Happy Hen Summer Camp

Summertime! All good girls get to go to summer camp, and my 2 hens are no exception.
So, when the girls weren't looking, I bundled them up in the old dog carrier and we were off to Das Huhnlager Happy Hen Summer Camp! The girls were a little taken aback when they saw their new summer home - not as posh as they expected.


Holy Mother of Yolks! Where are the Chippendale Roosters
Claire promised? The canoes? The worm dispenser?
Adele and Babette didn't have a room to themselves, they had to share their 'cabin' with Miss Pink - the camp counselor - and ten little foster brats chicks. Counselor Pink runs a tight ship, no slackers here.

Ms. Pink preparing to put her chicks
through their daily calistentics
Now, as I ought to have expected, all newbies at camp can suffer some harassment, and Happy Hen Summer Camp is no exception. However, this was a sorry case, because the one who did all the harassment was the Counselor Pink. She decided she needed to get the upper hand on the two newbies fast, so she proceeded to peck the stuffings out of Adele and Babette.

Now, the girls were pretty upset by the unexpected treatment, and I, their 'hen Mom' was close to hysterical. I tell you, I gave some strong consideration to preparing some nice "Coq Au Pink Vin" for dinner. My girls were upset, and understandably so - they lost a great deal of their neck feathering and suffered numerous beak bite marks.


Maybe if we hide our heads, Commandant Pink won't see us
Next morning, I was still rather frazzled, though not near as frazzled as poor Adele and Babette, who were on the verge of resembling 'turkens'.
NO, that isn't Adele on the left, but I admit, both of the girls were on the verge of looking like the turken hen on the left.

Over the breakfast table a meeting took place on what to do with the de-feathering of my poor girls. Oscar had the winning plan, suggesting giving Commandant Pink and her fledglings their freedom, leaving my hens alone in the pen. The only question was whether or not the rapidly growing chicks were just the right size, or not, to be lightly feathered & seasoned, bite-sized snacks for the local feline and coyote population.

I am pleased to announce, so far, so good. The chicks enjoy full time freedom to roam with the 'grown-up' chickens. They are teen-aged chicks now, and are certain they know a lot more than Miss Pink or any of the other chickens so their freedom came in the nick of time for everyone's nerves. As for Commandant Miss Pink, she is now so frazzled with chick rearing that she often goes to roost at the early hour of 3 PM; anyone who tends to ten rowdy youngsters can relate.


Teen-age Chicks, trying to look innocent
Adele and Babette? Well, they seem set on 'flying the coop', which of course would put them back on the firing line, not just from Commandant Pink, but also the rest of Barbara's chickens, which number in excess of a dozen chickens and 3 large, silly geese. So, against their own wishes, my 2 hens are staying in isolation for a while. They are regularly laying so they probably aren't too fussed.


Barbara's 3 Silly Geese
Yes. It's cruel to abandon one's feathered children while I fly my own coop and go about gathering vacation memories, but in my own defense, uh... well, I'm still working on that...