The morning routine

Every morning when I clean up the coop the little girls come into the coop and watch me. They spend the whole of my clean up time in the coop inspecting my work and chatting away to me. Sometimes I have to gently move their feet with my hand to complete my task.

When Bluebell misses laying an egg for a day she always goes into the nest box to lay her egg first thing in the morning. The little girls desire to be in the coop with me is so strong that on these mornings they risk the wrath of Bluebell. The ensuing commotion always brings Pepper in to check out what is going on. The little girls get swift pecks from Bluebell and Pepper but it doesn’t stop them hopping straight back into the coop.

I decided to take my camera with me this morning and see if I could capture the drama.

I pick up the poop using a plastic disposable glove and collect it in a plastic grape container. Being in catering we have a constant supply of these two items and I can just throw them away afterwards. I only mention this because my gloved hand appears in the photo when I am blocking Pepper from pecking Amber.

I took the photos with my left hand while blocking both Bluebell and Pepper from pecking the little girls with my right gloved hand so it’s surprising how well the photos came out.

An angry Bluebell chases Amber out of the coop

Amber dares to go into the nest box

My gloved hand is stopping Pepper from pecking Amber

Bluebell wants to lay her egg and Honey stands in the foreground

Amber is in the foreground

The little girls know that when Bluebell or Pepper are blocking the door they are safe to run out past me through the open side. They get chased out and simply hop right back in. Dotty came over and jumped onto the coop roof. She was craning her neck down to watch as if wondering what on earth we are all doing.

On the days that Bluebell doesn’t need to lay her early egg the little girls are free to stay in the coop and chat to me. Sometimes Bluebell or Pepper will look in to see what they are doing but this mornings drama only happens on the early egg days. It does nothing to put the little girls off though. These little girls are so full of character and attitude. They are so entertaining and so much fun to be around.