Tilda has been out with the Others since Tuesday 30th June.
Things have been mostly okay, although I have seen her sheltering under a bench a fair bit, and I have caught Custard chasing her. Custard, trained by the ever-spiteful and no-longer-with-us Milly, is the same with the two young girls.
On Thursday afternoon, I had a sudden feeling that Tilda might want to come back to the kitchen.
I decided to ignore my feeling. We've had various grandchildren staying for the last week or so, and we were expecting another set on Friday morning. I didn't really want Tilda in the house while they were here, as I wasn't sure how much she would be poo-ing.
On Friday, I felt it again,
This morning, as the grandchildren were getting up, I let Tilda out of the big run, and she ambled down the garden and into the kitchen. She looked at the (shut) door of her apartment. She looked round outside, presumably noticing that there were no coop cups hanging up.
I filled a cup with water and hung it on the outside of her apartment. She looked at it. She rejected it. She didn't stay long. She stood by the netting near the pampas grass, and so I lifted her over.
After the grandchildren had gone (flying visit), I saw TIlda was standing by the run doorway, watching me. I let her out again, and once more she ambled down the path. She sat outside the kitchen door. I brought out some yoghurt and some water, and set themdown on the patio, away from the kitchen door. She ate the yoghurt.
I came inside and sat down, reading my dehydrator book. There was a minor commotion, and then I found Tilda sitting at my feet.
I'm hoping she's just visiting for the day, rather than angling to move back. She's survived 11 nights out there, hen pecked the two youngsters so they run away from her.... and it seems a shame for her to throw all that effort away. (And of course I've got used to not having to clean up after a chicken every day).
As usual, we'll see......
