Category Archives: Chickens

A treat for Bonnie

August 21, 2021Chickenssusanmanzke

Every day, I hand my hens a little treat. Bonnie is the only one who will take it from my fingers.

This video shows her taking a bit of bread. Pecking a bite from the slice was too much for her, though if I set it down and stepped back, she and the other two hens would peck away at it.

My other two girls watched from a distance. They will not venture this close.

Bonnie was hand-raised by my friend Kathy. When it was impossible to keep her chicks in town, they came to me. Bonnie is the only one remaining.

Once in a while, I made popcorn for them, but they had that every day and off of it for a while. Now I share stale bread, melon rind, and other table scraps.

Maybe one day I’ll be able to temp the others to come if I bring them grapes. That’s the girls’ all-time favorite treat.

Until next time, that’s it from Sunnybook Farm.

Chickens on the run

August 7, 2021Chickens, petssusanmanzke

They are chickens, but they are also pets.

From left to right: Red (aka Brownie), snowflake, and Bonnie. Watch my feathered pets run for the front porch.

They make me laugh as they run.

There’s leftover cat food there. Chickens will eat anything, yes, even chicken.

Now all I have to do is to worry that they won’t get eaten by a wild predator. I hate keeping them locked up all day. They love getting out to munch on bugs and clover, and cat food. It’s a risk but that’s life.

Until next time, that’s it from Sunnybook Farm.

Down to three

July 23, 2021Chickens, wildlifesusanmanzke

One moment I had four hens. The next I didn’t.

It was afternoon when I saw my little flock walking around my flower bed. Well I thought it was my flock of four. What I saw was only three. I just thought the other one was out of sight, but close by.

Marble didn’t show up when it came time to roost that evening.

Marble is farthest left in this photo. I looked around for her. Eventually, close to the soybean field, I found her wing.

I’m keeping my last three hens inside today. Whatever ate Marble may return for another easy meal.

It’s hard raising pets that are tasty.

Darn those stubborn chickens

June 30, 2021animals, Chickens, Weathersusanmanzke

The storm clouds were rolling in and I continued to run around the yard.

Why? I continued to risk my life because I was trying to coax my four stupid hens to go inside their coop before the rain arrived.

I finally gave up and went into the house. I took this video from the porch as the chickens decided to get out of the rain.

This reminds me of an incident when I was a kid. The sky had turned green. Tornados were in the area and my mother was outside trying to get the goat in. I guess I take after my mother. We’d both be flying in the sky, holding onto our animals, as we flew to Oz.