Thursday, February 24, 2011

Return Of Laya (best hen ever)

Where to begin?



First a confession ... I hid what I thought was a sad event from you.

About six months ago, the best hen ever, Princess Laya, went missing from my free ranging banty band of birds.



There were 3 roosters and Laya.

They all seemed to have mastered the art of surviving free, where many others had not.

Every night they roosted at the very tops of my very high oaks to avoid coons and other predators ... like the neighbors' cats.



Then, early last fall, Laya failed to show up in the yard.

Not to worry, because she would disappear for long periods when she was nesting.



But then, months went by without any sign of her. There had been some midnight squawking and twice the roosters had been on the ground near the house at night, so I figured something was hunting them and it seemed Laya had fallen victim to the predator.



A stray cat went to the pound, a raccoon went down the road, but in my heart, it was all to late for Laya.



I was aggravated, because she had been such a chick producing trooper.

I hid this news by not sharing it here on PF.



(I knew Dani would take it hard)



In the meantime, the 3 roosters disappeared just recently. I heard one of them crowing from the woods beyond my property a few weeks ago and I figured that the boys were ranging farther for food or had shacked up with the neighbors.



I can't see my neighbors, but I had heard Guineas and ducks through the trees, so it made sense that maybe my boys were freeloading there.


Last weekend, Mrs. FC said she had seen a strange chicken in the yard, that was not one of the boys.

Hmmm.

Neither of us considered that it might be Laya, since in our minds, she was dead.






BUT SHE WASN'T!!!!!


The rascal!
She's not talking about where she's been or what she's been doing for the last 6 months.
She is definitely back though.
How neatly wonderful is that?



Speaking of wonderful things ... these are baby datil peppers and yowza! ... the germination rate is spectacular!

Thank you to all who have ordered seeds so far. I feel pretty confident you will have similar germination success.

I still have plenty of seeds if you have a hankering for the delightful, delicious, devilishly hot Datil.

19 comments:

tai haku said...

Awesome news - I wondered if maybe there was a reason for the lack of chook posts of late. Great she's returned.

Dawn Fine said...

What a great story! I saw your comment on Julie Z post and you mentioned the Ghost Crab-I just saw one for the first time the other day and did a post about one- check out my post and let me know why u think it was out during the day-thanks

Sayre said...

What a relief! I wonder where Princess Laya got off to? Shacking up with a new rooster? At least she's back and I'm looking forward to more chick pics!

threecollie said...

I am so glad Laya is back. But what a puzzle about where she could have been!

Miz S said...

And still just as beautiful as ever! Good ol' Princess Laya.

amarkonmywall said...

1. You shouldn't hold out on us.
2. Girls need separate vacations, esp. when the deck is stacked three to one.
3. Is it time to spiff up the menu? Shall I send some mealworms?
4. She looks GREAT! And I'm happy to see her.
5. Seeds please.

Thank you.

swamp4me said...

Glad the prodigal Princess has returned. It's odd...I was just thinking of her yesterday as I drove home from work. Cosmic weirdness at work.

Treebeard is coveting datil seeds so you will be receiving a missive with money soon.

Cathy S. said...

Hooray for Princess Laya. But, I agree with Vicki. Better to tell us fast and get it overwith.

Anonymous said...

I love a happy ending.

Unknown said...

That's a pleasant surprise. :^)

Felicia said...

Wow, that's mysterious! Glad she's well, but it's a shame she can't tell you where she was and why she was away for so long!

Caroline said...

For reasons best known to herself, Laya apparently went "walk about" from the sounds of it. I love an independent lay-dy.
:o)

Dani said...

WoooHoooo welcome home Laya!! I love that hen of yours FC. :)

I'm such a softie when it comes to critters....well except for my neighbors damn cat. Even the tried and true blasting with the hose doesn't keep her out. I swear if she kills one of my hens there's gonna be trouble. GGGGRRRRRRR

R.Powers said...

Laya Rules Again!

BUT ... can she do chicks one more time?

Spring approaches.

Julie Zickefoose said...

That hen is the best singer I have ever heard.
Best wishes to Laya, Queen of the Chickmakers!

R.Powers said...

Zick,
I think she's a ventrilochick.

Dani said...

*snort*

Anonymous said...

I think she might need a few girlfriends for some chick talk at the end of the day. You know roosters hardly ever want to really talk!

Great to see her, she's really a beauty.

Octohawk said...

Is she a Welsummer?