Ali James' Garden Chickens

[Ribh]

You are a mine of interesting information, @Shadrach!

 

[Shadrach]

Thank you. I'm very interested in the subject.
There are some good papers now on chicken behavior and intelligence.
This is one of the more accessible ones.
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/8/1/13/htm

A worrying point for humans.
Socially cooperative and species tolerant creatures would seem to have a higher intelligence level than the outright predator. They have to deal with more complexity.

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I love people and chickens who sing loud even though they are terrible at it. Somehow it seems even more joyous.

Here is some applause for her.

Please! Don't encourage her, she had me panicking

 

[Ali James]

Thanks for the info @Shadrach - I find it really interesting too. Just from sitting and watching my four girls, I can see that so much is going on in their heads other than 'peck, peck, poop' on repeat!

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

Jinx is spoilt beyond belief but he is my fur baby and can get away with almost anything!

Jinx is gorgeous. We have a black and white girl too.

Gorgeous pictures & I must share Shadrach's theory on the egg song. He free ranges his girls in Catalonia & has observed that their rooster escorts each lady to her preferred nesting spot. When she is done she calls for him & he escorts her back to the flock ~ more a safety issue than a triumph song.

I was wondering why they have an egg song, @Shadrach 's theory makes a lot more sense than "Hey predators! I've just laid an egg!"

 

[LozzyR]

I was wondering why they have an egg song, @Shadrach 's theory makes a lot more sense than "Hey predators! I've just laid an egg!"

I don’t think my (current) girls sing an egg song. Lucy’s mute so she couldn’t, even if she wanted to. Chickie sometimes chitters when she’s nesting, but she’ll do that while she’s walking around too. I may have heard a soft “bawk bawk bawk” from Charlie once or twice but she mostly nests quietly.

When we still had Henny Penny, I heard her from the house once! I heard this “BAWK! BAWK! BAWK! BAWK! BAWK!!” followed by “Bockbockbockbockbockbock!” I said to hubby “What’s going on with Penny? She’s going nuts!” Hubby goes out, comes back with an egg. “It’s still damp!” He said. I guess that was probably an egg song.

 

[Shadrach]

I don’t think my (current) girls sing an egg song. Lucy’s mute so she couldn’t, even if she wanted to. Chickie sometimes chitters when she’s nesting, but she’ll do that while she’s walking around too. I may have heard a soft “bawk bawk bawk” from Charlie once or twice but she mostly nests quietly.

When we still had Henny Penny, I heard her from the house once! I heard this “BAWK! BAWK! BAWK! BAWK! BAWK!!” followed by “Bockbockbockbockbockbock!” I said to hubby “What’s going on with Penny? She’s going nuts!” Hubby goes out, comes back with an egg. “It’s still damp!” He said. I guess that was probably an egg song.

Are your chickens free range and do they have a rooster?
Keeping conditions make a lot of difference to a chickens behavior.
There isn't alot of point in calling for an escort if you are confined to a run where a hen can see the flock when she leaves the nest.
Apparently some pullets make the escort call when they first start laying and gradually stop as they grow older.
It's interesting to consider that if the egg song was the involuntary sound hens make after laying an egg then all hens would make it whatever their keeping arrangements.

 

[Ribh]

You may be interested @Shadrach : when I first had my Campines they were so flighty I kept them confined when the more sane girls were allowed into the bigger but uncovered run. When they wanted to lay they would call for me. I would come & open the gate to give them access to the nesting boxes. They would call when they were done & I would let them out again. When the Campines joined the rest of the flock they stopped calling for me but my largest Barred Rock took on escort duties even though she was not top chook. As everyone has matured even this has waned ~ probably because quite a number of them lay @ roughly the same time & the coop becomes quite congested even though there are plenty of laying boxes.

 

[LozzyR]

Are your chickens free range and do they have a rooster?
Keeping conditions make a lot of difference to a chickens behavior.
There isn't alot of point in calling for an escort if you are confined to a run where a hen can see the flock when she leaves the nest.
Apparently some pullets make the escort call when they first start laying and gradually stop as they grow older.
It's interesting to consider that if the egg song was the involuntary sound hens make after laying an egg then all hens would make it whatever their keeping arrangements.

Hi @Shadrach, my girls free-range around the back yard and I don’t have a rooster. Penny wasn’t a pullet when I had her, she was an ex-battery hen but she was my shouty girl. She was very vocal so I guess she just had a running commentary about life. Occasionally someone will give an alarm cackle but when I come running, I never see anything that might have set them off.

 

[BY Bob]

View attachment 1899196 Here you go @BY Bob

Enjoying some freshly cut brambles and blackberries

View attachment 1899198

Now that is what I'm looking for!

They are adorable! You are going to have so much fun with them?.