random stuff i think about
In the mood to write...
Chickens. The state of the chickens. I have 4 chickens. Little Comfort - a 7 year old Speckled Sussex. The only one left of the original flock that we got in 2017. I had the cancer diagnosis that spring and just wanted to do something that had a commitment to the future. We got 3 ISO Browns and 3 Speckled Sussexes. Little Comfort is a nice chicken. Doesn't pick on anyone though she will peck AT others but she doesn't actually touch them. She's big and round and healthy looking now. She got her name because she was the littlest one out of the original 6. At one time she was picked on by certain ISO Browns. But they're all gone and she's still here. Good for her. She's definitely part of the flock but she keeps to herself a lot of the time - lets the "youngsters" do their own thing. Blondie, Sunshine and Dorothy are the names of the 3 left from the 6 chickens we got in 2020. Sunshine is another "good" chicken. Likes to crow like a rooster and she's gotten pretty good at it. Doesn't pick on other chickens. I've actually seen her get between a mean chicken and its victim to break it up. She's a Rhode Island Red. That's Dave's favorite breed of chicken so we had to get some. She was a very good layer till earlier this summer when she got sick from something. Diarrhea, just standing around looking miserable and not eating. I didn't know what to do. I'm not a very good chicken keeper really. I'm good at feeding and taking care of their daily needs but when they get sick I don't know much. I tried looking it up on the internet and found some information that I hoped would help. Gave her an Epsom salt bath to clean her bottom up and started her on some probiotics and electrolytes. She did get better and seems to be back to her old self. Though she hasn't gotten back to laying eggs. That's okay. I'm in favor of her taking the time to put all her efforts into getting strong again. It's alright if she never lays another egg. Dorothy (a Black Australorp) is my favorite. The outlier, low man on the totem pole, she who will be picked on. She looks so raggedy. He neck is nearly bald and her back feathers are ripped up and rough. Every time she starts to grow back some feathers they disappear. It's Blondie doing it. Dorothy and Blondie have some kind of weird relationship. Blondie picks on Dorothy exclusively. She faux "mates" with her (jumps on her back and humps her) at least once a day. Blondie is the best layer. We get one green egg nearly every other day from her - the only chicken who financially makes sense. Blondie chases Dorothy away from where the food is all the time but yesterday when I threw some sunflower seeds on the ground all the chickens except for Dorothy came running. She was sitting in the coop in the nest box. Surprisingly Blondie went up into the coop and forced Dorothy to come out to get some. Then she chased her to the outer perimeter. Couldn't let her be in the inner circle to eat, but she wanted her there to get some. Another time Blondie wasn't feeling well and was hunkered down on the grass, not doing the usual hunting for bugs that chickens usually do. Dorothy went and sat down beside her to keep her company. Head to head. They stayed like that till Blondie felt better, got up and started picking on Dorothy again. I do not understand the pecking order in chickens, in animals. It's certainly not a democratic process.
Chickens. The state of the chickens. I have 4 chickens. Little Comfort - a 7 year old Speckled Sussex. The only one left of the original flock that we got in 2017. I had the cancer diagnosis that spring and just wanted to do something that had a commitment to the future. We got 3 ISO Browns and 3 Speckled Sussexes. Little Comfort is a nice chicken. Doesn't pick on anyone though she will peck AT others but she doesn't actually touch them. She's big and round and healthy looking now. She got her name because she was the littlest one out of the original 6. At one time she was picked on by certain ISO Browns. But they're all gone and she's still here. Good for her. She's definitely part of the flock but she keeps to herself a lot of the time - lets the "youngsters" do their own thing. Blondie, Sunshine and Dorothy are the names of the 3 left from the 6 chickens we got in 2020. Sunshine is another "good" chicken. Likes to crow like a rooster and she's gotten pretty good at it. Doesn't pick on other chickens. I've actually seen her get between a mean chicken and its victim to break it up. She's a Rhode Island Red. That's Dave's favorite breed of chicken so we had to get some. She was a very good layer till earlier this summer when she got sick from something. Diarrhea, just standing around looking miserable and not eating. I didn't know what to do. I'm not a very good chicken keeper really. I'm good at feeding and taking care of their daily needs but when they get sick I don't know much. I tried looking it up on the internet and found some information that I hoped would help. Gave her an Epsom salt bath to clean her bottom up and started her on some probiotics and electrolytes. She did get better and seems to be back to her old self. Though she hasn't gotten back to laying eggs. That's okay. I'm in favor of her taking the time to put all her efforts into getting strong again. It's alright if she never lays another egg. Dorothy (a Black Australorp) is my favorite. The outlier, low man on the totem pole, she who will be picked on. She looks so raggedy. He neck is nearly bald and her back feathers are ripped up and rough. Every time she starts to grow back some feathers they disappear. It's Blondie doing it. Dorothy and Blondie have some kind of weird relationship. Blondie picks on Dorothy exclusively. She faux "mates" with her (jumps on her back and humps her) at least once a day. Blondie is the best layer. We get one green egg nearly every other day from her - the only chicken who financially makes sense. Blondie chases Dorothy away from where the food is all the time but yesterday when I threw some sunflower seeds on the ground all the chickens except for Dorothy came running. She was sitting in the coop in the nest box. Surprisingly Blondie went up into the coop and forced Dorothy to come out to get some. Then she chased her to the outer perimeter. Couldn't let her be in the inner circle to eat, but she wanted her there to get some. Another time Blondie wasn't feeling well and was hunkered down on the grass, not doing the usual hunting for bugs that chickens usually do. Dorothy went and sat down beside her to keep her company. Head to head. They stayed like that till Blondie felt better, got up and started picking on Dorothy again. I do not understand the pecking order in chickens, in animals. It's certainly not a democratic process.