"Braaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwk, braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwk, braaaaaaaahhhhhhaaaaaahhhhhwwwwk!!!!!!!!!"
She starts yelling as soon as I open up the coop in the morning. I say to her, "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh, quiet, shhhhhhhhhhhhh, Coco! The neighbors!" Sometimes I use the brush I clean the water containers with and sling it so it gives her a little spray of water. That just gives me a few seconds of peace.
She is definitely complaining. When we open the gate for her to come in the backyard, she just stands there and keeps yelling. When we bring the young chickens out of the chicken yard and into the back yard, she stops screaming. She wants them gone and the chicken yard to herself. When they are gone, she and Roxy lie around taking dust baths. They look like they are at a dirt spa. Coco is our oldest chicken. It's because of her that we have a chicken yard, a chicken coop, and her sister Roxy. So I guess she has a right to complain.
Coco's story
I don't know how old Coco is, but I think she is 7. She's too old for laying eggs. I think she lays once a month and only in the summer. She is very beautiful, a Silver-laced Wyandotte like Diamond, but her toenails and feet are very ugly. You may remember that I have been clipping her nails nightly after she goes to roost. They are finally normal length, but they are still ugly. I guess that is what happens to some old chickens. She was raised from a chick with her sister-who-died, Rosie. Coco raised Roxy as her chick a year later. They were not raised by me. I came into their lives when Coco and Rosie were 3 and Roxy was 2 and their human mom needed to move. She was moving to a very hot part of California, and also, could not have chickens where she was going. She needed to get rid of her coop too. She was a friend of a friend. It seems where we live, everyone is either a friend, or a friend of a friend. That is one of the things I love best about living here. So Coco, Rosie and Roxy came to live with us, bringing their coop with them. They had been lovingly hand-raised, so although not as friendly as Sara, were still used to people and don't mind too terribly being handled. Since moving here, Coco's life has had its ups and downs. Her beloved best friend and sister Rosie died 2 years ago of natural causes and she has put up many more chickens coming and going. Her temperament is easy going. She is tolerant of newcomers in that way. She has never aspired to the top of the pecking order and rarely chases or pecks anyone. But neither is she at the bottom of the pecking order. I have not seen her be pecked. That is why we gave her the nickname "Old Softie." She is the kind, well-respected elder of the flock. So I will try to be more like her, I think, and tolerant and understanding of her loud complaining. We will also give her some breaks for the youngsters when we can. After all, she deserves it, right?
Garden Math: If Coco is 7, what year was she born?
Farmer Ladybug 🐞
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