On Sunday, I let our chickens out of their coop to run around freely for the first time. I was surprised by how quickly they took to it. They started scratching around in the grass and dirt, grazing on different tree and bush leaves, weeds, blossoms, and blades of grass. They stretched out in the sun, and gave themselves dust baths. How amazing that this behavior was encoded in them from the time they were single-celled eggs a couple of months ago. How do they know which things are good to eat? Jane and I set up a couple of chairs on the lawn and watched them for two hours in the afternoon sun. When the sky turned to dusk, the chickens lined up and walked back into the coop and up the inclined ramp into the cozy closed off section.
Videos: Chickens experiencing their first taste of life outside the coop | Jane bugging our chickens
- Chickens stop rabbits from fighting – Boing Boing
- Band features two keyboard-playing chickens – Boing Boing
- Phone call: Can I keep chickens in Chicago – Boing Boing
- Chicken tractor design – Boing Boing
- Homegrown Evolution blog on the ethics of raising chickens – Boing …
- Plymouth Rock Monthly — old magazine for chicken aficionados …
- Urban chicken controversy in Montana – Boing Boing