12/24/2025
I remember when I brought Jolene home. She stood in the corner of the run and would not move for hours. I had to carry her outside and it soon became pretty clear that she had not experienced much free range time in her life. I had to keep my Tasmanian Devil Tammy away from her, but Jolene watched the silkies cautiously as they ate the greens and dug for bugs. She seemed to get the hang of it until I watched her more closely and I realized she was just mimicking with her movements. She would bend her mouth down to the ground and scratch in the grass…and that was it. It took her over a year to figure out how to free range, enjoy meal worms and any sort of treats.
No matter what I did with her feathers, she refused to jump down from the roost in the morning by herself. She always waited for me to come get her. Sometimes I would forget and it would be 2 in the afternoon and poor Jolene would still be on the roost waiting. The entire time I painted my Little Free Library Jolene and I were at a war over who controlled the paint water. To Jolene it was the best water on the property.
I have so many ridiculous, silly Jolene stories and my heart is breaking because I will not have any anymore. I have been dealing with a respiratory illness going through the flock and unfortunately Jolene did not make it. It is very terrible not having her out there when I go out to the coop. She brought so much life and silliness to the henhouse. And not just that, Jolene was the most beautiful bird I owned. She took my holiday card photo with me last year and made it extra special. RIP Jolene, I miss you so much.