Uh...my girls just killed a toad :(

[WindingRoad]

My oldest Isa girl caught a frog once. It was far too big for her to swallow it and as her beak had been blunted, she couldn’t gouge bits out of it. She just ran around in circles with it dangling from her mouth whilst the other two tried to snatch it from her. It must have died from blunt force trauma when she put it down and pecked at it. Then she lost interest and wandered off! I felt so sorry for the frog but it was very funny to watch them running around like a herd of tiny velociraptors! I did try to take it from her but she wasn’t having it.

I bought night crawlers and regular worms for my girls. They turned up their noses. They do love to come out right after a good rain and find worms, they chase off the robins and steal their worms. I guess my girls believe in working for their meals.

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

My hens cornered a mouse. The black Australorp grabbed it by its tail and started banging it against the wood of the laying box. So I opened the lid and there was blood on the walls from where she’d killed it. It was barbaric/shocking

 

[timidlady]

You’d be surprised at what your chickens eat that you don’t know about. Especially if they free range. In my experience, I have never had a chicken get sick from eating a toad.

I was surprised today that my girls don't like fruit. But they will hunt things in the yard.

 

[Nommie Bringer-Uvda-Noms]

I still can't look them in the face, they're faverolles for pete's sake just blew my whole sweet little chicken illusion out of the water and plucked it nude.

Too funny!

 

[Lynn Woehrle]

So...yuck! I don't know if it is more intriguing, disgusting, sad or barbaric but...poor toady! They are playing keepaway now. Should I let them play or are toads not ok in their lil food chain? I guess this time my GIRLS are the predators. Ugh

They also kill mice---which is good, but a toad is sad. Sorry.

 

[Nommie Bringer-Uvda-Noms]

I had a cat that caught a mouse in the chicken coop once. The chickens chased her down and took it away from her!

OMG!!! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!! My ribs hurt, from laughing so hard,

 

[LaserDeathChicken]

Our flock tried to chase down a ten foot pine snake once. We were new chicken owners the first time it happened, so I called the rangers. He was excited and came right out.

He said, keep the chickens away. I nodded, assuming that a giant freaking snake would be a danger to the chickens, but he went on to explain that chickens are fast as hell compared to big snakes and would tear it apart. The kind we have in the pine barrens here are endangered.

Chickens are really fun, and amazingly personable, and our rooster is great friends with one of the goats. But they are tiny little monster dinosaurs that will eat *you* if you fall down paralyzed in their coop and stay there without moving for an hour, and they will be just fine.

 

[Auntyjack]

Predatory behaviour is what chickens do. I would celebrate that they have a comfortable home that gives them opportunities to do chickenly things. When they are presented with natural foods, animals seem to pretty much know what they should or should not eat. They get confused by human endeavour though.

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

My blue Auracana x Brahma killed a mouse today! I could hear it screaming from where I was standing with my horse a good 50 m away. I watched her running around with the poor mouse dangling by its tail whilst the rest of the flock chased her round and round until she started flinging it around the yard. Then the screaming stopped and I went back to braiding my horses mane

 

[chickwatcher1]

So...yuck! I don't know if it is more intriguing, disgusting, sad or barbaric but...poor toady! They are playing keepaway now. Should I let them play or are toads not ok in their lil food chain? I guess this time my GIRLS are the predators. Ugh

Definitely barbaric. it's the dinosaur in them. But then again frogs tormented Egypt back in the day.