What's all that Racket?

I was reading a post from another chicken blogger who asked the question, "Why does my hen house sound like a bar room fight every night around bed time?"  To which my husband says, "I don't get it?"  I look up at him and raise an eyebrow and said, "Obviously, you've never gone out to the run at dusk when they are going to bed."

So tonight as the sun began to set, I said to him, "Let's go outside.  There's no way I can possibly explain this to you using words.  It's something you simply need to hear for yourself."  Outside we go and stand next to the hen house and listen.

Someone is stomping around like a gymnast on the roosting bar trying to get into the right position.  Then there's a loud SQUAWK.  More loud chatter and wings flapping.  Then there's another big scuffle as someone is obviously trying to change positions.  Wings flapping.  Something smacks the tin metal roof of the hen house.  CLANG!!!  More loud SQUAWKING!!!   And lots more stomping around on the roosting bar.  Some one is down off the roosting bar and then, in a flurry of flapping, back up again.  And this repeats for about a minute before he says, "I have to see it."

So we open up the big side door to the hen house and the scuffle stops as each girl looks over at us.  Ginger immediately hops down to see if we've brought treats.  When she can't find anything in my hands, she hops up on my shoulder and snuggles up next to my ear.  Mike gives her a small push from the rear to get her back into the house and the whole cycle repeats.  Including Ginger up on the roosting bar, back down again and back out onto my shoulder to roost.

As I lift Ginger off my shoulder and tuck her back in between her sisters on the roosting bar, I turn to him and say, "Yes, this happens EVERY night."  And while the girls continue to squawk and flap and make just an awful ruckus, Mike was speechless.