Our fluffy babies are entering the akward teenage stage.  Still cute and fun, just a little less fuzzy.  We moved them out of the family room and into the garage and Ellie can’t stand it.  She just wants to be curled up next to their box at all times.  I can’t tell if she wants to eat them or if she thinks they are her puppies.  She sniffs their bums and licks them when she gets a chance.  What does that mean?  Is it a taste test or caretaking?  The chickens are helpful for Ellie, nonetheless.  We installed an inground electric fence to keep her on our property and now she is terrified of going outside.  She won’t go on the lawn or into the woods she’s allowed in– unless there are chicks to guard.  I’m hoping she gets comfortable soon.  She has gone through anxiety issues before and outgrown them.  For several months whenever we would leave the house she would try to get outside with us and then lay down in the driveway so we couldn’t leave her and had to carry her back inside, but then she stopped doing it.  I can’t wait until she realizes that our yard is a safe place and I don’t have to carry her outside to go potty…

(And yes, we have followed the training instructions to the letter.)