It never fails now the minute the damned chickens hear the log splitter start up they come running from all over the farm to swarm me. I spend as much time moving chickens out of the way so they won't get squished as I do splitting the actual wood.
Yesterday after I put the first coat of Ford gray on the bottom section of the hood I carefully slipped out and quietly opened the gate, eased the log splitter out very gently and backed the truck into place.
There wasn't a chicken in sight. Near as I could tell they were all way down by the loafing shed a good 100 yards away from me with the entire barn between us.
I started up the log splitter and within about 2 minutes I was mobbed by a chicken feeding frenzy.
Of course here came Rocky all pissed off that I managed yet again to steal his show and his hens away from him. Rocky simply hates for me to be around his hens and tries everything he can to get them to leave the log splitter area but they are having none of his crap. They want BUGS!!!!
Even the normally much shyer hens come out and climb over my boots when the log splitter is running. This is the little Hamburg hen I named Little Bit but has since been re-named Chickenburger by my son. I am guessing because I told him she was a Hamburg chicken? Whatever his reasoning the name stuck. Normally Chickenburger is quite secretive, standoffish and usually by herself but the call of the log splitter is like a dinner bell.
The two Buffs we have came as well. They are usually way off in the pasture foraging and rarely stick close to the barn during daylight. They too made the pilgrimage in hopes of finding some juicy bugs and worms.
Even the normally well hidden and rarely seen Americuna or Easter Eggers came running and none were disappointed. I split up about half a row down to the bottom logs and there were all kinds of worms coming up to the surface there along with pillbugs and wood roaches. One log was filled with rotten wood and had some larvae inside I dumped out for the girls. They attacked like a pack of per-historic raptors.
When the splitting ended the hens all took off for their usual digging grounds. Not so much as a thank you.
Oh well least I get their eggs!!!
Working again today. Will be interested to see if this post actually updates. Been having bad luck with the updating again of course.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!!!!
When I let the chickens free range they would be right beside the horse in the summer and would grab insects that he disturbed in the grass. He just ignored them so they would hang with him when he was near their coop. They really carve out their own niche when it comes to getting high quality food like bugs. I haven't done it yet but a plan is to fence off a part of the garden and plant things like beans that the chickens don't show much interest in and let them free range in there to work on insects and slugs.
ReplyDeleteSf - Ya I been wondering about the chickens and my garden this year. I don't think I am going to be doing a large garden this year either so it may not be an issue yet.
DeleteThe worst is when you're butchering chickens and the chickens hang around for anything (chicken parts, blood, etc.) you accidentally drop. It's disgusting how cannibalistic they are.
ReplyDeleteIf they only had teeth, there would be nothing left. They are like what dinosaurs must have been like.
DeleteRose and Sf - LOL you should see em tear a mouse apart or a mole of a toad. It's like horrible :)
Deleteand this is why we love chickens :O). How can you not ... they are the best! Okay they can be annoying beyond belief as well. But over all they are the best :O).
ReplyDeleteTexan - Well they are tearing up all the flower beds :)
DeleteI cut the meat off of an emu and let the ants clean off the skeleton. Looked just like a dinosaur skeleton. It removed all doubt about what birds evolved from.
ReplyDeleteMV - I hope we humans never meet a similar evolutionary fate.
DeleteMade me laugh reading your description. Chickens really are the most fun, and sometimes a little smarter than folks give the credit for.
ReplyDeleteTB - They seem to have a singular cunning when it comes to food. Otherwise well let's say some fot hem seem to have anti-sense :)
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