by happy chickens
on our recent visit to our daughter’s family on the Island
we were introduced to their chickens, incubated, hatched and now almost fully grown
daughter designed and built the chicken coop
with much advice on construction design and predator proofing from her father
they are different varieties, each has a name and responds to calls and hugs like any pets
always on the move, they are colourful, inquisitive, smart and friendly
they love their free ranging time under supervision by the granddaughters
watch out for hovering hawks, sneaky minks and hungry raccoons!
soon there will be eggs….
if interested, you might like to visit our daughter’s blog to learn more about their adventures in raising these delightful feathered creatures
September 26, 2014 in Canada and BC, Environment, Travel by Marja-Leena
What a beautiful spot and what a fine group of chickens they have to call the place home. The girls look as though they’re enjoying life there almost as much as the happy hens.
You’ve reminded me of a documentary we watched some years ago that I’ve found on youtube. It’s called The Natural History of the Chicken and is more entertaining than you might expect.
The girls are very fond of their chickens having observed and cared for them from egg to present, and of course the birds adore them too.
I watched the film about half way so far and had many a chuckle – what a delight, thank you, Susan! Will watch the rest tomorrow. I may send this on to the grandgirls though the factory farm part may disturb them.
Back the next day to say I loved the video with the many stories about chickens and their humans! The last story about the mother hen covering her little chicks in the field when a hawk flies over is very dramatic! (Readers, I won’t reveal the ending to that, just go watch it!)
Blue chickens! Delightful idea–and photos. Only last year I discovered blue mushrooms online. The natural world can offer so many delightful surprises.
Naomi, actually it is black with a blueish sheen. The light and the camera made it come out unusually blue but I liked it and left it. I’ve never heard of blue mushrooms!
Marja-Leena, If you google “blue mushrooms,” the surprise appears–purple too! Had a moment of knitting mushrooms in colors I could find online–red too.
I had a look – how beautiful and strange! Knitted mushrooms in many colours sound fun.
Suddenly our lawn has mushrooms, but in boring brown. And the slugs are back with the recent rains – we need chickens here to eat them up.
What a happy flock!
Yes they sure are! They are quite worried about predators for two of the roosters from the same batch of eggs that were given away to friends in the area were caught and killed by something. Living by a lake and woods is a dangerous place for them. Such is nature.
Smart? Or is that avian cunning? Whatever, they’re a lovely bunch. I recall that when we had two hens, they immediately ran for shelter if a shadow passed overhead, even though they had never experienced any threat from a ‘falling sky’ or other potential disaster.
Tom, there seem to be so many tales about chickens and their intelligence or stupidity. There may be an inborn sense of what is dangerous or maybe it is learned. I think these young ones were still having to learn some of that when they were free-ranging, like sticking together and staying under the shrubs. I was amazed how they loved to be hugged and stroked as they had been since they were tiny chicks. So different from the mass factory farms.
Marja-Leena,
I think I read somewhere (National Geographic or Scientific American) recently, that rumored stupidity of chickens has been exaggerated. I also read that some of the original chickens in South-East Asia have been developing a very long tail, so they have harder times to hop off from the way of hawks.
I was smiling about your granddaughters having exactly the same task as I and my younger sister and brother and some cousins had on the chicken: to protect them from chicken hawks, which is the largest hawk in Finland. And: in Spring I often saw a mother hen walking on the path with several chick following her.
But the roosters were angry. They could sometime come and attack a smaller child. This was of course in my grandmother’s farm, as my family lived in a church village (kirkonkylä) 20 km of from Tampere. I was the oldest grand child, so chicken work was often my duty altogether, and I spend a lot of school holidays alone in the farm.
I enjoyed your stories, Ripsa, kiitos! My grandparents also had farms with the usual farm animals but I was five years old when I left so don’t remember much. I do remember a very aggressive big goose who guarded the farmyard when I visited in my teens.
Our neighbor has a chickens. All kinds and very fancy, some of them. My favorite is the rooster, Johnny Cash. He is glossy bluish black. I don’t mind his crowing; it’s a country sound. But chickens are so hard for me to get good photos of, and I can’t figure out why that is.
Hattie, that ‘country sound’ is a nice thing for you it seems. If one had a large number of roosters in the neighbourhood such as depicted in part of the film that Susan shared, one might not like it. Daughter’s two roosters were just barely beginning to crow yet.
Oh, I agree it is hard to get good photos of chickens for they are constantly on the move! Most of mine were very blurry and the ones above I had to fix quite a bit.
Oh, aren’t they beautiful. People tell me they’re wonderful pets – and pets who earn their keep by providing eggs! Roosters can be a bother to neighbors with their crowing, though, so not so good for urban settings. Hens are supposed to be much quieter. Anyway, love the pics!
Leslee, thanks, they are indeed beauties. The family lives in an area that is not so much part of a city though close and there are no restrictions with roosters. Here in Vancouver, each municipality has different rules. In ours no chickens are allowed at all, not that I want them myself for they seem a big responsibility.
Chickens need a lot of care and protection, and you can’t just leave them. So I’m glad the neighbor is looking after them and not us. They do come in our yard often and eat the slugs.
Yes, I observed that and that is why they’ve been unable to get away. Their next door neighbour will help out once the chickens are well established.
Thanks for the mention of slugs – I meant to say that is one reason I wouldn’t mind borrowing a couple of chickens for a few days 🙂
Oh what handsome chickens! And how wonderful for the young ones to enjoy caring for them. I’ll definitely visit their blog! As a little girl in Wetteravia, I remember suffering from aggressive geese; however, the chickens I loved. I do miss the rooster’s voice Ki-ki-ri-kiiiiii … I would welcome waking up to that sound again.
There is something so grounding about being connected to the old ways of growing ones food and being tied to the ways of our ancestors. That is an overall philosophy behind Elisa’s various projects as she writes about in her blog.