We Have Babies!

  Hey, everybody!  The nice lady has decided to raise three baby chicks!  I haven't seen them yet, but the word is that they are pretty cute.  AND, they look just like Sis and I did when we were their age.

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 When the nice lady went to the local feed store to bring the babies home, there were all kinds of chicks there.

 People were there with their little people petting the new arrivals.  Aahhh.

When it came time to pick out the three lucky chicks, there were lots to choose from.  Decisions, decisions!

The three lucky chicks, named 1, 2, and 3, took their first road trip from the feed store to their new home. There was lots of cheeping, and that stuff in the bottom of the box was pretty tasty.

 

 As soon as the road trip was over, the nice lady put them in their new home.  She dunked their little beaks into their water dish so they'd know where their water dish was.  They started drinking right away. 

 

Baby feed was scattered on the floor of their new home, and they ate like there was no tomorrow.

After such a stressful day, they were glad to be in their new warm home.  Contentment!

The Freezing of Sis (Almost)

 

The recent snowy weather has reminded me of last winter when Sis almost froze to death.  Thanks to our people, she survived.  I didn't live here then, but I've heard the story, over and over.

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It was Christmas Eve, and it had been snowing for hours and hours.  The nice lady came out to check on us.  Sis was outside on the ground and couldn't move.  The nice lady grabbed her and put her in the hen house, but she still couldn't move.  She couldn't even sit up, and she kept falling over.  The nice lady put her in one of our nest boxes, hoping she would get warmer there.  Sis's eyes were open, her heart was beating, but she couldn't move.  So, the nice lady took Sis into the people house.  If Sis hadn't been so cold, she would have been REALLY, REALLY, SCARED!

The people put her in a box and used some kind of machine that blew warm air onto her feathers.  Sis still couldn't stand up.  All she could do was lay on her side and jerk her legs.

Then they put her in a big dark room at the bottom of the people house with another machine that blew warm air on her.  She was still unable to sit up, and Sis heard the nice lady say that she thought Sis was going to die.  People don't think we chickens can understand them, but Sis heard the nice lady, loud and clear.

After a few hours, Sis finally thawed out and jumped up onto the side of the box she was in.  When the nice lady came downstairs to check on her and saw Sis on the box, she was so happy!  She let Sis stay in the people house overnight in the Chicken Hospital and gave her special treats.

  The next day the nice lady brought Sis outside to be with us.  Now she lets the nice lady pet her, and she lays the biggest eggs of us all!

The Planting of the Greens

 

 At this time of the year, it is very hard to find anything green to eat.  The nice lady brings us chopped up greens as part of our breakfast every morning, but that's all there is for the day.  The nice man saw that we were pretty sad about this, so he decided to plant winter wheat.  What a brilliant idea!

First he roughed up the soil.  That was pretty interesting to watch.  I sure didn't want to get in his way.  I think that tool he used might be the same one he used on the snake.  It's pointy and it's sharp!

 What we weren't expecting was that we wouldn't be able to eat the wheat right away.  Those humans put wire things over the seeds, and we couldn't get to them.  There were a few seeds that were around the edges, and we jumped on those like a dog on a bone.

Then we started watching for little green shoots to come up, but there was nothing.

 How long do we have to wait?

Anything yet?  Wait, I think I see something!

We had forgotten about the patch that had been planted earlier.  And when we looked, there it was.  This beautiful patch of green.

 If we worked our necks just right, we could grab the wheat from around the edges. 

One of us was trying out more circus tricks.  

I wasn't too wild about having all of that wire stuff on top of the wheat.  After all, we love to scratch the ground.  But now I realize that this wheat will last much longer, and we can go out everyday and eat what grows up through the wire.  Pretty neat!

Let's PAR-TAY!

Wow! Did we have a great weekend or what! I wasn't too sure it was going to be fun when I woke up one morning and saw this thing right outside our gate.  Our people have one sorta like it, but this thing was like the Taj Mahal--Big and Beautiful!

When were able to get outside, we went exploring.  Too bad none of the doors were open.  I'm sure we would have had a fun time in there.  We might even have left some eggs for the owners.

Friday night was hotdog night!  Whoo-hoo, you know how I LOVE those things!  I prefer them plain, no mustard, no relish, no bun, just a hotdog.

Sis really likes them, too!  She wanted a bun with hers, but she was happy to get what she got.

Then to top everything off, the people who had parked outside our gate gave us some CORNBREAD!  What nice people.  I just love them!

I pounced on that stuff like a dog on a bone.

And I shared it.  I was so full I felt like a tick ready to pop!

I hope all of those people come back again soon.

Kids! And I Don't Mean Goats!

Every once in a while we have some smaller versions of the nice lady and man come to visit us.  We, hens, certainly get our exercise during their visits, but we also get lots and lots of special treats.

 

 

We have to be on the look-out for small, colorful feet. 

 Sometimes they're still, but most of the time they're running!  That's when we really flap our wings and get our upper body workouts!

The nice lady usually gets them to help when they're here.  They think it's fun, as long as they don't have to actually clean out our house.  Feeding us, they like.  Collecting our eggs, they like.  Cleaning out our poopy house, NO WAY!

They like to go through our gate that leads to our side yard.  I don't think they'll be able to do that very much longer.  I think they've really gotten taller just since I've known them.  And their feet are getting bigger, too!

I got a little nervous one day.  I thought the little girl was going to go up our ramp into our house!  Luckily somebody reminded her about the poop in the house.  She stopped in her tracks.

When the kids come, it's always a good time for us.  We get more treats and more attention.  That makes us very happy chickens.  And as we all know, happy chickens lay happy eggs!

I'm Going Bald!

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It's a good thing I decided not to enter the local County Fair's Chicken Beauty Pageant.  I am a mess!  I'm too embarrassed to show you my current picture, but here's a look at where my old feathers are right now!

Every morning when I wake up, there are few more feathers GONE---scattered all over the floor under our roost!  None of my other hen friends seem to be worried.  They assure me that I'll be fine--no permanent feather loss.   

Here is a picture of the Iron Maiden before she lost her feathers and one showing how she looks now. Poor thing, her tail looks like is has been chopped off!

 

Even Goofball is looking a little scruffy--white patches all over, dark spots on feathers.  She doesn't seem to be worried because there's a nice juicy grasshopper waiting to become her next treat.

I am very glad that the nice lady hasn't put mirrors in our house!  

The Beauty Pageant

It's time for the local chicken beauty pageant, commonly referred to as the County Fair.  Never having been in one before, I wasn't very interested in the details.  I decided to check out the rules, just for fun. 

The first rule says, "The Judge will use as a guide the American Standard of Perfection.  All birds will be judged by comparison."   I got pumped up after hearing that one.  Although I try not to be too vain, I felt sure I could win. The prize money for first place would almost pay for a big sack of chicken feed, or better yet, chicken scratch.  Yum! 

I didn't fully understand the next 2 rules---something about definition of terms and breeding pens. But rule #4, caused me to put the brakes on.  The words that struck fear in my heart were "pullorum-typhoid BLOOD TEST."  Yikes!  "BLOOD TEST" means needles, right?

I think I'll just stay home.  The nice lady can take pictures of the contestants and show them to me.