For most of the year, I felt that our new cats and chickens, while not fearing us, at least had a healthy respect for us. That feeling totally disappeared this weekend.
The chickens largely stayed confined to an area bound by a movable electric fence until about a month ago. We started to leave the electricity off, and the chickens improved their limited flying ability. We would occasional find a couple of chickens on the wrong side of the fence, so we would scoop them up and toss them back in. The cats also kept their distance from the chickens after getting zapped by the fence a couple of times. Once we started to put the garden to bed for the season, we gave the chickens more time outside the fence to help turn the garden soil and eat bugs and weed seeds. Maggie keeps them fenced in, with the power off, until the hens are done laying, and then releases them. While they generally stay in the garden and pasture, their range has been slowly increasing. The hens recently enjoyed checking out our friends on our porch during a recent visit. The hens are unfazed by our elderly dog, and even the cats do not seem to worry them. We count the hens each night, and unbelievably we still have eleven.
The barn cats were largely content to hang out outside and in the barn, until they spent one magical week in the house after getting fixed. They were timid at first in their new surroundings and probably in some pain after their surgery, but after a couple of days they were exploring every spot in the house, emerging from behind furniture covered in cobwebs. One night, Maggie heard water running, and determined one of the cats had turned on the kitchen faucet. The knobs on the gas stove were checked a bit more often after that. Smudge liked to try and sleep with the dog, and we would hear single barks from Maxie every night in protest. By the end of the week, it was clear the cats were going stir crazy, running back and forth upstairs in the middle of the night, and they were booted back outside.
When it is time to feed the cats in the morning, they come up to the porch from the barn, activating the motion sensor of the porch light. This signals the start of a new day. The dog, who prefers to spend her time outdoors, would brush them aside as she went outside when we opened the door. Now that the cats have seen the house has an inside and it is getting colder, they rush past the dog when we open the door, meowing for food. At first, they would immediately hop up on the dining room table, which is where we put their food when they were in the house to keep it away from the dog. Since that food is no longer there, they have learned to rush over to where Maxie's food bowl is and start eating the poor dog's breakfast before she gets back in the house. The dog now gets fed after the cats. This weekend, I let the dog out, watched the cats rush in, shrugged, and walked out to the barn to put out their food. By the time I got back to the house, Maple and Smudge are at the door, meowing. I explain they will be dining al fresco for breakfast, open the door, and let them rush out to the barn.
The chickens have now taken free range to a new level. Leaving the garage or barn open is now a huge mistake, as the chickens will slowly congregate inside the open building. If the cat food is out, they will eat that, which is a little payback on the cats. Usually there is no food to be had, but the hens seem to enjoy exploring all the dark corners.
The chickens are very curious, and will wander over when we are outside working. When they see we do not have any food, most will quickly lose interest and wander away, although a couple may hang out to be scratched. The chickens are not a problem when we are standing, but things change when we are stooped over. We planted garlic and shallots one afternoon. The chickens, sensing freshly dug dirt, quickly surrounded us. As I planted bulbs while kneeling, the chickens would peck me inquisitively. I would shoo them off, but only temporarily. When it became clear the pecking was going to turn a 30 minute project into a 90 minute one, the chickens were herded back to their coop.
One morning, I was changing a headlight on the pickup, and both cats and several chickens came over to help. Maple would hop up on my back while Smudge checked out the tires, along with a couple of chickens checking the engine. Later in the day, the cats joined Maggie and I as we mucked out the coop for winter, climbing to the uppermost perch and staring at us and the few chickens that were milling around. Perhaps the electric fence needs to be plugged back in.
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