Little Fo Peep and her Poofy Polish Feathers

Oh our sweet Little Fo Peep and her poofy polish feathers! Foshizzle’s feathers are so crazy that she has a hard time seeing. I rescue her from the far edges of the yard at least a few times a day. I’ve tried to clip back her feathers but she just won’t have it. I think I might have to enlist some help this weekend to get them cut back some. I’ve been working on some driveway signs to warn driver’s to look out for her. I’m so worried she’ll get run over because when she hears a car instead of running she freezes.

Today all the chickens were foraging near the edge of the woods and I called them all back. Foshizzle tried to find her way back but I think she got turned around as she tried to follow the edge of the driveway back to the coop. When she gets lost in the yard I just have to keep calling her over and over and over so she can follow my voice, or just go over and pick her up. After a few minutes of repeating a high pitched “Heeerrrrreee chicccckkk”, she began to find her way. Then I started filming. Just watch when she runs into the flower pot….she obviously thought she ran into something scary:

A video posted by Ashley Hackshaw (@lilblueboo) on Oct 7, 2016 at 10:23am PDT

The silver lining to Fo’s visual impairment is that she’s made a really good friend. There’s a strict pecking order in the coop and Rey (our beautiful Welsummer hen) is the most picked on. Our Barred Rock hens won’t let Rey be a part of the flock, so Rey is basically treated like an outcast. Chickens can be so mean! But guess what…Rey has found a friend in Foshizzle! They are best friends. They sit and bask in the sun together. They hang out with the new baby chicks together. And Fo is Rey’s trusty companion…and Rey is Fo’s seeing-eye-chicken. A match made in heaven:

I’m still painting chickens. I set up a new little work area in the living room so that I can paint in the evening and still spend time with the family:

Below is a progress photo of a painting from last week. I like to paint all the shadows first and then add the highlights. I like the depth that results from the layering process:

Here’s the final painting:

I’ve read that the personality of a chicken never changes. Whatever demeanor they are born with is what they’ll be like as an adult. That’s been true for every single one of our chickens, including FoShizzle. Foshizzle has had the same little annoyed, flustered expression on her face since she was one day old!

One more cute little video…of the baby chicks. The babies (Twinkle, Dolly, Popcorn and Palmer) have just been introduced to the big coop with the adult chickens and they are doing great. For a while I was keeping them in the garage at night though and each morning I’d take the netting off the top of the washtub they slept in. I love the moment they realize they are free and can stretch their wings! It takes a few minutes of them popping their heads out like little moles before they get the courage to break loose. Once they do they flap around for a few minutes, playing tag around the large pots. It’s just the best entertainment. I think the rest of the flock is entertained just as much as I am. I love how the babies wait outside for the one that’s fallen behind:

A video posted by Ashley Hackshaw (@lilblueboo) on Sep 20, 2016 at 7:51am PDT

I’m working on having a few prints made of some of my finished chicken paintings. I’m painting and listing every few days in the Etsy shop. Everyone’s been so supportive and encouraging. Thank you. I think I’ve found my inspiration again. I’ll just reinvent myself as “the chicken painter” for a while. I’m not a very fast painter so I think prints would be a good way to share my my chicken love. I’d love to work on more stories to go with the pictures. I’ll let you know! If only I didn’t have to eat and sleep…I’d have a lot more time for painting.