Where to start?

Another trip to the Calhan farm to return Lacey and Uma2 who had revealed themselves as roosters. Cheryl very graciously accepted ‘the boys’ and I helped her catch two replacements. In addition, I got to hold her new baby goat. He is black with a bit of white, two little horn buds and blue eyes. He is a real heart stealer. Back to chickens…..hens, I hope. The replacements are just that. One is a Light Brahma like her predecessor; the other is a Silver-laced Wyandotte, with less black. The breeds may be the same. The names may be the same. The personalities are worlds apart. The previous Uma2 was a leader. Although a rooster, the others slept near her like children. This new Uma is nuts. She is afraid of her own shadow (to coin a phrase). She runs from all the others, especially the smallest, Goldilocks. I kept Uma separated for a few days. She had the entire inside pen, which includes hen house, nest, air-conditioning, microwave, grand piano….well, maybe not quite that well furnished. She is out in the population now and is still nuts. Mostly she sits atop the highest anything and looks about in a subdued panic. The Lacey replacement, now also called Lacey (I’ve tired of new names) is Godzilla-in-feathers. At the mere sight of her, the village people run helter-skelter and wide-eyed. She is a terror and pecks them for no reason. Nevertheless, to her credit, she laid an egg…in a 5-gallon paint bucket.