MJ's little flock

[Grammy60]

Good evening everyone

 

[BY Bob]

Three days ago I was unsure whether Alice was moulting or not.

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I think she is moulting.

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The poor girl has lost nearly all her tail feathers and bum fluff overnight!

Poor baby. I always feel a little guilty posting pictures of them molted. It is kind of like posting pictures of your friends taken first thing in the morning after a hard night on the town!

 

[BY Bob]

For comparison, here is Alice 4 days ago (behind Tsuki)

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The feathers have pretty much exploded off her!

That Tsuki is fast. Nothing but a blur for her head!

 

[BY Bob]

Would it be better it was part of a meta-analysis? Though I’m guessing there aren’t multiple studies on rooster comb and wattle attractiveness. Where is the funding for these studies?!

I actually laughed when I read the studies. What if roosters with bigger wattles have nicer personalities or tell better jokes? Maybe roosters with big wattles are more likely to listen and be sympathetic.

Aren't human females attracted to men with great personalities and senses of humor? (and backyard chickens of course)

 

[MaryJanet]

With your chickens you `ll save lots of therapy hours for sure!!And it´s all for free!!!

Haha good point!

 

[BY Bob]

There isn't much interest in studying animal behaviour, especially when it comes to chickens.
For most people the fact that eggs come out of one end is all they are interested in.
My rather unpopular view is we could learn a lot about ourselves by studying other creatures.
Unfortunately there is this deeply entrenched view that we humans have other qualities that elevate us above the other creatures on this planet. I have yet to see any evidence of this.
One of the interesting things about the three threads we subscribe to is there is a lot of behavioral information buried in the various accounts, picture and videos.

I agree. I am clearly fascinated with these wonderful animals and how they interact. I have a complex matriarchal society in my back yard. How cool is that!

Humans don't want to study the behaviors of the animals in our food chain. Understanding them would force us to take a hard look at how awful we treat them. So we stay away and build whole TV programs around cute lemurs and majestic lions.

 

[BY Bob]

How about arrogance? Arrogance sets us apart from other animals. I don’t think it elevates us though.

I love hearing about chicken behaviour, and I love seeing my girls’ antics. My two salmons put themselves to bed in the henhouse tonight; Tegan still goes to bed in the tractor and has to be transported. I’d really like to know what’s going on in those little chicken minds!

Careful or you will wind up on permanent transport duty for Tegan like @Shadrach and Fat Bird!

 

[BY Bob]

Haha good point!

Somehow I don't think I agree with the concept of "free". I just bought another huge bag of mealy worms. Not cheap.

Worth every penny, but not cheap!

 

[LozzyR]

Careful or you will wind up on permanent transport duty for Tegan like @Shadrach and Fat Bird!

I can live with that.

 

[Shadrach]

Careful or you will wind up on permanent transport duty for Tegan like @Shadrach and Fat Bird!

It's become a routine now. The other day I shut the human access door and walked away. It took about half an hour before she finally came out shouting the house down.
I give her the opportunity to make her own way every morning. The door is quite wide and if I'm not showing signs of picking her up, she moves to the side of the entrance closest to me and stands right on the edge waiting. She sort of burbles away to herself when I carry her.