Seasonal Almanac
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March 19th, 2009
I have taken to visiting the chickens in the morning before I go to work and in the late afternoon when I come home. Sometimes if there are vegetables lying around, I will chop them up and give it to the birds. In this way, they have now become quite accustomed to my presence. If I don’t make any sudden movement, they even come right up to say ‘hello’.
The dynamics between the black (Violette) and white (Blanche) birds are very funny. They constantly follow each other around and keep a close eye on what the other is up to. If one has found something to eat, the other must have that too. One day, they were wandering around in the garden when one found a slug. When the other chicken found out, a snatching match ensued. The chicken had the slug in her beak just out of reach of the other: when the other chicken tried to get near the priced meat, she would turn away to one side; a little closer again, another turn, until they were both turning around and around in circles. The slug was accidentally dropped a few times and the tables were turned. In the end Violette gobbled up the whole tasty treat.
March 22nd, 2009 at 8:19 pm
I am impressed that chickens have such a competitive spirit about their nourishment. it all means that you and Redmond will be paid dividends in the form of richly formed fresh eggs. It also means that they must suffer terribly in those horrible cages where they can’t move and fed all sorts of cheap grain! Do this sort of chicken/egg farming still exist? I may be out of touch about this – perhaps battery hens no longer exist?
March 30th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
The chickens are getting cheeky. I have been doing quite a bit of gardening lately and whenever I am down in the garden, I will let them out of their house to wander around. They are digging up the garden and all the mulch looking for yummy bugs. While I like the company, they are a real handful sometimes when it’s time for them to go to bed/ nest. Just now, I had to chase them around the backyard! I hope the neighbours weren’t looking.