Feathers rocking an amazing do.

I have three nesting boxes.  The problem is that I have four broody Silkie Bantam hens.  They are stubborn.  As a concession two will often share a box but when one of the big girls comes into lay for the day, it is like World War III.  Every Silkie jockeys for position to stay in their box.  What does a girl who wants to lay her egg do to the broody girls?  She talks to them and gives them a peck.  Often, these hormonal Silkies cannot be reasoned with.  They have an unreal dedication to brood.  The only way they vacate the nesting box is through repetitive pecking by the big girl who wants to lay her egg.  Finally, one little Silkie can’t take it anymore and abandons the nest scooting out into the run.

This repetitive pecking for the Sikies comes at a price.  It affects their cute little heads.  Once filled with a poof ball of fluff, they have now succumbed to the feather styling efforts of the bigger girls.  Some little ones sport mohawk-like dos. Others appear to have a sort of male pattern baldness working.  Then there are some that are missing a few patches here and there, almost mange-like.  I feel badly and know that as soon they snap out of the broodiness, their beautiful poofy coifs return.  The Silkies, on the other hand, are unfazed.

I wish I could be unfazed like them when I get a bad hair cut.  We have all had them.  When trying out a new stylist sometimes the cut is just a little too short, shows off the ears too much or just is the wrong color.  I think the worst cuts though have always come when I have brought a photo in as an example.  “I want to look just like this movie star.”  The problem is we are not in Hollywood.  We have humidity; combine that with running around the day, doing errands, laundry, cooking, washing the dog and serving as an after school taxi cab does not always match the do.  Having naturally wavy hair, often those Hollywood styles end up at the end of the day looking like a huge ball of frizz with it’s own zip code.  Sometimes, I think the chickens could do a better job at styling my hair.  Hey, they’d probably do it for free, especially if they found some bugs in there after I was done gardening for the day.

Have you entered the chicken coop giveaway yet?  You have only until tomorrow by 11:59pm East Coast Time.  Click here for the link.


Photo Credit:  Tilly’s Nest