Dotty

Dotty and Pepper both like to jump on my back or shoulder but Pepper does this occasionally whereas Dotty does it all the time. She will sit on my shoulder and sing in my ear with her happy sing song voice and I can feel her breath on my ear.

During the recent heat wave, I would wear my hair in a high pony tail to keep it off of my neck. Dotty would sit on my shoulder and gently tweak my pony tail, she seemed fascinated by the difference in my hair.

I have also mentioned before how gentle she is when I have been wearing a sun top and have a bare back. She seems to sense that she needs to be careful on my bare skin and goes down on her haunches keeping her claws flattened. She has never scratched my back.

Every morning when I go in to the girls first thing, Dotty jumps on to my shoulder as soon as I get through the gate. It seems to be her way of saying “hello” to me. This is very endearing and heart warming.

I have a chicken cardigan which I wear to go in to the girls to keep my cloths from getting muddy from their feet. My husbands warns me not to forget I am wearing it and go out in it. This is why.

My chicken cardigan

This is chicken art! Evidence of Dotty jumping on my back.

Dotty on my shoulder

This is me in my chicken cardigan with Dotty on my shoulder. This was taken in November 2012 when Dotty was just six months old. This was when she first started to do this. She used to follow me and jump on my back if I was bending over, then started jumping on me from the coop roof. Then she progressed to jumping from the ground to my shoulder when I came through the gate, as she does now. I was pretty impressed when she did this the first time.

I didn’t know back then that it was to become a daily habit. I am so pleased it is though as I love this interaction with her. I think it’s her way of showing me affection and I love that it is entirely her choice to do this and not treat related either. Dotty is a sweetheart.