What did your chickens do today?

[LittleBits]

Quote: Keep posting pics of PigPen! I kind of love him, too; wish I could sleep like that! lol

 

[LibRat]

Keep posting pics of PigPen!  I kind of love him, too; wish I could sleep like that!  lol

lol ok here's one of him actually awake!

He's getting ready to fall asleep tho cuz he's drooping his wings and he just got done running around under the truck so he's filthy too!

 

[LittleBits]

Quote: He must be quite entertaining!

 

[lesgo54]

Mine did the usual chicken stuff. Ate bugs and grass and hung out under the deck

 

[strutnut]

They layed their first eggs at 16 weeks' I have 23 golden comet/redstar hens. How many eggs should I have per day once their start laying really good? 20+ eggs?

 

[BarredRockMom]

Last night, my 2 new babies discovered grapes. Because the older 4 girls already know that a paper towel in Mom's pocket = JACKPOT, they watch for it. When the treat is grapes, they go insane!! My husband had to hand feed the babies off to one side or they wouldn't have gotten any. After their 2nd handful, they weren't as interested in the squashed grape in his fingers as they were in the hidden grapes in the palm of his hand. They swarmed him so fast he couldn't squash the grapes fast enough. Once they got done with their portion, they waited in the wings for me to bend down with squashed grapes for the other girls, zipped in, stole a couple & were gone before the older girls even knew what had happened. The looks on those 4 faces were priceless!! Once the grapes were all gone, the babies cried and danced around me looking for more. We showed them the paper towel & they watched it go back into my pocket. Hopefully, they'll soon associate a white paper towel in my hand with something delicious! I can get my girls to come running from anywhere if I just call them & wave a white paper towel. The only down side to that is that I always have to have a treat in the paper towel or else.

And the babies practiced coming when called. We (all) hunt worms, moths, slugs, crickets, etc together & when I find one, I call whomever is closer. When I'm bent down pointing, or holding something in my hand, they're pretty good about coming to get it. This doesn't work on all of them all of the time, but they're pretty good overall & one or two usually hunt right near me especially to get extra treats. The babies are learning and it's funny to watch them come running.

 

[BarredRockMom]

We're in Western PA & haven't even heard any cicadas yet this year, let alone seen any. I'll be excited for them to get here because of the feast potential for the girls, especially my 2 new babies. Those little girls can really fly. My older 4 girls don't, so if anything gets higher than a leap away, it's gonna live...unless the babies get it first!

 

[BarredRockMom]

Lol, it's bound to happen sooner or later. I can usually feel the difference in body posture & muscle contraction right before one lets go, but sometimes ya just can't get (your leg, arm, shoe) outta the way. Those are the times you hope for a complete miss or a solid bounce & roll off. I have one older girl, Prissy Pants, who's decided to become a shoulder chicken recently. She's pretty good about going before she gets on me or fussing to be put down when she has to go. On occasion, she'll fall asleep on my shoulder & forget where she is. I get no warning, only the pre-event grunting, holding her breath & "aaaaaah" exhale. [Honestly, she sounds like a little kid and it's hilarious.] Last night, I had Prissy Pants on my shoulder & my husband was holding our 2 new babies (who've decided to mimic Prissy & now nothing but your shoulder will do for a perch.) All of a sudden, I heard "Oh do NOT tell me you just did that!" And this is why we have certain clothes/shoes that we wear for chickens & nowhere else. No stains after 3+ years (always washed immediately), but it wouldn't matter if there were. I must admit, however, that it's not the nicest thing they do & that chicken cuddle time is generally over pretty quickly after that. Hopefully, Prissy Pants will teach the babies that GOING BEFORE getting up is better than going WHILE ON.

Hopefully the possibility of being pooped on won't keep you from holding them on your lap. They really do take on quite a different personality in the evenings as they wind down before bed. I've found that it brings out the extra cuddly side of my girls, even the ones who prefer not to be held all of the time. Those girls will sit close to me on their roost & talk to me. I think that just having frequent, human interaction like that helps them to be more sociable.

Oh but do be careful about having anyone close to your face. I can trust Prissy Pants NOT to peck me in the face, especially the eyes. I wear glasses normally, but I do trust her. And the babies are good about not pecking, too. But I'm always careful with them. I know that I have 6 chickens but only 2 eyes!

 

[LibRat]

"Those are the times you hope for a complete miss or a solid bounce & roll off."
LOL
I call them the flickers. Just flick em off ill get it later. I cringe however when I smell something funny cuz I know it's gonna b a wet one!

 

 

[LibRat]

We had bad weather (two full size trees down in our yard) and the chickens got caught in the rain. DH put them up but they want to come in the house with him. They're soaked!