Chicken Pics

It's been a while since I posted anything about our chickens.  So, thought I'd share a few comments and pictures of them.

Chickens are incredibly curious.  I was out in the pen, sitting on the ground, trying to get some good pictures of them.  (They don't hold still and pose very well.) This one came right up to the camera and I got a good shot of her looking straight into the lens.  Shortly after this, she gave the camera an inquisitive peck to check it out, but then decided it was not good to eat and went her way.

 

Below they are "helping" Tom work on the fence.  They come right up to him and peck the buttons on his shirt and anything else that looks interesting to them.  Tom has all of them named.

This chicken is a New Hampshire Red.  They are "kin" to Rhode Island Red chickens, but are bred to be a little meatier (in case you want to eat them).  We started out with 3 New Hampshire Red chickens, but a snake got one of them when they were little chicks and one of them died for no obvious reason.  We just found her dead in the pen one day.  This chicken is named Gertrude.

The chicken below is a hybrid.  I'm not sure what two breeds were bred to get this hybrid.  We purchased the chickens from our local Atwoods store in the spring of 2012.  They were just a couple of weeks old when we got them.   Atwoods sells baby chicks and ducks in the spring and fall each year.  We bought 3 of these hybrids and 3 of the New Hampshire Reds above.  We still have all 3 of the hybrids left.   Not sure if that means they have better luck than the New Hampshire Red chickens or what.

Here's another picture of Gertrude.  Chickens are constantly looking at the ground for bugs and other goodies.

Here they are taking dust baths.  This helps them rid themselves of mites and other pests.

Chickens have very good eyesight.  They can easily detect a grasshopper or caterpillar that is camouflaged in the grass.  I understand that scientists have come to the conclusion that birds descended from dinosaurs.  I can certainly believe that.  Just look at the chicken's eye below.  Doesn't that remind you or a T-Rex eye.....at least what Jurassic Park led us to believe a T-Rex eye looks like? 

It is difficult to capture a picture of a chicken scratching in the dirt.  Notice the chicken in the picture below has scratched out a hole.  She sort of does this little dance where she steps forward and scratches the dirt with both her feet, then steps back right quick and looks to see what has been uncovered.   It is amazing of how deep these holes can be.  Their pen looks like a war zone with huge bomb craters!

 And, finally here are 3 of them parading around the pen.   You can see my shadow where I am sitting trying to take their picture.  

Chickens are fascinating creatures.  I could sit for hours and watch them.  But, alas, I really need to get busy and get something useful accomplished today, so I'd better stop writing and get on with the day.