Profile: Nosey
All chickens have their own unique chickenalities, but some chickens distinguish themselves more than others. Nosey has been her own bird from a young chicken, and unlike everyone else, is rather tame. She got her name from always being excessively interested in my business, and always really into being near me. She’d be the first at the door, have her beak up in whatever I was doing, sit on my shoulder, and generally tag along or be underfoot.
She’s all grown up now, and her first adult summer has seen her create some real habits of behaviour. She’s still excessively interested in my movements, popping out of nowhere anytime I come out the door, following me down paths, literally underfoot all the time, as I frequently trip on her or accidentally kick her while walking, as she darts in front of or between my swinging feet.
When I prepare their food, stirring water into the bucket, all the hens gather and stretch their necks over the edge, but Nosey runs laps around the bucket, then stands on top of my feet to stretch over the edge of the bucket. Then she follows me to platter after platter as I fill the “trough”s, and dives into each one, then darts to catch up with me at the next serving, as she has to be the first beak in. Sometimes she’ll follow me all the way back to where I put the bucket away at the end of lunchtime
She walks with me like a dog heeling, right next to me on the trail, and her pace is a little faster, so she’ll get ahead of me, then pause for me to catch up, then walk right next to me, get excited and get ahead, then pause again. I’ve never had a chicken do something like this before. It’s very pet-like, very trying to please, or connect.
She’s very interested in the house, hopping up and watching me through the screen when the door is open. She just seems more connected to me than she is to the other chickens, although she’s part of the main “hangs out around the house during the day” chickens.
She’s the only one that allows me to touch her, and I do almost every day, stroking her chest. She gets all uncomfortable about it and it’s clear she doesn’t like it, but she lets me. The other hens will leap and squawk when I try a stunt like that.
When other people say pretty much anything starting with “There’s this one chicken”, I know they mean Nosey.
“This one chicken is out here looking in my boot!” Nosey.
“There was one chicken that came right up to me”. Nosey.
I heard this one go down: My husband was outside, and from inside I heard his yelp, and then indignant complaining out loud. His tale of woe – he was standing outside, eating an apple, pensively watching the chickens, and as he stood between bites, with his arm relaxed at his side, “this one chicken” leapt up and knocked the half eaten apple out of his hand.
Of course, Nosey had the apple.