It's time for Tuesdays' Show & Tail' over at Angela's West Virginia Treasures! If you have a cute story and picture of a pet, or any furry (or non-furry) friend, you are welcome to join in! Check her blog for the rules, post away - and thanks, Angela, for being our host!
I sure love my pet hens, that is for sure! Mr. Wonderful wasn't too keen on Chicken Keeping when I got my new "peepers" last spring. He quickly changed his tune, and now enjoys watching them as much as I do, and asks about their daily antics whenever I neglect to mention them to him.
Most folks buy chicken feed in bags from their local mill or farm stores, but some claim they feed the hens whatever table scraps are left over from supper in the evening. My girls love tomatoes - canned or fresh, they aren't particular. Grapes are another favorite - they spear the grapes with their beaks and run around to a secluded spot to consume their prize, then return for more!
Some things to avoid feeding your chickens are raw potato skins (they must be cooked and rinsed well before feeding), Lilly of the Valley, acorns, and long tough grasses (which can plug up the chicken's crop!). Foods with too much salt, that contain cocoa powder or chocolate, or undercooked beans and peas are bad for chickens too. And it goes without saying that spoiled foods should not be offered - if they would make a human sick, they will be dangerous to feed to an animal!Fun winter entertainment for chickens: Suspend a suet cage feeder (found in the wild bird department of feed stores) from the chicken house and fill it with treats they enjoy - tomatoes, greens, grapes, and bean sprouts! Stand back and watch the fun!
Take good care of your chickens, and they will reward you with yummy delicious eggs!
11 comments:
It's a good thing I don't have chickens Monica! Plus it is a good thing I haven't taken my potato peelings to my neighbor's chickens as I didn't know that they could harm them! I had even toyed with the idea of taking them some peelings just last week when we had all of that snow on the ground. My neighbor would have shot me, literally! She packs a pistol!
Thanks so much for joining in again this week!
Tuesdays' Show & Tail!
Angela
The chickens are adorable! We live in the city so we can't have any...sigh. Our momma would just ♥ to have some to get eggs from and to play with - do chickens play?
Your hens are positively beautiful, and look so healthy.
Just saw today on our country drive, grapefruit halves left out for the hens and the goats. I think the goats also gnaw at the barn door out there!
Our 2 year old princess was sitting on my lap as I read your blog, and she got so excited when she saw the baby chicks, I thought she was going to jump right off my knee.
I wish we had a place we could keep chickens. Homemade cinnamon rolls taste so much better if they are made with farmfresh eggs.
I have hens and I didn't know about potato peels. I usually throw the peels in our compost but this is something folks should know.
We all want to keep our chickens healthy. Thanks for the information.
Prolly the solanine in the potato skin could hurt the chickens...stuff is BAD...
In the Great Depression and then the war, people could not have made it without having chickens, even a milk cow, and the right to water their gardens -- now that's "against the law" in too many places...
Well, I did a double take and had to enlarge your first photo, because it looked to me as if a tiny black kitten had invaded the chicken box! I see it's a sweet black chick instead. So funny! You have a bunch of pretty girls!
Debra
People who get eggs from you have no idea how lucky they are and how loved those hens are!
sandie
If I ever get a house in the country (which is on my someday to do list), I want chickens so bad! And I want a goat. My husband said we have kids and that's enough animals for us. HA HA LOVE your pictures - I bet you could make some cute Easter cards! ♥
Hi!
Beautiful chickens! I really like that black one. I used to have Rhode Island Reds a looooong time ago. Have a great day!
Sherrie
A View of My Life
Baby chicks are adorable!!! I wish we could have them, but not with our current pups. Thanks so much for sharing!
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