Yay! Happy Birthday Fez!!Fez is huffing and puffing and strutting about the place this morning; going broody again methinx. It's her birthday tomorrow - she becomes a hen! - so I'm inclined to let her sit this time. As long as she chooses a nest box, not a flower pot, of course
This batch of chicks are different in their behaviour towards me than the last that pair Fret hatched. This could be because Fret is a lot more trusting, to the point of giving me a gentle warning peck, rather than immediately moving off with the chicks or going full battle order.It's more "don't do that you're upsetting the kids" kind of peck.
I don't really want lap chickens but being able to catch and handle them if necessary is a great help. It's finding that balance that I find difficult. They don't all respond to the same way to attempts to befriend them.
When it comes to my job as part of the team, making sure the chicks have sufficient food and water is routine. The bit that never seems to be rountine is negotiating the ramp to the coop. All the full sized coops I've built have been off the ground, so all have had ramps. It's been rare in my experience when doing the make sure the kids get home at night bit, for at least one and often all to give a distress call as soon as I capture one. Then mum barrels out of the coop... Now you've got one hand holding the chick and the other trying to block mums attacks.
This lot, not a peep. Keep my hand low, slide it under one and it steps onto my palm. They wobble a bit during lift, but didn't panic.
Maybe they'll grow up more friendly than Dig and Mow.
Good you make your own decisions on food. The layer feed maffioso may have their own opinion, but I cant agree with their idea that giving anything else as layer feed is balanced and the best.
what none of them will engage with is that there are significant inconsistencies in the ME figures given for the raw materials. They write as if the numbers were written in stone, not that they vary with the raw material, the methods of testing used, the birds they run the tests on etc. etc. This paper from 2020 reviews a century of making these calculations, and suggests the whole system needs a rethink.
These kinds of reflections are cool, maybe because they show nuances in how we respond to our chicken charges, and how we can naturally take different approaches with different individuals.This batch of chicks are different in their behaviour towards me than the last that pair Fret hatched. This could be because Fret is a lot more trusting, to the point of giving me a gentle warning peck, rather than immediately moving off with the chicks or going full battle order.
. Game recognize game. But AGC is extremely patient with humans, and DH and AGC are great friends.
It's an important point. If the hens were already aware that human-shaped animals have the potential to be useful/kind to them, then their new keepers probably could've won them over with a few weeks of treats, if they wanted to put the time inThis is true. I should probably point out they're only skittish with strangers-cum-predators. They come barrelling towards me like a certain someone's avatar if they think I come bearing gifts
I have lost count of the number of photos of idyllic scenes ruined by my opening the door to take a photo, whereupon they all drop everything and come charging over!
Your articles and posts about feeding are thought-provoking and sparking important conversation. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience.
We'd not thought much about chickens and water until recently. Our only body of water is a seasonal creek. It's small and runs 6 months a year. The chickens rarely regarded it until the Speckled Sussex came along.We are going to block them from the pond, my heart couldn't take it. Just when I think they are too smart to do it, they go and do something completely insane. Tonight, all the girls bunched into one corner of the run, climbing on top of each other, trying to get closer to us, when we were over chatting across the fence with the neighbors and meeting this year's baby goats.They can't be trusted with water.
