So, as you all know, my dad died recently. Well, the grief has been a lot to handle. Just yesterday I spent all day crying and having panic attacks. My babies all sat and cuddled me. ALL OF THEM. And they wouldn't leave. Today it got me thinking. Why don't I write a post about HOW my therapy chickens actually help my day to day life. so here it is!
1. When I am about to have a panic attack, Willow my golden cuckoo maran, will alert my fiance before it happens. If she can feel it happening, she tells my fiance by squawking up a storm. Willow knows before I know.
2. When I am in the middle of an attack, they will come and sit with me to ground me. I think they know, because they will follow me around screaming if I don't sit down, hold them, and bury my face in their necks. Harley is special for this.
3. On a day to day basis, they give me something to take care of that I see as more important than myself. It forces me to clean every day thoroughly, walk around, and exercise by cleaning. It also keeps my mind stimulated and helps me avoid depressive thoughts. Their affection is also so special, that it reminds me I am loved 😍
4. When I am depressed I tend to want to sleep in, more or less involuntarily. Having them makes me get out of bed to let them out. Roxanne is my alarm clock. She crows. She is a buff orpington hen who crows. It sounds like an elephant's trumpet. I get up let them out, clean the mornings carnage of morning poops, and when I come back in to lay down after that, they all RUN to cuddle me, UNTIL 11:30. Once 11:30 rolls around, it's Lilly's time to shine. Lilly is my lavender orpington. And Lilly will be at my head in with her beak if I even entertain the idea of sleeping past 11:30. She goes for my temple, my ear, and my nose. Needless to say, the urge to sleep is no longer there. She wants me to rub her shoulders...no joke. She flops over once I finally put my hand on her and rub her shoulder of choice.
5. Over-all they just make me very happy and fullfilled. Each one has a special place in my heart. Ignatius, my beilefelder, and Macey, my splash maran, are the heart. They always come up for hugs and fight over who gets hugs first. Agatha is a gremlin, but she will always delight me with her antics, like for example, when I leave the room and come back, and she just broody screams in my face. It made me jump the first time it happened. And it still makes every time. Then there's my special boy, Oliver. While he lives somewhere else, we take care of him every night, and most Sundays he goes on outings in my truck and to the parks. He loves car rides and sits on the council of the truck. People love seeing him when I take him to the feed store. Or to order at fast food places lol.
Other antics include, God forbid if I want to go downstairs to grab a snack, because Willow will roar, Roxanne will trumpet, and Lilly will pitch a fit.
So yeah, that's how my therapy chickens help me in a detailed fashion. Hope it was a fun read💖🐓
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Chickens snacking on California buckwheat and Toyon berries. (Please note Toyon is legally protected in CA and cannot be foraged from the wild. We have our own plants to harvest from).
Both plants are drought tolerant and native to Southern California. The Toyon berries are a bit too fibrous for my taste (eating them is like trying to eat cherry flavored chewing gum), but the buckwheat produces an acceptable flour substitute (from gorgeous seed heads not pictured). I'm pruning back the buckwheat to shape it up for next year, so chickens get the prunings. The young shots of the buckwheat are extremely tasty, especially when added to salad (they have a sour lemon taste like sorrel).
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We have a new rooster to add to our coop! We have had hero for a few days now getting him adjusted to the hens. This evening we will be letting him mengle with his new ladies. I will have an update for you all tomorrow
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