Hens 2.0 – Grape Devastation
August 27, 2011When I first brought chickens home to my garden, I was amazed at their voracious consumption of all things green and fruity. They devoured fallen figs, radish leaves, and tomato plants. They even learned to jump and gobble low-hanging grapes, a feat that so impressed me I captured it on video:
Well, those chickens, Jessica and Deborah, are now departed, having met a savage end at the fangs of local dogs. I have since replaced them with a trio of new hens (who shall remain unnamed in hopes of forestalling emotional attachment) and these new hens have been slowly making their home in my garden.
Imagine my surprise when I caught two of these new hens perched atop the vines and gorging themselves on the high-hanging grapes. At first I was shocked that I might lose an entire grape harvest to these birds on the vine. But then a deep pride overwhelmed me and I ran inside to get my video camera. I had some damn bright hens on my hands and a few dozen bunches of grapes is a small price to pay for the company of gifted chickens.
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Ok they’re bright, but you still can’t beat the jumping chickens for sheer joy of life, or for the artistic completeness of the original film. But what I’m also wondering is how come in the second film the two white hens, having had the innovation of climbing, are perched on the branch, while the brown hen persists in jumping, as of the two brown hens in the original film? What’s with brown hens and jumping, and white hens and climbing?