I read somewhere that chickens like bananas. Skins and all. So today, I sacrificed one of my overripe bananas (which I otherwise would have used to make a Banana, Bio Live Yoghurt and Kefir smoothie) to give the Girls a treat.
They shunned it.
Completely.
It was quite a warm day, and I had thoughtfully pierced the skin so they could have easy access to the contents. This meant that, if they didn't eat it, it would soon be a fly and ant magnet. I picked it up and offered it to them.
They hurried away, as if I were offering them something poisonous.
I tried to persuade each of them individually that Banana was a treat. They weren't having it. Nope. No. Not at all.
I looked at the poor banana. What a waste of that squishy banana-iness. I opened it's little jacket some more, and held it out to Delilah. She looked at me (in that sideways beady-eyed way that only a chicken can do). She looked at the banana. She looked at me. The banana. Me. The banana. I realised that she might not want to take it from my hand, so I laid it carefully on the floor (again) and backed away.
She looked at it. Daisy came along and looked at it as well. They both looked at it for ages, presumably waiting for it to do something. It didn't. Milly joined the Watch. They burbled to each other. Still the poor banana lay there, getting warmer and mushier by the second.
And then Delilah gave it a Darned Good Peck. She had banana fluffiness all over her beak. A bit of banana squirted out the side. Not wanting to miss out, Daisy launched in and stole the squirty bit. Milly rushed in and banged it on the skin, causing an enormous squirt from the gap. Milly wasn't impressed by the skin, but Lily managed to steal the squirt, and then she ran off with the whole soggy mess.
I have no idea what happened to it then. I went back later and searched around, but there was no evidence of a banana ever being there.
They shunned it.
Completely.
It was quite a warm day, and I had thoughtfully pierced the skin so they could have easy access to the contents. This meant that, if they didn't eat it, it would soon be a fly and ant magnet. I picked it up and offered it to them.
They hurried away, as if I were offering them something poisonous.
I tried to persuade each of them individually that Banana was a treat. They weren't having it. Nope. No. Not at all.
I looked at the poor banana. What a waste of that squishy banana-iness. I opened it's little jacket some more, and held it out to Delilah. She looked at me (in that sideways beady-eyed way that only a chicken can do). She looked at the banana. She looked at me. The banana. Me. The banana. I realised that she might not want to take it from my hand, so I laid it carefully on the floor (again) and backed away.
She looked at it. Daisy came along and looked at it as well. They both looked at it for ages, presumably waiting for it to do something. It didn't. Milly joined the Watch. They burbled to each other. Still the poor banana lay there, getting warmer and mushier by the second.
And then Delilah gave it a Darned Good Peck. She had banana fluffiness all over her beak. A bit of banana squirted out the side. Not wanting to miss out, Daisy launched in and stole the squirty bit. Milly rushed in and banged it on the skin, causing an enormous squirt from the gap. Milly wasn't impressed by the skin, but Lily managed to steal the squirt, and then she ran off with the whole soggy mess.
I have no idea what happened to it then. I went back later and searched around, but there was no evidence of a banana ever being there.
