Tuesday Ten: Chickens

The Barn Yard ~Claude Guilleminet


Ten Cool Things about Chickens

1. They make chuckley homey little chicken noises. Some day I'll get out there and record their chicken noises and put them on my blog. Or else I'll think about it every once in a while and think, "Yeah, I should do that."

2. Chickens sure are pretty. If you've never met a well-cared-for hen, you probably don't realize just how pretty chickens can be. They're lovely.

3. They're also a little bit ridiculous, which is endearing. They bob when they walk, they peck at the ground, they squawk and ruffle at the cats, they chatter and gossip with one another just like little old ladies.

4. Fresh eggs. Yum. Chickens earn their keep. Farm-fresh eggs taste better, the yolks are bright orange, and there's something satisfying about eating eggs laid by your very own chickens.

5. Chicken sayings. "Coming home to roost." Chickens actually do that. "Pecking order." Yup, they do that too. "Running around likes chickens with their heads cut off." Oh yes. As a matter of fact, when I was a kid, my sister and I used to have to watch the chickens to see where they went after Dad cut their heads off. Otherwise they'd get lost in the tall grass behind the chopping block. Those darn chickens ran everywhere, spurting blood. Morbid child that I was, I thought it was great fun. And waaaaaaay better than having to do the stinky messy job of helping to pluck the darn things. Bleah!

6. Chickens eat snails. And slugs. And bugs and weeds and all manner of things with which I do not care to deal. I love chickens. Any creature willing to eat a slug is tops in my book. They'll also eat old lettuce, celery tops, apple peels, leftover oatmeal....and think they're getting a great treat! The list of things that we can throw out in the chicken yard to make the chickens happy is nearly endless.

7. They have personalities. Lucy is brave. She's the chicken leader. She's bossy and independent and likes her space. She doesn't like to be held but she'll tolerate it. She was the only chicken willing to walk around in the snow. Ethel's kind of, you know, a chicken. I'd say pardon the pun, but I did it on purpose because I know you can't throw things at me. Ha! Anyway, Ethel's not an adventurous gal. She absolutely refuses to walk in the snow. She's spent the entire time since it's snowed in the coop. Except for the snow thing, she follows Lucy around like a shadow, mostly because, I suspect, she's not too bright. She doesn't want to have to think for herself. She squawks like I'm a fox or a raccoon every time I pick her up to move her. Hattie is a pretty mellow gal. She doesn't mind being picked up and held and petted. She's kind of her own chicken, though. She's not in charge like Lucy or brainless like Ethel. She hangs out with the others but she'll go off on her own too. Hattie's my favorite. For a chicken she's kind of sweet.

8. Fried chicken. Chicken and dumplings. Chicken noodle soup. Chicken pot pie. Barbequed chicken. Chicken salad sandwiches. I'm not going to eat my three feathered friends, but I sure can't wait until the day I can raise chickens to eat.




9. There are lots of different varieties of chickens. You can even have chickens that look like feathered poodles. Chicken people get all excited about different kinds of chickens. It's a little bit scary, even. Kind of like...oh, homeschoolers getting all carried away by math books and stuff. (Uh, not that I know anyone who does that. Heh...heh...)

10. Chickens remind me of growing up on a farm in the country. Gathering eggs, chasing the chickens (shhh...don't tell my mom), climbing the trees next to the chicken pen, throwing out scratch just to see the chickens come running....

11. They put themselves to bed. This cracks me up. No need to round them up. When it gets dark they hop up into their little chicken house. All you have to do is go out and shut the door so that other critters don't decide to join them.

And last, but not least, because I couldn't stop with just ten tonight so may as well make it an even dozen (just like eggs)...

12. Rubber chickens are funny. Cliche? Sure. Ugly and kind of weird? Well, yes. But still funny.

Cristy's Ten Random Thoughts about Chickens