Sleeping prep birds...

#Chabo #JiDokKo #Silkies
#矮鶏 #チャボ #じどっこ #烏骨鶏

#BackYardChickens #WindowChickens #Chabo #JidokKo #Silkies
#矮鶏 #チャボ

"The best things in life are free
And you can give them.to.the birds and bees..." --- Barret Strong

Feeding Common Henbit and citrus fruits (from neighbor plots) to the birds, supplementing the store bought feed...

#backyardChickens #JiDokKo #JiDori #Silkies #SilkyChickens #CommonHenBit #ホトケノザ　#仏の座 #地鶏 #じどっこ #烏骨鶏

"The best things in life are free
And you can give them to the birds and bees..." --- Barret Strong

Singing with Barret Strong's sone in mind while yanking and carrying Common Henbit from a fallow field in the neighborhood..

#BackyardChickens #JiDokKo #JiDori #SilkyChickens #Silkies #烏骨鶏 #宮崎じどっこ #宮崎地鶏 #仏の座 #ホトケノザ #CommonHenBit

Happy NewYear Birdies!!
If anyone eats any of you this year I hope it's friends of mine and not a wild animal or Maron the Shiba.😂😂😅

#BakcyardChickens #Silkies #SilkyChickens #JiDori #MiyazakiJiDori #烏骨鶏 #宮崎地鶏 #宮崎じどっこ

Good Night Birdies!!

#SilkyChickens #Silkies #烏骨鶏 #烏骨鶏おやすみ #お休み烏骨鶏

Seven the turkey out eating with the adults.
Silkies seem to get along with other birds. The Nagoya Kochin seemed to drive of the sparrows, ate a couple of quail chicks, tried to kill a disabled Silky and would body slam quail adults. The Kochin are cute birds otherwise...

#TurkeyChick #SilkyChickens #Silkies #七面鳥 #七面鳥雛 #烏骨鶏

Food Now!
Turkey ("Seven") is write in there among the adults demanding feed. Joel Salatin wrote that Turkeys are much more energetic or active about foraging.. I'm wondering if I'll have to figure out some fencing or just give Seven to someone else in a few weeks or months. It would be fun to get set up for Turkeys.. Nice people want to do a MaruYaki Rotisserie event.. Not with Seven of course!! But in March if I can hatch a couple more eggs and end up with extra Toms (male rooster turkeys) in the winter...

#TurkeyChick #SilkyChickens #Silkies #七面鳥 #七面鳥雛 #烏骨鶏 #烏骨鶏雌鶏

Doorfront egg delivery
And other layers and brooders..
#SilkyChickens #Silkies #烏骨鶏 #烏骨鶏雌鳥 #SilkyHens

"Where's the feed?" --- apologies to the Golden Girl in the fast food commercial

#SilkyChickens #Silkies #BackyardChickens #烏骨鶏 #SilkyHen #SilkyChicks

I got back from work a little late and the Silkies seemed very judgemental about their meal coming late. They get that Old Testament prophet expression when they look at you.. That's what it feels like anyway..

I didn't think most Silkies would eat big caterpillars. Different birds can have different tastes about some things. And maybe this slimy little caterpillar is nutritious. I think Maron would find big ones around a cow manure pile and seemed to enjoy figuring out how to eat it before I figured out what it was. She survived: Maron not the bug..

#Silkies #SilkyHen #SilkyChicken #SilkyEatsBug #HenEatsBug #烏骨鶏 #BackyardChickens

I wonder if anyone around here wants a lap chicken..
ゆっくりとお世話する人に養子してもらえないのかな？
I don't think this little one is going to make, the inability to move along enough with the mother hen seems to be kicking in much early than the previous mangle birds..

#SilkyChick #BackyardChickens #烏骨鶏 #SIlkyHen #SIlkyChickens #Silkies

Two other new babies but only got photos of this first one so far..

#SilkyChick #SilkyHen #Silkies #烏骨鶏　#烏骨鶏雌鳥　#烏骨鶏雛

A Curious Hen. They seem to be always hungry now. Maybe there are too many. I should find someone to take 4 or 6 mid-mature birds as a group... They are hard to resist, so when an outgoing hen runs over to me like this I usually break down and give them some more feed, or, as a special tree, hemp seeds. It's helpful to have a few bird accustomed to eating out of the palm of your hand for when visitors come and want enjoy that "sense of wonder" with Silky chickens. It's funny how they can seem so curious, and judgmental, like some sort of prophet birds from the old Testament. Maybe Amos was a woman? I have no reason at all to come up with that question, it's just that the bird that put me into prophet-musing mode was a hen, you know like female... Not that the metaphor seems to transfer well to human societies, except for laughs..

#BackyardChickens #SIlkyHen #Silkies #SIlkyChickens #烏骨鶏 #烏骨鶏雌鶏

I see tips about how to keep your backyard chickens cool: put mint in their water, hang froze watermelon (costs a fortune in Japan..).. But I wonder if those people keep the birds cooped. These Silkies are fee to wander around under bushes and all sort so green vine entanglements, to burrow under leaf mulch.. Hopefully it's enough to keep them cool. During the awfully hot summer last year the eggs were runny, the yolks broke as soon as you cracked the egg. I hear it's becasue they have to drink a lot more water.. Whatever it is, it must be the heat stress. Might have to work out a way to keep Mangle from getting stuck out in the sun...

#BackyardChickens #SilkyChickens #烏骨鶏 #Silkies

BSFL treats!!
The Black Soldier Larvae are good about climbing up into and around the lid to the composter. Almost every morning, when I take the kitchen waste なまごみ out I can grab some for the hens. It's good to keep some of the hens into the habit of eating out of the hand for when visitors want to get a close up look... If you have the time you can get the chicks used to being handled, but it's not bad to simply appreciate animals from an appropriate distance..

I promised to show some of the cute little 幼虫 larvae to some people in class. Of the 5 or 10 I mentioned it too, 1 or 2 may be sincerely positive about a larvae visit. Our educational systems are not doing a good job fomenting a "Sense of Wonder" in a general sort of way. I took some in last year. It's surprising to see who run-away frightened and who can work up the courage to take a close look, or even touch these healthy little critters. Biwa the SilkyHen came into class once: for learning "...come through the window.. come into the room.." I should try something like that again, generates interesting drawings: Might be able to work chickens into the lessons for "go" and "come"..

Irritated with myself for getting some BSFL into a yogurt container all ready to go to class and then forgetting them. Oh well,,, maybe next week. The hens get to eat the BSLF in the evening regardless..

#BSFL #Silkies #SilkyHens #アメリカミズアブ #BlackSoldierFlyLarvae #烏骨鶏 #烏骨鶏雌鳥

The Silky Mangle3 can get weed vines tangled up in her legs. It makes it even harder for her to get from one place to another as she flops around. The chicks that come out of the egg with twisted bodies get less and less mobile as they grow getting heavier and a big more adult hen-shaped. Without a sudden violent effort she can only turn around in circles now.. I started to untangle these vines then thought it would take less time to just go get scissors.. It's good I took the photos to remind me that I forgot what I was doing before getting to the scissors. So today will be a good day for a home-visit lunch break I guess. A short commute is important! Quality of Life! (For both you and any animals or whatever you caring for...)
#Silkies #SilkyChikens #SilkyMangle #BackyardChickens #烏骨鶏 #SilkyHen #MangleTheSilky

One of the hens went broody in the box that has been serving as a night cage for a hen and chick AND as a go-to egg-laying spot for 3 or so hens... Now I have to make sure the other hens don't keep piling more eggs up under the broody hen, so I block the entrance with 100yen store mesh.. BUT, I have to remember to open it up again in the evening so the chick and MomHen can get in there to sleep. Luckily I noticed their confusion enough to remember last night.. Mangle can't move around much anymore so it's important not to forget to carry her into the big night cage with all the others. I think our problem with the feral cat that came to eat a chick or two a day got started that way. I forgot to move a Mangle Hen to safey one night, and the feral cat came and ate her, developing a taste for Silky...

The hen with the chick looks very judgmental. They can seem to have very tough, strict expressions..
#SIlkies #SilkyChickens #SIlkyHens #烏骨鶏 #烏骨鶏雌鶏

"What are you lookin' at?"
"You Lookin' At Me?"...
#SIlkyHen #SilkyChickens #烏骨鶏 #SIlkies #BackYardChickens