….99.9999999999% of chickens in Alaska hate winter.

Gandalf the Rooster registered his disgust today at approximately 1:30 PM when he burst out of the sealed lower coop door and gave a thoroughly peeved-off crow. I was alerted to the chicken escape (into potentially frostbite-inducing temperatures) by the fact that his crow no longer sounded as muffled as it normally does in winter when he is sounding off from inside the hen house.

Sure enough, when I went outside to investigate I found Gandalf and his number one lady hen tentatively making their way down the ramp.

A chicken with the initiative to open  the little coop door is a first for me.  It’s not exactly rocket science, and any sled dog worth its biscuit in a similar situation would have figured out how to tap the door open, as it is not secured with latches or hasps.  But in 10 years of chicken habitation of this particular house, not one chicken has ever tried its luck at effecting its escape –   not even the late Stew Paul, a rooster who refused confinement to the detriment of his comb and wattles.

Number One Lady Hen quickly tired of the chill and retreated back inside, but Gandalf hung around outside a bit longer…letting off steam and giving anyone who would listen an earful over the indignities of being sequestered in a small, rather smelly box-like building for weeks and months on end.

Survey results also show that Alaskan chickens, like most Alaskans, would rather spend the winter in Hawaii.