Tales from the Coop. Week 4.

Who needs television when you have chickens? Seriously, I never realized how entertaining chickens are----pull up a seat and you'll witness face offs, melodrama, frantic chases around the chicken yard, new feathers changing the way they look daily... Chickens constantly provide a laugh with their distinct personalities. When we brought our chicks home we were planning on eggs but we had not idea of the entertainment we were in for! So much fun!

This is Fancy Feet, a Silky Bantam. We're not sure if Fancy Feet is a male or female. We think he's a male. Fancy Feet is a Silky and also an expert at nabbing food. They all love dandelions and when we throw one into the pen a chicken grabs it up and starts running with a frantic look on her face----where to go? Where can she go to secretly devour this succulent morsel in private? Ah, but there's no such place in the chicken pen! All the other chickens give chase and it's usually Fancy Feet that plucks the treasure from that panicked chicken. Sigh, denied again.

This is Pie, a Frizzle (sorry Pie, this isn't the most flattering image of you)! Again, we're not sure of Pie's sex----and I'm not sure where the name came from, either. Pie bosses the other chickens around, running up to them and facing them down. Pie also performs tricks: jumping like a frog and fluffing out her/his feathers. Pie's also the friendliest of the bunch, allowing the kids to pet him/her willingly.

This is Macho, a Leghorn. Macho is a hen but no matter, the kids named her Macho because of her taller comb and Macho attitude. She is the bravest--- and I suspect smartest---- of the bunch. She's always the first to catch ants and to run out the door in the morning.

And speaking of ants, did you know chickens like to eat biting ants (the kind that sneak up your bare leg in the summer while you're hanging up clothes on the clothesline and bite the begeesus out of you)?! Well, our plucky little chickens chase them around and gobble them up----a wonderful trait, indeed! The chicken coop is right next to an anthill-----mmmm, breakfast!

**Want to view more chickens? Check the flickr group: Nobody Here But Us Chickens... Lots of fun photos there.

**Want to order your own chickens? Check McMurray Hatchery. They also provide information about chicken breeds and raising your own flock.

Comments

[Angelinaa]

Oh yeah...chickens are so much fun! I love them. I miss mine. We haven't built a new run at the new house so they are at the old house. We visit them every day or every other day but it's just not the same as having them right out your back door.

[melissa m]

I laughed out loud when I read your first sentence. Ever since we got chickens a few years ago we've called the coop and yard "The Chicken Channel". We all spend hours watching their antics. Each has her own personality and idiosynchrocies. My girls still bring in daily reports of who is doing what among "the girls". Definitely a more pleasurable pastime than watching the tube. I hope you have many delightful hours of commercial-free viewing!

[charlotte]

i don't know if my comment worked - did it come through? hmm.

well! I said - almost as much fun as watching kids do stuff for the first time - and that's a very cute drawing!!

[charlotte]

just like watching kids isn't it! i love the drawing you've done!!

[Amy]

They are so funny looking and cute! Keep petting them so they are used to you when they get older. It's easier to catch them too that way. :) Way better than tv yes!

[Alexis]

I also live in the suburbs, with a lot too small to have chickens, so I will have to live vicariously through you and dream about a future farm!

[jude]

who indeed needs a tv? funny, i was just thinking of getting some chickens. and i love that drawing.

[jude]

who indeed needs a tv? funny, i was just thinking of getting some chickens. and i love that drawing.

[Mandi]

Hey Amber I wanted to email this to you, but well let's just say I am a bit challenged! Check this out it seems right up your alley
http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=19693
It's a sustainable lunch challenge! If you can't use the link,that challenged issue again, go to farmgirl chat and it's under farm kitchen.
Oh by the way Love the chickens. Wish I could have them, maybe someday!

[Margaret Oomen]

Macho, Fancy feet , Pie are great chickens by the looks of things although Pie must wonder if he or she will ever end up in one and looks a little worried in the photograph. I can't wait to see the eggs they will produce.

[Melissa]

I would love to have chickens at home, but our suburban CC&Rs won't have it. I grew up collecting eggs at my grandparents' farm in New England - it was always a thrill to reach under a warm hen and find an egg or two, especially as those hens would peck!