Creative chickens...

 We've kept poultry here at FairWinds for 16 years or so. I find the birds to be fascinating. I like to see how they interact, watch them form relationships, and get to know their various personality quirks.  We have had a variety of breeds over the years, and have found that the larger, heavier types work best for us. Lighter breeds hop up and over the 4 foot hardwire fence. From there they molest the vegetable and flower beds, and dance in traffic causing motorists to honk their horns loudly and wave their arms about in frustration. Big, un-athletic hens tend to stay where we want them.  

The current batch of birds is a breed called White Rock's. I bought them from Murray McMurray hatchery. They give a nice description of each breed on their web page, and the following words were what convinced me to try this type when I last ordered chicks. "They are all big birds, hens reaching 6 to 7 lbs. and cocks 8 to 9 lbs. A flock of these pure white birds ranging busily over a grassy field is one of the prettiest sights you will ever see." 

Sure enough, they are big, and for the most part, they stay in the fence. Bonus point, it is, indeed, a pretty sight to see all 18 of them out foraging about in the pasture. That being said, we've recently had an unsolved mystery in the coop. 

This is a photo of the chicken feeder.  It is quite tall, as you can see. It holds several pounds of food, enabling us to top it off once a week and not worry about it again. It is hung from a sturdy cord, several inches off the ground. This helps prevent the birds from kicking shavings into the area where the food drops down. It works quite well. But twice in recent weeks we have peered inside to check the feed level and found this: 

Eggs. In the feeder. 

There is only one way those eggs could end up in there, and that is if a big, heavy bird hops up on the narrow edge of the very tall feeder. She'd have to work around the arching metal handle, (like a bucket would have) that the cord is attached to in order to find a place to perch. And she'd have to aim her business end into the mouth of the feeder while she was at it.  The whole mechanism must swing and rock like a mechanical bull in a Western-themed barroom when the hen tries to balance there. 

Mere inches away are 4 lovely nest boxes. They are built with sturdy, thick plywood to prevent drafts. We keep a deep layer of fresh shavings in each box so the ladies have a comfortable place to settle in for the duration of their egg-laying. We've even provided cheery bandana "curtains" so each girl can have some privacy. But somewhere in our flock is a renegade hen. One that likes to live on the wild side, depositing her eggs where they don't belong and taking herculean efforts to do so. I wonder what the other biddies think when they see her, swinging from the ceiling when it's time to lay.