Ruby the Hen

Hello, my name is Ruby.  I'm a curious little bird, and I LOVE treats!  Here I am performing an archeological dig for remains of ancient chickens.  So far, no clues.  

Ruby is a gentle little bird.  She loves to investigate new areas.  When we first got the hens, she was the first one we picked up and put inside the chicken coop.  The floor of the coop is lined with hardware cloth (this is like the wire cooling racks you use to make cookies).  Ruby was pretty unsure about this open floor.  If any of you readers have a dog, Ruby's reaction was similar to your dog not wanting to walk over a grate (or you yourself not wanting to walk over the storm drain).  But we threw down some straw for her, and she seemed more comfortable.  That is, until she scratched away the straw and saw the open floor again.  (She froze and, as much as a chicken could show emotion, looked scared.)

After spending a couple of days observing her behavior, this is what little Ruby likes to do:

Sun up - wake up and baaaawk to be let out of the coop, maybe eat a snack of chicken kibble, or scratch for grain.

Around 9 am - she makes a LOT of noise (BAAAWK...Bbbbbbwaaack!) and heads on inside the coop.  She'll sit on the coop for about an hour or so making such noises.  This is the time that she is laying an egg!  It seems to me like a major biological disadvantage to make a LOT of noise right before you lay an egg, a delicious treat for any predator.  Then again, it's not really clear how a lot of domestic chickens would survive in the game of evolution.

About 10 am - she'd done laying her egg, and comes back out of the house for some more scratching, eating, and hanging out.  

About 6 pm - I come home from work and give her some treats for being such a nice girl.  

Sun down - Ruby and the other hens will faithfully scoot themselves into the coop for a night's sleep.  

Here's little Ruby inside her chicken run.  

Bwak bwak for now!