Snacks

Glinda writes:

I hope you are not getting tired of chicken pictures, because I am certainly not. These are just about the most amazing creatures. Talk about characters. I never thought I would ever fall in love with chickens but I am proud to report I have.

I took these pictures today. Richard and Melanie had peeled apples for drying and for making Apple Dumplings. While the apples were drying and the Apple Dumplings were cooking, we headed to the chicken yard with some chicken snacks of apple peelings and cores. The chickens were simply thrilled that their humans had brought them such magnificent treats. Later, Melanie brought them sorghum cane seedheads. Again, they were thrilled. Next summer, we will be raising some of their food.

I have to admit today I made some peace with chicken poop. That's a big deal for a former town girl. But today, I could see a direct relationship between what they ate, their poop, and the enrichment of our soil.

No, I did not get down on my belly in the chicken yard to take these pictures. I simply held the camera down at their eye level. I surely should not take any credit for these pictures. The credit belongs to the chickens.

(Above) I am almost embarrassed that I do not know the chickens by name. I know some. I will know more. Melanie was chief consult on names. Etta (in back), Button, and Penny chow down.
Lacey is still "broody". What that means in chicken language is that she wants to have little chickens. Winter, of course, is the wrong season for such things. During this time, her hormones must have been racing. She was cranky, her feathers were all fluffed up, and she wanted to stay in the nest box pretty much all the time. Richard and Melanie would bring her out, but she would go right back in. Her broodiness seems to be passing. She is still all fluffed up and cranky, but she is spending more time outside.

Yummy!

Freddie, Blackberry, Rocket, and Penny nibble on sorghum cane seeds. Etta is in the background.
Button's comb (lower left), Freddie, Penny, Rocket, and Blackberry consider the feast before them. In typical fashion, Freddie will often stand back and let the hennies eat. He also will grab bits of food, drop them, and call for hennies. He is a chivalrous kind of guy.

As I muse over the experience in the chicken yard on this day, plus the vibrancy and individuality of these feathered ones captured in these photos, I wonder: "How did I ever come to view chickens as only meat or producers of eggs?"