Twinkie

Twinkie is the smartest hen I have had so far. Smarter then Ducky was. She not only consistently responds to her name when called, she catches on to cause and effect rather quickly. Twinkie was Ducky's adopted daughter. Ducky passed away this past September and I was happy to at least have Twinkie, even though she was not of Ducky, she was touched by her.

Twinkie  had me guessing  if she was a hen or a roo until she produced an egg in October.  I knew it was hers because it stood out being more pinkish and smaller than the rest and the fact that when I spotted it she immediately flew up to the nest as if to say,"That's MINE!"

We live near a car dealership that uses a recorded bird call to scare off other birds. This call is useless, louder than any rooster and goes off every ten minutes twenty four hours a day. It's no wonder that Twinkie picked up the call and uses it to torture me. It began as a distress call. She realized that this call brought me out the door and at the coop in seconds. Once it was tipped over water, another time the food had run out and another time it was because Fuzztop did not leave the nest when Twinkie wanted to lay her egg.  I appreciated it. But then the calls became more obnoxious and for no apparent reason other than Twinkie's twisted amusement. I was being trained by a chicken.

I stopped responding to Twinkie's calls and they would only become louder and louder. Out of fear of neighbor complaints I begrudgingly went out to the coop/run. Twinkie wanted to free range at 6am on a Saturday. It was still dark and I feared raccoons or possums still about so I pleaded with her, shushhhhed her a bit and went back inside. She did it again so I went into the shed and took out a cage and put Twinkie in it with food and water then placed her in our studio. I went inside and slept another two hours. When I took Twinkie out she seemed happy to see me, very happy and relieved to see me. I discovered a time out! The next morning Twinkie attempted the exotic bird of prey call but stopped after only one call. When she would act up she was placed in time out and eventually the call ceased. Yay! 

Twinkie is rather intelligent and changed the game yet again. These past few days the call is more frequent and louder than ever. I noticed it is on the wettest and/or coldest of mornings. I rushed out there in the beginning with just a robe, practically sleep walking, picked up Twinkie and place her in time out. I'd get back into bed happy to be able to sleep until a decent hour. I figured she just she needed a reminder and this was a phase that would come to an end. Not so. Her attitude  changed, she is no longer clutching me with her little chicken feet, happy to see me and relieved to be out of the studio. She is actually very happy in the cage and squawks when removed and forced to go outside or in her coop/run. My IQ has dropped again. So now, on to better ideas.
 
Since no one has complained of her calls thus far and the car dealership opens at 7am with their honking and noise, my husband and I just clench our teeth and try to ignore Twinkie's obnoxious call. "She sounds just like a monkey in the jungle", my husband said. That is exactly what she sounds like. Every morning the call is just a little bit shorter. I am hoping she learns that nothing comes out of that call. I'm learning.