Bumblebee Blog

Bzzzz March 24th, 2010

That’s right. Chickens play games. And they have toys.

Now that spring is here, I have a nearly endless supply of chickweed I can pull out of the lawn. Sure, I could toss it into the chicken run for them to feast on—and I often do. But it’s much more fun to fill their bell toy and watch them jump up to get it. As they grab the chickweed, the bell rings.

Meredith, pictured below, adores chickweed. Can you see her airborne to get a bite?

Of course, as the head of the household, T. Boone Chickens figures it’s his job to make sure his hens have a fair supply of treats. When they’re on walkabout in the yard, he often finds tasty little morsels. But rather than eating them himself, he makes a wonderful and excited “chuck, chuck, chuck” sound to call over the hens so they can eat the treat.

In the chicken run, he’s so tall compared to the hens he just reaches up and pulls down the chickweed for the hens to eat.

In his own roosterly way, he loves his hens, I think.

So there you have it. Chicken games!

Posted In: Chickens

Tags: hens, T. Boone Chickens

15 Comments

Bzzzz March 16th, 2010

Last week the fellow who came over to cart off all my decrepit gardening equipment for repairs was admiring my chickens. He was particularly taken with the Polish hens and their feathered headdresses.

“They’re beautiful! Do you cut their hair like that?” he asked.

I swear. He really asked me that.

Of course, that was last week when it was dry and the sun was shining. The chickens looked all primped out and gorgeous. Not like today, after days and days of rain, when their “hair” is dirty.

Now the poor Polish hens look a little worse for wear. They are in need of a little chicken hair styling. Or at the very least a shampoo and blow dry.

They’re having a very bad hair day.

Posted In: Chickens

Tags: edith, hens, polish chickens, Tina Turner, Weather

14 Comments

Games Chickens Play

A Bad Hair Day for Chickens