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Hollandaise “Holly” the Hen

This week the PostgreSQL pet is a lovely Hen presented by Elizabeth Garrett Christensen.

Tell us about your pet

Holly is one of 8 hens that live here and one of 11 full time household pets including 2 cats and a dog. Holly is 3 years old now. She’s the sweetest and most friendly hen we have and when small children or guests come over, she is always the one that is up for being picked up and petted.

How did you choose her?

Holly came in the mail from a small hatchery about 100 miles away as a day old chick. Receiving chicks in the mail is one of the funnest and most exciting moments for a chicken owner. She was raised indoors under lights to keep her warm in a dog crate in our living room. Chicks can make quite a mess but it’s all in good fun. When she was about 12 weeks old, she and her sisters moved outside to live in our coop and run. At about 20 weeks she started laying eggs. Holly lays eggs starting in late February until October and then there is not enough light for chickens to produce eggs so she’ll take a break in the winter.

Holy the hen

Does she help you with PostgreSQL?

Holly has been a reliable egg layer for many years and she and her sisters provide our families breakfast almost every day. Holly is an Easter Egger, which is a special variety of chickens. Holly lays beautiful blue eggs that are very delicious. Holly and her sisters also eat all of our table scraps that are not meat so they help us reuse a lot of nutritious food we might be wasting.

Holy the hen

Tell us about the daily routine.

Holly gets up very early to do her chicken jobs. Chicken jobs are searching high and low for the best worms, seeds, and nuts in the coop. She loves scratching around on the ground. Almost every day, she will dig up a hole in the dirt and give herself a nice dirt bath. In the summer she likes to do that in front of a big box fan. As the sun sets, she’ll jump up on her roost for the night. Holly loves sleeping outdoors and will sleep on an outdoor roost until it’s absolutely freezing and then she’ll join her sisters inside where it’s warm in their coop.

How did you choose the name?

Hollandaise and her sisters were named after some of my favorite things to make from fresh eggs like Bearnaise sauce and Mayonnaise.

What are your pets favorite things?

Holly’s two favorite things are frozen watermelon when it is hot out and boon worms any time.

Elizabeth Garrett Christensen’s interview