Following a Free-range Chicken from Roost in Morning to Roost at Night

[Folly's place]

Can't imagine why...

 

[centrarchid]

You not getting overcast with wind? Drone cannot be used for service when wind gust at altitude exceeds 17 mph. Also needs more sun they we getting today for the cameras to do their part. Will give me more time to put out markers that will be readable on image generated and printed out for use in field.

 

[Folly's place]

It was a joke, sorry. We are having a lot of rain, and some wind, not drone weather here either.
Mary

 

[centrarchid]

These represent something extremely interesting. Appear to be larvae of two kinds of Diptera (flies). What made me aware of them was behavior of juvenile games foraging in grass that periodically engage in bouts of "twitter-bitting" where everyone involved would feed in a very small area for just a few seconds before mowing on to repeat sequence at most a few feet away. The intensity of feeding activity is not something I would consider typical for feeding on vegetable matter.

Getting curious I got down on hands an knees to push the juveniles out of the way. They pushed hard to get back into position and eat what they were after. A negative of having such extremely tame chickens. I followed the birds between bouts and kept catching glimpses of something white they pecked at fast. Resolved to get a look as what was being targetted, I crawled along with the birds to see them start again and then pounced to cover entire area with hands. It took a few seconds before birds moved on to find another batch. Then I looked to see what was present. Several larvae in tops of grass and also down in detritus on ground. Appears to be two kinds with multiples of each. After further observations, at least during interval I was watching, it appears than the chickens were getting most of their cropfill by eating the larvae and doing so rather quickly. The larvae appear to be eating the detritus.

They are not associated with maggot experiment as the concentrations of larvae occur even across road and do not appear to be a function of distance from carcasses.

 

[aart]

Resolved to get a look as what was being targetted, I crawled along with the birds to see them start again and then pounced to cover entire area with hands. It took a few seconds before birds moved on to find another batch.

I love you man!

 

[centrarchid]

I love you man!

To see what is really going on, you got to pretend no one can see you. With forging chickens, the real seeing is with your head about a foot above the ground with possibly a magnifying glass in hand.

I used to think grasshoppers, moths and crane flies where the most important fare. But no, it is the much smaller stuff right at the soil-air boundary.

The birds make a hug number of pecks during the coarse of the day. The targets of most of those pecks are much smaller than the insects I can see from a distance, but quantity makes up for lack of size.

 

[aart]

To see what is really going on, you got to pretend no one can see you.

....or not care!

 

[centrarchid]

....or not care!

I am growing a perimeter to the entire property to make so no one can see what I am up to.

 

[Kiki]

I am growing a perimeter to the entire property to make so no one can see what I am up to.

Build a wall!

 

[Don 27]

This is already getting interesting. My student is being tasked with following a single bird each day recording location, habitat type and activity every 15 minutes. She is learning how to be a field biologist even though will grow up to be a medical doctor. This will give her some cool stories to relate to patients needing a diversion. She is also getting to see wildlife most people miss.

Great-horned owl watching chickens student is concerned with.
View attachment 1914429


Chickens hiding in pen from owl.
View attachment 1914430
Later in day a hen with 7 juvenile offspring foraging across road.
View attachment 1914431
Two full-sibling brothers separated by brood hatch dates of about 60 days. Oldest hatched Easter. They will look very similar as adults.
View attachment 1914434 Student watching chickens going to roost in persimmon tree at end of day. My daughter is imitating her writing in her own lab book. Daughter in kindergarten so what is being written will be cool to see. View attachment 1914435

ahhh those pictures remind me of farming a open field with a woods in the background for optimal expansion. It gives me a good feeling to see a field that's being maintained for preservation. The original owner of our house did nothing with the field and it began to transform back into a woods. lots of work involved to restore it. I just got a ton of roots left I don't know what to do with them now.

How did you convince your kids to be interested in this?. I can't get mine to show interests in my gamefowl.