludes the trio of the chickens. Ordinary chickens with personalities that can't be forgotten! Stay tuned for updated stories of their adventures and dreams!!
