Them Chickens is Confusin' Me!

        Yup.  Every time I think I understand chicken behavior, they throw me for another loop. A month or so ago, we tried to put Pretty Face back in her original coop with. her "sisters" and they nearly pecked her to death.  We ended up putting her back in with her babies, creating a sort of commune for her, her peeps, and the other peeps we had raised indoors.  We introduced an orphan, Chicken Little, to that brood, and, after a brief rejection, all the peeps have included in her in their routine.
     That being said, here's what happened yesterday/last night. Moshe let all the chickens out on the front yard yesterday afternoon "to graze".  Oh, they were happy!   They ate what little grass and green weeds that remain in the yard,  had a gourmet buffet on the remnants of the winter garden... romaine lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, swiss chard... After the past two weeks with snow and ice and hardship,  I'm certain they were as thrilled as a chicken can get.
  

    But, then came evening.  As expected, the chickens went back into the arks. But, when Moshe went outside  to make an official count, there was a little bit of a discrepancy.  For one thing, Brewster was in the ark he doesn't normally live in... I think we all know what THAT was about!  Naughty, naughty Brewster!!! Moshe corrected that by moving him back to his original ark.  But there was still a discrepancy in hen numbers.  It seems that one of the hens from Brewster's ark was also in the opposite ark.  Problem is, she looks identical to the black hen that's already in there with all the golden comets.  So, Moshe just left them "as is". I was worried about it - afraid that the other chickens would attack her - but, Moshe said he'd check them in the morning and move her if need be.


Well, this morning all the chickens were living together in complete harmony.  No pecking. No cackling or crowing.  No ostracism.  Complete harmony. Eating, sleeping, drinking, laying eggs.  So, now we have come to the conclusion that if we move the chickens around at night, they won't know the difference come morning...

Hey! How'd YOU get in this post?

 maybe I should stick to the kind I collect and decorate the kitchen with!


Shalom   Y'all - 
         Twyla

Brewster's Harem

This afternoon, while I  worked crazily on projects for Thanksgiving and Hannukah,  Moshe let all the chickens roam the yard near their arks (moveable coops).  This was the first time Brewster-the-rooster has been outside the coop since Moshe built it.  He was a LOT tamer outside the coop than he is inside. I guess when he's in there, he feels more threatened by people and dogs... no where to run, no where to hide... Well, anyway, they had a great time.  They dug  in the grass and leaves, finding "treats" such as bugs and salamanders. (Glad I'm not a chicken!) 

out for a stroll...

Moxie, keeping her distance...

      A couple times they tried to sample the greens growing in Moshe's winter garden, but we stopped them and herded them back down the hill.  Moxie was hilarious.  She couldn't decide where to be or what to do.(So many chickens; so little time.)  She tried to tell Brewster what to do, but Brewster pecked her nose 'til she whimpered like a kitten.  Never one to give up,  she quickly found some more receeptive chickens to herd around the yard.  Now, completely exhausted, poor Moxie is stretched out on the floor between our desks,  no doubt dreaming of chickens.

Shalom Y'all - Twyla



Oh, You Romantic Devil, You

This morning's post included a picture of one of the chicken arks. Did you notice the big white cat INSIDE the ark with the chickens? This is CasPurr; he's been friends with the chickens since they were two days old. CasPurr was following Moshe around the yard one morning, as he usually does, "helping" with the chores, when he stuck his head into the ark. Moshe let him go inside, then ran and fetched the camera to capture the moment. The chickens were cool about it, but CasPurr was kinda' scared. I think he was afraid he's have to stay in there like the chickens do... Too funny!

Our life in the country is a peaceful and beautiful existence. We live a simple life. No TV or radio to gum up the works with negativity. We do have the internet, obviously...

A couple hours ago I was outside looking at the plants and visiting with the chickens. I was hand-feeding them greens, which they love. Their favorite is dandelion greens. Moshe & I laugh at ourselves for getting excited over seeing a big dandelion plant, knowing that "the peeps" will love those greens!!!

One day about a month ago, Moshe went out of town for some dental work. That afternoon, I heard his truck turn in the driveway. As I watched him get out of the truck, I saw a flash of something and then he hid it behind his back. "Ah-Ha!", said I. As he came to the back door, I hurried to greet him, thinking, "Oh, that sweet man has brought me a bouquet..." As he opened the door, he said, "Hey, Baby! D'ya' wanna' help me feed the peeps?" And, he swept forth the "bouquet", which was giant dandelion greens. The bouquet was for the chickens. I have since threatened to write a book about these type of incidents and name it "Oh, You Romantic Devil, You".