#backyard hens

[epipremnum-aureum]

if you aren't welcomed home by the discordant screams of a pom-pom headed chicken named Muffin, then what kind of life are you living???

[papricots]

packed a little gift, courtesy of the Ladies!!!!

[thegoodlittlechickens]

Frog HATES the paparazzi (me) taking photos of her and her wife

[mings]

Our new rooster meets the ladies.

This was always going to be interesting. This lovely boy is a rescue. Apparently, he didn't get along with another rooster at his original place. (He's incredibly vocal and VERY loud, so we suspect that may have been a factor 😂 - he wouldn't have been a good fit in an urban setting.)

Anyway, he's been in quarantine since he arrived because avian flu is still a risk here. He's a pure-bred Black Copper Marans and our plan is to put him with our two Marans girls, who basically ignored him. The White Leghorns & the Cheshires were far more interested, although I suspect they just don't want to share their food.

We wanted a Scots name for him (the one we lost to the weasel was Donald), and we ended up with Malcolm. Maybe, in hindsight, it should be Dougal. He seems to be telling us "Just call me Dougal" every few minutes...

[acti-veg]

👋hi, i have a question

does veganism forbids eating all of the animal products, without exception?

like for example you can have your own chicken laying eggs, and as far as i know chickens doesn't care much about them, they even break and eat them themselves.

and so i assume eating eggs in such case is forbidden anyway? and why so?

If it is possible and practicable to avoid using any animal product then vegans believe it should be avoided, yes. Backyard eggs are still the result of exploitation. It may not be your exploitation as the owner; but before you even get them they’ve been bred into unhealthy bodies that produce far more eggs than is natural or healthy.

For this reason, many owners and sanctuaries opt for implants to avoid laying, which is a pretty painless procedure and lasts 12 months. Hens implanted reportedly may live longer, which makes sense since they aren’t as likely to suffer from the health defects associated with excessive egg production. If that isn’t an option the eggs can also be fed back to hens, so they can regain some of the calories and protein used to lay it, therefore are benefiting from what they produce rather than us taking it for our own gain. Any excess could potentially be donated to a food bank or used to supplement the feed of other companion animals as well.

This is by no means the biggest animal rights issue, but ultimately, seeking to gain from your relationship with animals when it is more beneficial to the animal if you don’t, is fundamentally exploitative. I’ve written about this in more detail here you’re interested.

[voidbirds]

The funniest part of having a house chicken is working on something and you hear demon gurgling right behind you like a cheap horror movie.

[tempural]

🌭🥚 Sausage n' Eggs!

Sticker Club #1: March 2023 bonus sticker!

Here's the finished sticker design as thanks for our first montly goal met: 100 pounds of chicken feed! It's our Jill, Paprika, and a couple of Paprika's tan eggs. But who was fertilizing them?!

[renaissance-painting]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh stress mental health anyways look at me new chickens

They are not incorporated with our older hen yet cause she is a little confused and unsure about the situation. But if anyone has any tips about introducing young ones inside a coop/run that would be helpful!

[thenetherlord]

This is my chicken Paprika. She is about 3 years old. She loves being the top chicken of the pecking order, as you can see from her crest. (Hen's crests get bigger when they are the top of the pecking order) She has very soft feathers.

[julochka365]

11/8.2023 (2) - one baby chicken

[epipremnum-aureum]

Muffin has things to say about snow

[nbgwen]

So, I have chickens.

Do you know how hard it is to get a decent picture of a chicken?

I submit as evidence the following (please excuse the messy coop/run, Spring cleaning is happening):

Polly is the Silkie hen (grey), Coraline is the black Polish hen, and Daisy is the white Polish hen.

[thegoodlittlechickens]

Babushka Frog has beets to sell and she is SO mad at me about it

[mings]

Cassidy & Gloria having a whale of a time after we topped up their pen with fresh bedding.

Cassidy (as in Hopalong, if you know you know) and Gloria (as in I Will Survive) have proven very resilient. They're both making a good recovery after their recent bout with a weasel.

Their coops are fortified and we have plans to relocate them to new, much more robust pens as the weather improves.

The wee box in the photo is their feed station. Mr Pheasident has taught himself to operate the treadle feeder in there, although Cassidy will chase him off despite her injuries, so she's definitely on the mend.

[alcnfr]

The Chickens are Bushed today...

[thomas--bombadil]

Chicks, finding comfort under the wing of their mother.