Hello Peeps!
i know, I should be arrested for that one! But, the crimes to which I wish to bring to your attention have all been committed by my sweet, little chooks who look as if butter wouldn't melt. At least I don't think they have yet worked out how to get into the fridge yet.
Yet.
It all started innocently enough... a missing carrot from the bunny hutch. Must have been the rabbit as chickens need their carrots grated or else they cannot consume them. At least that is what the lady on the internet said. Then there was the occasional apple, missing in action, but perhaps I ate it whilst I was gardening. Then IT happened: I had to answer the phone during lunch only to return to find my plate, which had previously contained a tuna salad, empty. I looked at the rabbit, but she cannot get up onto the table - at least since I moved the chairs. I considered the cat: comatose but she's got previous plus strong opinions on the distribution of tuna. Coud it be my girls? True the back door was open, but the babygate was firmly in place and their wings are clipped. And what about their little innocent faces pleading for another scoop of corn, maybe a worm or two. No chance.
A couple of days passed. The occasional muffin and some cheese straws went missing, but with a teenage son this was nothing new. Another lunchtime phonecall and another missed salad. This time cheese. Cat now in the clear as she was out getting her annual jabs and the rabbit was in high security detention after breaking into the veggie patch. Did I have a poltergeist with a penchant for lettuce? This time I resolved to take action. I have technology - at least my son has a bedroom stffed with hardware and since I got to pay for it, it's only fair I get to use it. The solution: a honey trap with a camera.
In the end, no need. I'd left a tray of biccies cooling as I went to collect the technology. Door open and babygate in position. When I came back my feathered friends were busy reducing the biccies to crumbs. Flo and Nibbles were in the thick of the action whilst YumYum supervised perched on the back of chair. i think she was lookout because she started to cluck as I came into view. There was an almighty flapping and rosey as my girls hit the road and cleared the babygate (which will be wending its way back to shop) and the rest of the biccies away in their beaks.
When I told my sad tale to my so called friends they just chortled merrily. is this typical behaviour or have I cornered the market in kleptomaniac chooks? And, yes they got their supper that night. How could I tell those little faces no worms?
Pertelotte