Paging those that keep chickens

I can't believe how many people on here keep chickens.

Okay, another question: how many of you clip wings?

--
Veggie Dave
http://www.iq18films.co.uk

"To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim
that Jesus was not born of a virgin." Cardinal Bellarmine

 

Oh yeah. And they do go utterly apeshit for some things. Sweet corn.
Porridge oats. And a really nasty organic health food bar made of seeds
and coated in carob - freebies sent into the office.

We nibbled a few, thought them horrible, and were going to throw them
away, but the chickens thought they were God's Gift.

 

Trust me. Even unclipped, they don't fly.

 

I gave a mate a lift to a bike shop/breakers near Stafford a year back. The
cook in the greasy spoon in the car park was just cutting the rinds off
several pounds of bacon. He looked quite surprised when I asked him for
them. The chooks thought they were in heaven.

--
Malc

Rusted and ropy.
Dog-eared old copy.
Vintage and classic,
or just plain Jurassic:
all words to describe me.

 

Yup. Ours can reach a height of about 4 ft if we don't. As the fence is
about 4 ft high.....

--
Malc

Rusted and ropy.
Dog-eared old copy.
Vintage and classic,
or just plain Jurassic:
all words to describe me.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, The Older

And grapes[1]. Ours will kill for grapes. The latest two arrivals, who
had never seen a grape in their lives, got the hang of them incredibly
quickly. To the point that a couple of weeks ago Mrs WUN was walking up
the garden with a chicken hanging by its beak from the string on her
hoodie, in the vague hope that there might be another grape in the
offing.

TOG is right, chickens are very, very stupid. But hugely amusing, and
the eggs are nice.

Do it.


[1] Savin' yer presence, yerroner.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Veggie Dave

Just the one. Then they stall and spin in when they try to get over the
fence to the neighbours.

 

Put their enclosure around a fruit tree, the winfalls enrich their diet and
they eat plenty of the wasps that go after the rotting fruit in autumn.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, malc

One of ours can get 85% of the way across the pond.

Not great swimmers, chickens.

 

Yup, if you've got a vine in the garden fence it off. We didn't :-(

--
Malc

Rusted and ropy.
Dog-eared old copy.
Vintage and classic,
or just plain Jurassic:
all words to describe me.

 

How did it taste afterwards, after being in the oven for 2 hrs at 170
Degrees ?

Paul.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, zymurgy

I have no clue. She's a plump little thing but she moulted earlier this
year. She's all feathers, barely a McNugget on her.

 

Wicked Uncle Nigel posted:

So I'm guessing it doesn't just decide it can't make it, and turn
back?

 

A.Lee said:

I guess we could try it without a run and just using the coop for a
while and see what happens

 

Tell it to keep under 10,000 feet.

 

Superb.

 

Chickens don't have taste buds, do they?

When I were a lad, mum kept chickens but they kept laying eggs and then
promptly eating them. Non-one really knew why, but mum decided she
would "put them off" by filling eggshells with English Mustard and
giving those the the chickens to eat instead. And they did -
absolutely loved them!

 

Our first pair learned how to climb trees. Don't ask me how, but
they'd ascend maybe 15 feet into the sycamore, and roost there,
dreaming of their ancestry when they could soar on thermals, no doubt.

The Doctor had a Very Long Pole which she used to dislodge them. She'd
carefull position the end under a chicken's arse and give it a good
shove. There'd be a squawk, a frantic flapping, and lo! Chook would be
airborne! She used to claim that they 'glided' but really they glided
like a Scorpion tank chucked out of the back of a Hercules. You could
feel the thump when they hit terra firma through the soles of your
shoes. Amazingly, they never injured themselves.

Our chooks have also seen off every cat in the neighbourhood. Every.
Single. One. They've all had a go, because these are birds, and they
know what birds are and (ipso facto) these ones smell of chicken,
which to a cat is a Good Thing. And then they discover that chickens
have sharp beaks and know how to use 'em. It's always amusing when
there's a new cat in town. We watch from the kitchen window as it
tries its luck.

 

Doh. That's what I meant to type.

They are, yeah, but they do the job, require no maintenance and are
certainly fox-proof.