The joy of chickenship

It’s that time of year when the chickens (and maybe everyone else) are truly experiencing cabin fever. They free-range just about every day in the spring, summer, and fall. In winter, the closest they get to a sense of freedom is hanging out in the chicken run on slightly warmer days. I’ve found that the couple hours of outdoor bliss on sunny winter days mostly leads to a jackpot dinner for wild, hungry critters.

them to peck some kind of tune. It didn’t work like it does in reels. I’ve never put pants on my chickens or attempted to tie on little hats, but I do always wonder about the behind-the-scenes efforts when I see those kinds of videos.

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With who knows how many weeks left of winter, I try to bring a little excitement to my small feathered flock to shake up their days and to allow some reprieve for the ones at the bottom of the pecking order. I give them some time to wander inside our shed for a change of scenery as I do my chicken choring, but herd them back into the coop before I leave as we’re prone to unintentionally house an opossum or two on especially cold winter days. The chickens are fed a healthy amount of treats: minnows, mealworms, and an assortment of produce. Even a cannibalistic serving of scrambled eggs with crushed eggshells from time to time (something I never would have fathomed before chicken life).

By Laura Cole