I too have a hen who is never without one of her friends. I got a small flock “donated” to me recently, one White Leghorn having an injured leg that she can’t put weight on. All these new hens were not raised like mine; they are frightened of human interaction and saw me as anything but a friend (although I’ve noticed they’re coming around now, I think my original hens have helped with that). Anyway, I worried the Leghorn would be picked on and be excluded by the other hens–but no way! She hops in and out of the coop, same as the rest of them, and is offered her share of the feed and water. She is never seen in the yard without at least one hen snuggled up to her, always one of her original flock companions. At night, this Leghorn can’t flutter up to the high perches in the coop of course, so she always has to sleep on the floor. I worried initially about that too, just the loneliness alone could cause her to “move on”. But every night when I do a check, there is a hen snuggled up to her, there on the floor! And it isn’t always the same hen, they seem to rotate through the responsibility. It warms my heart.

What a wonderful story, and I love the photo of you with the baby deer! You truly are an animal angel !

Love,
Tina

A;ex