Ever happen upon a scene that makes you stop in your tracks? Knowing that you finally did something right? Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.
We’ve been caring for chickens for a few years now. There is a learning curve nobody tells you about. Buy some chickens, build some nests and let them roam the yard. Easy. Then winter arrives. Last winter, unfortunately, our girls got bored. They were busy losing feathers; picking at each other; laying almost no eggs; and eating the ones they did lay. I was disconsolate at best. What could I do? They were older chickens, so they wound up in the freezer in the spring.
We have new girls now. Pretty feathers, curious attitudes, wandering eyes, chatty. They spent the late summer enjoying bugs, eating grass and seeing who could fly highest into the tree. Winter is here again. Now what to do to keep them happy. I did some research and armed myself with some “chicken knowledge”. I helped the Farmer build a fenced area next to their winter house. Any day the wind isn’t blowing too hard, that door is open. The girls have the option to venture outside if they choose. It’s usually Mona who’s testing the wind to give the okay to go out. I visit them 3 times a day, at least. They like it when I talk to them and notice what they’re doing. Nellie, Mona and Buffy like to be petted. Bertha, Scarlett and Harriet remain unsure. They also like routine. I strew a cup of oats about the room every morning. Nellie has taken to hopping up off the floor when I arrive. She and Buffy (along with a white one I have yet to name) eat right from the cup. Every evening they get to enjoy their “flock block” for a few hours. That’s a tightly packed block of grains for them to pick at with their beaks. They’re expecting it each evening now. There’s a ruckus until it arrives. If Alice isn’t the first girl on that block, there is something wrong with the world.
The wind is low today so I opened the door to the yard this morning. Later on, as I walked around the corner, there they were: about half of my girls were picking at the ground, starting their dust baths, and happily enjoying the sun on a cold winter day.
I finally did something right…
We’ve been caring for chickens for a few years now. There is a learning curve nobody tells you about. Buy some chickens, build some nests and let them roam the yard. Easy. Then winter arrives. Last winter, unfortunately, our girls got bored. They were busy losing feathers; picking at each other; laying almost no eggs; and eating the ones they did lay. I was disconsolate at best. What could I do? They were older chickens, so they wound up in the freezer in the spring.
We have new girls now. Pretty feathers, curious attitudes, wandering eyes, chatty. They spent the late summer enjoying bugs, eating grass and seeing who could fly highest into the tree. Winter is here again. Now what to do to keep them happy. I did some research and armed myself with some “chicken knowledge”. I helped the Farmer build a fenced area next to their winter house. Any day the wind isn’t blowing too hard, that door is open. The girls have the option to venture outside if they choose. It’s usually Mona who’s testing the wind to give the okay to go out. I visit them 3 times a day, at least. They like it when I talk to them and notice what they’re doing. Nellie, Mona and Buffy like to be petted. Bertha, Scarlett and Harriet remain unsure. They also like routine. I strew a cup of oats about the room every morning. Nellie has taken to hopping up off the floor when I arrive. She and Buffy (along with a white one I have yet to name) eat right from the cup. Every evening they get to enjoy their “flock block” for a few hours. That’s a tightly packed block of grains for them to pick at with their beaks. They’re expecting it each evening now. There’s a ruckus until it arrives. If Alice isn’t the first girl on that block, there is something wrong with the world.
The wind is low today so I opened the door to the yard this morning. Later on, as I walked around the corner, there they were: about half of my girls were picking at the ground, starting their dust baths, and happily enjoying the sun on a cold winter day.
I finally did something right…
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