Almost Lost

Over the weekend, I thought we’d lost one of our hens. We’d let the hens out of their run to have a wander about for an hour or so, and then sort of forgot that they were out.

So it was dark when I went up to see if they’d found their way back into the run, and into the nestbox – and of course, being thick chickens, they hadn’t. Two were asleep on the ground (so much for all the books saying they’ll try and get up to a perch before going to sleep) and I couldn’t find the third (Elsie) at all.

I put the other two into the nest box, and then looked all round the garden – but couldn’t see Elsie at all. I even looked over the end fence – although getting the idiot bird back from there would’ve been interesting, to say the least.

Eventually, we did find her. She was snugged right up in the corner of the garden, in the tiny gap between tool-shed and fence. It was a gap so narrow that I hadn’t actually thought she could get in there, which was why I hadn’t looked there properly. I still don’t know quite how she’d managed to get in there, and turn round (she was facing back out to the front, and I’m sure she didn’t reverse in!) but it’s certainly somewhere I’ll bear in mind as and when we “lose” her again – something which is likely to happen, as they’re going to (hopefully) spend more time outside their run as the days grow longer.

But I must admit to a fair amount of relief when we did find her – it would’ve been a very silly way to end up losing one of them.