Sunday, September 25, 2011

Chicken Run!!


I'm not sure how clear this video is going to be but maybe ya'll can make sense of it.  I thought it was just hilarious how rabid these chooks are to get out in the afternoons.  They live for their time out in the yard.  So far we have had good luck with letting them out with no fatalities.


 Speaking of no fatalities though; these boys will end that streak soon.  They have gotten a little too big for their britches lately and are confined to fatten up just a little more.  I do not believe I will ever have Leghorns again.  They are very aggressive towards the other chickens.


The Cornish Cross chicks are doing well now.  We did have 3 to die and it was a bit mysterious.  No leg problems, no wheezing, discharge, pasty butt or anything else that might indicate disease or anything.  However, Jack did notice that their feed had some larger chunks it in that maybe they were having trouble with so he started sifting their food and we've had no deaths since.  We are buying a locally ground natural, non-medicated feed but apparently they also do rabbit food etc. because the larger chunks looked kinda like rabbit pellets (food, not poo).  Maybe they don't clean their machines well between batches.  We don't know if that was the culprit but they re all doing well now and are surprisingly active.


This one kept staring at me rather pointedly.  Perhaps he suspects his fate.  I hope not.


They have even begun flying around their cage a little.  Well, enough to hop up on the rat sills anyway!  We have found all the young chicks like to sit up there for some reason.  Their little legs are significantly thicker than regular little chicks and we have only noticed one that might be having a little trouble walking.  After we had those 3 die I was beginning to feel like getting these were a mistake but now they seem to be developing normally, just a bit faster than other chicks.  We'll see.  I'm still a bit skeptical and we are keeping a close eye on how they get around and seem to be getting along.  No matter how efficient they are at becoming dinner I still don't want to be raising meat blobs.  However, as of now, they seem just like any other chicks as far as activity and curiosity.  They jump and fly and scratch.  Best they can anyway.

I hope to also get a little bit of the fall garden planted today but I may not.  I have a bit of throwing to do to fulfill some pottery orders so that comes first right now.

7 comments:

The Good Luck Duck said...

Foghorn! He always seemed a little bumptious in the cartoon, too.

grins said...

On one of the blogs I follow a hawk got a bunch of her chickens. Well Chicadee you sound like you are in a better mood, I'm glad. Oh! Auntie's haiku is hunting with no rules this week.

Ed said...

Instead of the Running of the Bulls, you have the Running of the Chickens. Now you just need to advertise it and show someone getting gored by a beak and you could be on to something.

MamaHen said...

Hey Duck! yeah, I can definitely see why they chose a Leghorn for that cartoon! they are full of themselves!

Hey Dan! Yeah, I was in a better mood, I was home!! lol! Things have eased up a little at work too. :)

Hey Ed! Hey! that's a great idea! lol! I could get Jack to throw himself down in front of the herd and everything! ha!

MyamuhNative said...

Too funny!
How hard is it to get them back inside?

MamaHen said...

Hey Mya! not hard at all! Come evening they all put themselves up! Chickens don't like to be out after dark so they run to their roosts and later we go down and shut the door etc.

MamaHen said...
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