My Buddy Hen

One of the chicks from our original group back in January took a quick liking to me. She was one of the six Buff Orpingtons, and she would very quickly jump up on my arm or hand and hang out there. It didn’t matter if I had food in my hand, even. She was more interested in my attention than anything else.

She’d also fall asleep on my arm. Then my arm would fall asleep, waiting for her to wake up. 🙂 She would run for my arm when it was in the brooder cage. 

We moved them out to the small coop outside, and I couldn’t really tell which one she was, as they progressed through their awkward juvenile stage. She didn’t really come over to me much. Occasionally, she’d come over to see if I had some food, but the days of her being so tame around me seemed over. But I still called her my Buddy, not sure of her sex until later.

We lost one of the Buff Orp hens when it was a few weeks old, and we gave away some roosters. So we are left with two Buff Orp hens. And Buddy Hen is some kind of mix – she’s not full Buff Orp, because her legs are yellow, and her coloring is just too dark. But she’s a beautiful girl, and she’s returned to being very affectionate toward me. She follows me around, and if she hears the front door of the house open, she usually comes running, to see if I’m coming outside. She arrives around dinnertime to see if I have any treats for her (I usually do; who can resist that sort of optimism?) and she is quite the little clown when I don’t answer the door quickly enough.

If I am distracted and don’t see her walk up to me, I will feel a persistent tapping on my shoe, and she will strive to make eye contact with me. She lets me hold her, and will even sit in my lap. At first, she starts panicking, but then, as the petting commences, she settles right in, and I swear, if chickens could purr, that’s what she’d be doing.

You can see her coloring is just different – her head feathers look more like a Buff Orp roo, and the rest is almost like some of our ISA Brown hens.

I adore this little chicken so much – she has such a lovable personality. All of our chickens are amusing, but she’s really special, and I’m grateful to have such a neat little bird in our flock.

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3 responses to “My Buddy Hen”

  1. Amy Avatar
    Amy

    What’s her name? I think it’s Mathilda.

    1. Trase Avatar
      Trase

      You know, I haven’t given her a proper name. I suppose perhaps I should. 🙂

      1. Amy Avatar
        Amy

        I wasn’t sure if you refrained from naming your chickens, given how easy it is to get attached to them if you name them. She seems like a name might suit her, though. 🙂

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