Never having owned chickens before, I have been truly delighted and amazed at the things I have learned about them. They are so much fun to just sit and watch, and it's a great form of meditation.

Hens are voracious. They will eat just about ANYTHING! I had one chewing on a little frog one day; and they love eggs - not just the hens but the roosters too. When they are fed in the morning, you'd think they hadn't eaten in days. Just inadvertently drop something and they all go running to see if it's food. And they are cutthroats when it comes to food. If one hen has something in her mouth, they will all chase her while she runs around looking for a secret place to eat.

Roosters, on the other hand, are rather gentlemanly except when it comes to sex! As far as food goes, they are too slow and always get what's left over by the hens. Then they stand around and grumble. It almost sounds like they're talking! They also make weird long screechy scary sounds that are very unnerving. I have one large fine rooster (Bob) who is a free-ranger and has a girlfriend (Cleo). When I bring treats such as fruit or vegetables out, the two of them come running. When I drop a piece of food, Bobby checks it out, makes some remarks and steps aside to let Cleo eat it, unless it's a tomato. When it comes to mating, some roosters are insatiable and chase after all the hens, who in turn run for their lives! I had one chicken who left home because every time she came out of hiding, Bob was on her. She looked like she totally went nuts.

Cleo recently hatched 13 chicks, and they are a trip to watch too. They act like miniature versions of their elders except that we don't know who's a hen and who's a rooster yet. I had searched for her nest but couldn't find it, and after the checks were born, I found that we passed by it every day. She's got good camoflage. Right now she's setting again and has made a nest inside a hay roll that cannot be found unless she's followed.

I never realized that chickens had such different personalities and could be so much fun. True, it does involve some work to keep 30 hens and five roosters, but to me it's worth it. My biggest hassle is making sure they have clean water because they are constantly dirtying it up; which is why we are going to institute some kind of watering system. I'm also becoming an egg expert (eggspert)! I never ate so many eggs in different recipes in my life and am constantly looking for recipes that involve using lots of eggs (like 6-9).

Learn more about this author, Karolyn Tredeau.
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