"Fern Has an Adventure and Betty Lays an Egg"

Saturday is one of our CSA “picking and packing” days, so there is quite a bit more going on in the fields than on some other days. The animals are conscious of the extra movement and respond by becoming more animated than usual.

Maggie and Murphy watch the driveway for the approach of visitors, while listening intently for the crunch of tires on gravel. The goats closely monitor the field gate for the possible arrival of fresh lettuce or spinach trimmings.

Our nine hens are hilarious today. The silly things sprint back and forth through the field and around the tall firs, chasing and following each other with joyful enthusiasm. Each has her own unique personality and habits. Anne’s sister, Heidi, says they remind her of two-legged dinosaurs.

This morning, Fern (a Red Hampshire) decided to see for herself what kinds of greens grow on the west side of the fence. Scott and Mike have caught Fern before, and put her back on the safe side of the fence where she belongs. But this time, she got out three times in an hour. Not good.

Now, this fence is 5 feet tall, and is constructed of excellent quality non-climb horse fencing which has been firmly attached to 8 foot tall 4 x 4 posts set two feet in concrete. The fence keeps our busy Alpine goats completely contained, and is less than two years old. It would most likely keep in Camels, for that matter.

Fern, however, discovered the one span of cattle panel in the fence; made to be removable to allow a pickup into the field. Fern found that if she jumped up just a bit and flapped her wings, she could throw herself through one of the larger rectangular spaces in the panel, and would then be free to scratch around and explore. As I said before, she had been caught and put back several times.

Late in the afternoon, Anne went out to the goat-and-chicken field to find out which one of the chickens was creating such a boisterous and unrelenting squawking sound. In the soft grass next to the little red hen house, lay the most perfect little green egg! Betty, a precocious Ameraucana, was proudly announcing her newest and cleverest accomplishment. What a delightful little green egg! The first one ever from this group of young hens.

While scanning the flock, Anne noticed that Fern had apparently run off on another trip to coyote-and-raccoon land. (Or, heaven forbid, was she plucked up and taken away by the resident hawk pair?) So, here was this lovely green egg, but Fern was gone! It was kind of a bittersweet moment.

This time, Anne was unable to find Fern anywhere in the field, so she enlisted the aid of Scott and Nelson. Scott eventually found Fern hiding under the goat stanchion, apparently unable to find her way back inside the fence.

Tired and repentant, and softly clucking her apology, Fern fell asleep on Scott’s lap almost immediately. Scott discovered the space in the fence and repaired it, the tiny egg was carefully washed and refrigerated, and order was once again restored. Later, Scott was observed attempting to teach Fern to “sit” on command. We’ll keep you posted.