In some ways having pet chickens is easy, but giving them a high quality of life requires spending quality time with them. During the day our chickens have the run of the yard and then we lock them in the coop at night. Our girls are pretty spoiled, but they do bring a lot of joy to my life.
I currently have a small flock of bantam hens. They go through stages of activity. Right now none of them are laying eggs. I hope that will change soon. One of our chickens, Lilah, is starting to look like she may lay soon. Her comb is bigger and she is looking good. This is usually an indication that eggs will soon follow. The girls don’t seem very active right now. I don’t know if it is just winter or because there is not much going on in the garden.
Hawks and cats are our biggest concern on the homestead and they could be skittish because of that. A while back, our original chicken, Buster, fought off something. I find it is good to go out and spend time with them. They feel more protected and are likely to be more active.
Between some frigid temperatures and fighting some kind of bug, I have not been able to spend as much quality time with them. That makes me feel bad. I am thankful when my husband can take up the slack and spend some time with them.
My chickens are a part of the family. They are so adorable when they beg for treats at the back door. They look up at me and I just can’t resist them. They always seem to know when we come home even before we go out to check on them.
I like seeing chickens do what chickens do. I will be glad to see the girls getting active again. I haven’t even seen them take any dirt baths lately. Hopefully they have and I just did not see it. It does my heart good to have healthy and happy chickens.
