Behaviours

[kenya]

So I hear squacking look out and see Spot chasing a white silkie. My first thought was he's decided that Pauli must go and I thought you want another time out. But no he was chasing a hen all over till she went over to where the rest of the hens and Pauli were, then he was happy. I watched to see if anything else would happen but no now everyone was happy. Makes me laugh, I think he was rounding everyone up to were he could keep an eye on them.
Later on it started to rain, so there they sat out in the rain and I thought no way, you'll all get sick you are going in. So I went out with the broom to chase them in and of course one black hen says, NO I'M NOT GOING IN!!! Led me a merry chase but finally she gave in and went inside. Once again some mean things were said about me. Ungratefull brats!
Come on lets hear your adventures with your brats.

[Jaye]

This is not a recent story, but one day shortly after we started our chicken adventure, when I arrived home from work, one of our neighbours came over, all concerned, to tell me that earlier on that day he had witnessed one of the chickens having a seizure. I went down to the run to check, and all the girls were fine, happily scratching and pecking. I asked him where he had seen this, and he pointed to the dust bath. I realized then that what he had thought was a hen in the throes of an epileptic fit was actually one of the girls enjoying a dust bath.

[Ontario Chick]

This time of year the chickens go out free range in groups, so no roosters are neighbors, which at this point means, all the Ameraucana, they have no rooster, Jewel and his 3 ladies in the dog run and Jr and his ladies in front of the barn, which means Him and Jewel are throwing straw and bits of grass thru 2 fences, just so there is no misunderstanding who is in charge where.
Next shift Mactawish the grand old man at 4 years old, He who only prefers Columbian coloring, Thank you very much, no use for Blues.
Last week I have aded to his 7 favorite Columbians and 2 Black hens he tolerates, Brand NEW 5 Black pullets.
I can tell he holds no animosity for them, apparently Black color doesn't bother him, as long as they aren't Blue?
He likes to keep his girls together and one of the Columbian hens strayed too far from the flock and I watch him come out like bat out of hot place across the paddock right past the 5 Black pullets, (they could be invisible) gets to his one stray, rounds her up as if he was a border collie, she obviously knows the system as they both boot it back right past the Black 5 without giving them nary a glance.
So as far as I can tell, although he tolerates them, they aren't HIS, and if a fox showed up, he might help him round up the
Black ones as long as he leaves the Columbians. :)

[Killerbunny]

Sister, my very best broody girl, is a little "demanding" as @windwalkingwolf put it. Anyone sitting on the patio will have the chair circled until you give treats but only "good" treats. One year she marched up with the chicks to teach them who the "treat fairy" is. Wonky Toe has learned that if she is very quiet when she takes her treats from us the others don't realise it and she gets more until they rush over. She is a touch portly now!

[windwalkingwolf]

Yesterday, I put the 4-month-old goslings out to nibble on the new grass and get a bath in their tub while I cleaned their shed. It only took me about five minutes, but when I was done, there were no geese to be seen or heard. I circled the house, went to the road and looked up and down, even looked in the barn. No white troublemakers anywhere, as far as I could see. Then I thought I heard the distant boops of a baby goose honk, so started walking west on my road. The little buggers had gone down and across the road, and were playing in a greasy flooded spot in our neighbours' barren soy field. I guess they felt they weren't getting enough Roundup in their diet? Or that they were TOO white and needed some camoflage. Buggers.

[Ontario Chick]

That reminded me of a very old one...
When we moved here, we moved with bunch of critters, amongst them 6 goslings.
Same as Jan, I put them on fresh grass, 5 min later, no goslings.
It seemed pretty obvious they couldn't have gone far, but they simply disappeared and I was somewhat reluctant to go banging on neighbours doors saying Hi, I am your new neighbour , have you seen my goslings, but I was starting to seriously consider it, when I spotted movement on neighbours front lawn and there they were,my lost goslings, snuggled up to the 2 plastic swans and looking very decorative indeed.

[Kbr42]

So, I trained my chicks it's time to go in their outdoor coop by saying 'HA-HA! And using a stick to encourage them . It usually works I have 3 ways to get into their space. So I chase them in one side and whip around and close the other doors. All good, except when I'm I a hurry and my little banty Cochin, Lucy, says nope. I have chased her around both the coop and the outdoor pen up to 10x before getting her back into to pen. Lol Always when I need to leave for work...

[kenya]

So, I trained my chicks it's time to go in their outdoor coop by saying 'HA-HA! And using a stick to encourage them . It usually works I have 3 ways to get into their space. So I chase them in one side and whip around and close the other doors. All good, except when I'm I a hurry and my little banty Cochin, Lucy, says nope. I have chased her around both the coop and the outdoor pen up to 10x before getting her back into to pen. Lol Always when I need to leave for work...

I'll bet she says mean things about you too, sometimes they can be so mean.

[kenya]

Ha! Ha! Yes when you go looking for them they always go somewhere you weren't expecting.
One time I had the birds out freeranging and silly me I was using the weed eater not even thinking it would scare the chickens. Well when I stopped they had disappeared, slowly they started showing up but all day 2 silky hens didn't turn up. It was getting late so I had Summer track them. I had never had her track chickens before so I wasn't sure she was leading me to them. She took me to the back of the property into a mess of raspberry and blackberry bushes. I looked into that tangle but couldn't see them and figured Summer had led me astray. I though that's it they'll never survive the night. I looked out 30 minutes later and thought I saw a flash of white back by the raspberry bushes and sure enough saw one of the girls. I ran out caught her and thought if Summer was right about one bird maybe she was right about both. I clawed my way into the bushes and sure enough there was the other girl, hidden quite well , even though she was white I could barely see her. I had never seen the chickens ever go that far back on the property. Poor Summer was right and I didn't listen. One of the first things you learn when tracking is trust your dog, woops.

[Kbr42]

The same silly banty Cochin, Lucy, had just broke her broodiness and not for love nor money would she go into the hen house. She ran and i couldn't catch. It was getting dark and she wasn't coming for me.
I have a standard Olive Egger Rooster, Oliver, i got himoff his perch and watched as he 'talked' her back into the hen house. It was the one of the most fascinating interactions between Oilver and his hens I had ever seen.
To this day, he is the best Rooster!