So what’s all this preening about … feather mites? But I just treated the poultry house with a liberal application of diatomaceous earth yesterday! On the other hand, it’s getting very cloudy and feels like approaching rain, though it’s not in the forecast for today. Maybe they’re just preparing their feathers for rain? Sure enough, within minutes the rain starts.
A friend once remarked that watching chickens is better entertainment than TV. I’m inclined to agree with that. But it can also reveal some fascinating aspects of their behavior. Here’s an example:
A couple of times I’ve seen two of my young guinea cocks get into a fight. They stand facing each other and jump up and down, pecking at each other and grabbing each other’s bills. What’s really interesting is that once when they were doing this, I saw the older chickens and the other guineas gather around, crying and scolding and even intervening physically to try and break them up! Eventually they seemed to prevail. Who would have thought?
Now, if my cats would just follow their example …
