Some visitors from the south

The ladies were visited by Sam and Colin yesterday. Colin almost climbed inside the coop, but Sam discovered an egg! Both youngsters went home to Cincinnati with an egg and, from the looks on their faces, enjoyed the tasty treats our girls give us every day!

Babies!!

The Easter chicks have arrived at the TSC. So cute. Remember when our girls were as tiny? 
Now's the time to start thinking about gettin' a little flock of your own!

Girls gone wild

The ladies explored the back yard for the first time today. At first they were too scared to even cross the threshold from their run to the wide-open back yard, but Andrew carried Betty out to the middle of the yard and soon the other two followed. They seemed to enjoy themselves. Chickens don’t really have so many moves, so they were just doing their old scratch and scrape, but in a new locale. It was pretty cute, nonetheless. And the sun was shining and it was warm enough to be outside without a coat. After about 15 minutes they headed back to the compost heap. They had work to do.

Farmer Drew with Betty

Empathetic Chickens

I knew our chickens had more going on than meets the beady-little-eye:

"A study has gained new insight into the minds of domestic hens, discovering, for the first time, that domestic hens show a clear physiological and behavioural response when their chicks are mildly distressed."

In other words, mother hens behave like Mother Hens.

The Amazing Chicken Head

A former student (thanks, Sam!) sent me this video demonstrating the amazing ability that chickens have to keep their heads stable when the rest of their body is on the move. It's kind of fantastic. Indeed, it makes me want to run right out now and try this with our girls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dPlkFPowCc

Maybe if we get it together technologically, we will post a video of Peggy, Betty, and Joan doing this newest version of the chicken dance.

The chicken dance

There may be nothing as cute as a big fat chicken running at full speed. Voluptuous Betty likes to move -- but when she gets going, it's still just a power-walk. One foot is always on the ground. Often two feet are on the ground. Betty & I have a lot in common.

We had some more coop-visitors this past weekend. Kevin & Dori are considering some chickens of their own. Dori brought the most delicious vegan fig bars (seriously, the MOST delicious) that Andrew & I have been enjoying since Sunday. Get your own at the Clintonville Co-op where Dori sells her baked goods (or ogle the treats online). We're not sharing.

Also, we were finally able to share our egg-bounty with our immediate neighbor. We only had 6, but it felt good to share. We'll have to toss a treat to his dog Rocky, too, as Rocky has been on raccoon patrol since he came to live next door!

Finally, are you all excited about the new & improved Bexley Farmers Market that's only two and a half months from its opening day!? I know where I'm going to be from 4-7, Thursday, May 19th! Spread the word. Link to it on Facebook. It's going to be awesome.