The Magic of Chickens

As I walk up the drive basking in the peace and enjoyment of watching the animals grazing quietly, I cannot help but smile as the first one notices me and begins to run my way, and then a second, and soon, the whole mismatched herd of donkey, goats, sheep, zebu and llama is voicing eagerness for the treat they are sure I will have.  My smile turns to a laugh, and as I stand there touching this one and that one, and handing out a flower here and a bit of vegetable there, all of a sudden a hen notices the activity "over there" and makes a sound that only chickens understand completely, and then here comes a whole wonderful bunch of hens and a rooster or two (whose job it is to keep those many hens safe) to see what they are missing! Of course they miss nothing because I share greens and yellows and reds (vegetables) with them too.

We offer veggies as treats and sharing time, in addition to their staple diet for these chickens have a serious job to do here on our farm. They are loved and enjoyed immensely on a personal level, but their job is to keep the ground turned and the bugs and parasites at a tolerable level.  These chickens work for their keep though they do not mind a bit because what they do here is what chickens DO naturally.  Mining for gold in the ground is what makes them healthy, keeps the soil and ground healthier, fertilizes for us, makes them happy, as evidenced by their 'chatter cluck' conversations as they work.

Some are friendly with us and enjoy hands on a bit, some are more wild and could care less that we exist beyond feeding and keeping them as safe as is possible for free range chickens.  Most go into one of the many coops spread over the acres. A few choose to tree themselves.  Each group knows where they live and pretty much stay on those areas throughout the day.  Each hen and those few roosters knows her or his own coop, and by dark when someone goes from pasture to pasture or yard to yard to close coop doors, they have gone to roost, safe until morning when it is all reversed and the doors open to the new morning. Feed is tossed on the ground and when they are done with that they begin another day of grounds keeping.

Is there anything better than a beautiful flock of various sorts of feathers and colors that at once, gives pleasure and delight to watching humans, and pays their way (and then some) by keeping the farm healthier doing what they do best.... and love doing???

It is the season of broody hens and hatching chicks, all adorable and well tended by mamas, and while we spend hours with them wandering all around us and tend to take the sharing of our lives with them for granted, we need to remember to thank them for their presence on the farm and for all the work they do.  Watching the chicks grow and seeing their moms teach them what chickens DO is another piece of the magic that is a part of each day at Majical Miniatures.