Neurosis of the Lily Livered Chicken

I have had chickens now for about two years and everyday I learn something new about them. Chickens do better when they have moms is a biggie as far as lessons go. I have one hen we call a torpedo chicken because of her shape. Her name is Azzie and she's very neurotic. She runs away from other chickens, but lays down for the rooster and smashes herself to the ground when danger is near. She showed up on our farm one day with no mom and I put her in a cage for her own protection. My belief is that this caused her to be even weirder than most chickens. She has five absolutely normal offspring, but she runs in terror from them now that they are almost grown. She is Rhode Island Red by appearance, but her long shape causes me to believe she has something else in her DNA.

Chickens have weird behaviors. When a chicken finds a bug or is given a treat of some sort they make a weird noise that lets all the others know they have something special. It sounds like they are bragging and rather than keeping hungry pecking competitors away, it draws them. Oddly though they all do it so I guess it balances life out for them. I tend to throw tomatoes out for my hens and when I do I am greeted with a chorus of silly hens announcing their goodies as they run off to eat their prizes in solitude. They never get to eat in solitude because all the other hens follow the noise. They are smart enough to recognize bragging, but not smart enough to suppress the urge to cackle with delight.

I have one hen that isn't afraid of anything. I've seen her attack a skunk that was killing her chick and almost destroy and devour a dove that was competing for food in the chick nursery. One day I will chronicle all the weird behaviors I've witnessed. For now I guess I should go check their water and food.

Cerise

My Spoiled Critters

I'm sitting here trying to count all of our animals. We have 14 goats (three of which are less than a month old), 30 chickens (five of which are roosters and six of which are baby chicks), five ducks (three of which are ducklings) a cat and a dog. That means we feed 51 animals every single day. Some of our animals demand more attention than others. Some of our animals require more attention than others and some are vocal, but rather in the background. I've come to the conclusion that the smarter the animal the more they actually demand of you.

I have a couple manipulative animals as well. My dog Chorney is very manipulative and very good at being manipulative. She is the best behaved dog we've ever had, but also the most intelligent. She demands that all her toys make noise. If a toy (other than a ball) doesn't squeak or talk it gets tossed aside and never played with. She has a basket (old Woolworth shopping basket) full of toys. From time to time I go through them and look for tattered, broken or silent toys. They get tossed and I have a new opportunity to purchase something new for her. One must go out before one comes in.

Chorney is 12 years old and showing small signs of her age. I do a lot of praying for her as well as pampering when she shows signs of hurting or difficulty. I give her body rubs in the morning and goodies for small good behaviors.

I spoil all my animals on differing days. I gave my biggest goat "Pinkie" spinach this morning. No one else would touch it. He loved it and enjoyed eating it all by himself. I gave my mama chicken and her babes pancakes and cherry tomatoes. I gave tomatoes to my other chickens as well. Each animal has a favorite food and it's fun to discover that food and make sure they get it from time to time. All my goat boyz love carrots, pecans and pecan leaves. They act like nuts when we give them to them.

My Saanen goat "Pinkie" does this head cocking thing when he wants me to bless him with a goodie. He seems to know it gets to me. He's so big, but he acts like a little kid with big brown eyes. He adores carrots and pecans and will almost stand on his head to get them.

It's no wonder I have such difficulty with eating my animals. They are extended members of our family. My husband loves our big black Cornish rooster. When we ordered them we had no idea they were fighting cocks. We ordered five hens and one rooster. He is a prize fighter. He has scars from fighting the fence! He lost one of his spurs to the fence. He loves to attack from behind. He's a booger, but hubby loves his "never say die" spirit.

Farming for us has been an adventure. I'm a half country and half city girl. Born in the country, raised in the suburbs and now back in the country. My summers were spent in my home state of Montana. The love of simple and country came from those summers. I never really felt a part of California.

I know as long as we can care for our animals we will spoil their hineys. We love animals and love to be loved by our animals. Spoiling them is just part of the care we endeavor to give to everyone we meet. It's just in our nature.