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Conversations with My Yard Velociraptors

And if it is too big to swallow they just whack it on things until it ends up in chunks a size they can get down. Oh the poor frog I watched this happen to.

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@Renn_aissance, you are so welcome! I sometimes call them the “land sharks”, too :rofl:

@GoodTimes, I saw an ad for chicken treats where the hens are sprinting to meet the camera woman’s car. It is about the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. I must try to find the link!

@Fiesta01 thank you! We used to have a huge flock (500+) for farm market egg sales. Larry and company are my absolute favorites ever.

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Mine have a 30’x50’ fenced area to range in since I don’t trust my dog or the neighbours dog. They sprint to the door hoping for treats dozens of times every day :rofl: If I walk past the sliding door, go out on the deck, come around the corner of the house, etc. Heck, even if the dog comes around the corner they’ll come running, they assume that I must be following.
The best is when they get the wings out trying to balance around a corner!

Here’s a couple of the girls enjoying some watermelon.

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Don Roberto is good feed.

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I haven’t found a link to the commercial but I found this. It’s 17 minutes long but just watching the flock come out in the morning was surprising and fun. The pictured birds are not the ones that come running out in the morning.

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And you also get a bonus garden with Don Roberto!

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Jimmy is a jerk. Phyllis is amazing.

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I hate to appear dense but I couldn’t figure out who Jimmy was. I thought he was a rooster, but there were so many birds


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Jimmy was the turkey that kept bothering him.

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That was one mean turkey. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

I just couldn’t believe how many birds came running out in the morning. I guess I was only expecting chickens.

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It made my dreams of keeping chickens even more expansive turkeys, geese and ducks!!!

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This is a very funny thread! We have seven laying hens. We raise our chickens from day old chicks. Our son even has a little side business of raising chicks from the feed store in a brooder and selling them to neighbors when they’re old enough to be off heat. They absolutely love treats and leftovers. Watching chickens run towards you for treats has got to be one of funniest things.

Half the fun is giving them names. We have Sleet, Dandelion, Halley, Marshmallow, Juliet, Shadow and Cricket. All are different breeds so we have a very colorful flock. No rooster at the moment.

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Awww, you have a Sussex hen like our Cricket.

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Was feeding the squad this morning when one of the baby roosters started picking at the leg of my sweatpants. Larry rushed in from behind & squeezed in between me & the baby rooster & apparently told it “Don’t bite the hand that feeds us!” :rofl:

Wasn’t quick enough to snap a pic. So, as tax, here is Madison the Liege Fighter hen. She is no ordinary hen. She is an Artisanal food producer, and visionary for the 21st century. She believes that it is no longer enough to simply cross the road. It is time to lead the journey from the driver’s seat. :neutral_face:

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:rofl:
Exactly!
ETA:
Drat! Can’t upload my 7sec video of my Old Ladies With Purses :hushed:

I got hens 11yrs ago because I heard they eat ticks.
{KnockWood} no problem with ticks, even now that I’ve stopped freeranging my small flock.

First 5 were:
2 Delawares, 2 Black Stars & a Houdan.
All 6wks old.
When they were grown I added 2 day-old chicks from a friend’s son’s huge flock of mixed breeds.
One became a handsome red & cream rooster.
Who became an asshat at puberty.

Lost 3 to a fox in a single afternoon - the rooster, a Delaware & my Pet Hen, the Houdan :sleepy:
Lost one to sour crop, another to a raccoon when I forgot to lock the coop one night. :tired_face:
Then neighbor kid (my Faux Grandson) gave me 5 Amish mutts & another Black Star.
Back up to 6 freeranging hens, then after more attrition, down to a single Amish Survivor.
So
 Got 6 6-week chicks free.
All Barred Rocks. Of which 3 became roosters :persevere:
Off to auction went the 2 feistiest.

Losing 2 hens of 4 in a week (hawk :rage:) has me keeping the current flock in a fenced yard.
I’m back up to 8 - 6 hens & 2 roosters.
Both roos were “oops”.
But they seem to have a sort of truce.
Biggest, oldest & The Boss, is one of the Barred Rocks, newest is a Lavender Orpington (sold to my neighbor as a Blue, but color is wrong for Blue, closer to Lavender, though not show quality).
The rest of the flock is:
*6+yo Amish mutt - probable Leghorn cross - still lays occasionally. I call her Mrs Yoder :smirk:
*Barred Rock - got with the roo - called Barred Rock Bitch/BRB for short, because she is :unamused:
*2 Easter Eggers - Bunny & Peeps
*Red-laced Wyandotte - Laura < for a wine-loving friend
*Black Star (sold to same neighbor as Australorp, but, IMO, too small) - LJ - for Leslie Jones
BR Roo is Petey/PT for Pretty Tail
Orp Roo is Bluey, cuz he was supposed to be :expressionless:

I have witnessed the South end of a small frog going down the North end of a hen.
And the decimation of a nest of baby mice that Ma Mouse unwisely built inside the coop :roll_eyes:

But they amuse me & make me breakfast along with supplying friends with the occasional dozen.
I’ll have chickens as long as I have a farm. :heart_eyes:

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Y’all are starting to convince me that maybe - just maybe - chickens might not be a bad idea. Maybe.

If I was going to have chickens I love the Silver laced Sebrights and little Millefleurs. And maybe some Frizzles. Something the size of your birds @TheDBYC would scare me. And my cats.

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@shiloh, the biggest chickens are the gentlest in my experience. I once lost my mind at the old farm & bought 11 zillion bantams as pets for my kids. Lemme tell you. I’ve raised 1000s of chickens. Never before or since have I encountered demented roosters that liked to randomly fly at my head :scream: Bantam Seabrights are the most aggressive little SOBs I’ve ever met. The Phoenix avoided freezer camp solely on the basis that I once came out to find a fox chasing a chick, and the Phoenix hot on the tail of the fox. Newbie chicken keepers looking for “gentle” chickens fell in love with him. (He was devastatingly handsome; lol. Tail feathers swept all the way to the ground & then some.). I sold him to them with the stipulation that I would take him back, no questions asked. They never did try to return him, so hopefully he calmed down a bit for them :scream:.

If you can get over their size, Louis & Larry are the chillest dog-chickens I’ve ever met. And crazy smart!

Here is Miss Elsa giving zero you-know-whats about the big roosters:

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TheDBYC - I’m loving your photos and stories. They never fail to put a smile on my face. Thanks!! :kissing_heart:

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Awww! Thank you! They are my babies. I posted on the Venting thread how an idiot contractor’s “puppy” leapt out his truck window & attacked the flock. I was on the phone with my 12yo when it happened, but was an hour away at a business meeting. Larry was missing & my daughter distraught. The landlady & my sister-in-law were trudged through the fields in 95+ degree temps looking for him when I arrived home. I started around the house calling his name. Heard him quietly answer me from under a bush they’d already searched several times. Apparently, Louis led the squad one way while Larry baited the dog the other direction. He was OK. But wasn’t coming out until he heard mommy’s voice & knew the coast was clear. I got all choked up. :cry:

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I saw that on the other thread. What a brave baby he was. And so sweet how attached he is to you. I’m so glad he didn’t get hurt. :slight_smile:

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