Category Archives: Chickens

Chicken as prey

July 21, 2020cats, Chickens, Familysusanmanzke

A city friend asked me about having chickens and cats on the farm. “Don’t the cats kill the chickens?

The answer is, “No.”

Mostly the cats and the chickens ignore each other as displayed in this short video.

“What about cats eating chicks? Surely they would attack a tiny chick.

The answer is the same. “No.” But for a different reason, that being the mother hen. If you want to be attacked by a chicken, just try to pick up one of her babies. Hens become wild (mad as a wet hen), like any mother having her child/children threatened would.

When I was a teenager I raised chickens and ducks. A Chicago cousin wanted to hold a baby duck. I advised Keith to leave it alone. Keith didn’t listen. I let the mother do the rest.

Keith grabbed a baby duck. It cheeped a cry to its mother. The hen heard the call. Enraged she flew across the yard, attacking Keith. My cousin quickly put the duckling down. The mother grumbled at him in duck language as she ushered her baby away. Keith never touched another baby after that day. I never had to warn him again. That duck said it all.

Dogs may grab a chicken if given the chance, so will raccoons and coyotes. But as for cats eating a healthy chicken, no. At least I’ve never had that problem.

Chicken feet

July 15, 2020Chickens, petssusanmanzke

I thought I’d share two clips of my older hens after the storm today.

The first hen I call Brownie. She has another name or two given to her by grandchildren, but I forget what they named her.

Silver is also known as Chocolate Chip. She was talking to herself as she wandered about the yard.

Soon after taking these videos, I encouraged them to go into their coop before another rain shower watered the farm again.

Hens make nice pets AND they give me eggs, too.

“Come and get it!”

June 14, 2020animals, cats, Chickenssusanmanzke

What happens when I call “Kitty, Kitty”? Cats come for the food but so do my hens.

It’s supper time, and my 4 hens won’t head into their roost until they have a nibble of cat food.

The cats do not bother the hens. They even move out of their way when all four rush up onto the porch. The chickens never have to worry about our cats considering them as a meal.

Later, after dark, the raccoon/s visit to look for crumbs.

Critters abound on Sunnybook Farm.

Eggs of different colors

April 26, 2020animals, Chickens, wildlifesusanmanzke

Every day, I go to the chicken coop and look for eggs. I have five hens, but only rarely do I have five eggs. Mostly, I get two or three.

So where did the little blue egg come from? Not my chickens, for sure.

The little egg was not near a tree. It was on the edge of the road, on the blacktop. Really odd, so I picked it up.

I wonder about the bird (probably a robin) who left her egg in an inappropriate location.

Usually, I find eggs that were hatched, broken into pieces. This was whole.

I had found a similar egg long ago. I put it in a pill bottle, set it in the refrigerator for years. After that long period, the inside dried up and eventually went to a science teacher–I will try to do the same with this one.

The chicken eggs were used for a pecan pie. They were delicious.

Today I shared with you just a little bit about the wildlife on Sunnybook Farm. I hope you can find nature’s beauty where you live, too.

The challenge

March 17, 2020animals, Chickens, foodsusanmanzke

I am challenging myself to write something on my blog every day. I’ve been trying to do this for some time now, but now, with the new changes in the world, it has become even more difficult. I won’t be getting out as much now.

I have food in the pantry, the refrigerator, and in the freezer. I even make my own bread–I got in the habit of making bread because Bob only liked my bread and not any store-bought varieties. Now I’m hooked on my own baking, too.

On a news report, I heard some of the food that people need to replenish often. They talked about needing bread, eggs, and milk.

Besides making bread, my hens help solve the egg problem for me. I usually get two to three a day. When I feed the girls I gather eggs and thank them for their efforts.

Bob made the nest boxes we have out of five-gallon buckets. The girls seem to like one more than the other two we have. I always find all their eggs in one nest. They must take turns.

I usually can’t eat all they give me, but with the chickens around, I won’t go hungry.

Now I wonder what I can do about milk. Hmmm.

Susan Manzke

Writer, Speaker, All-Around Good Person