Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Jungle chickens

I've read that domestic chickens are descended from a ground-dwelling, jungle bird of Indonesia. It seems my flock has not fallen far from their ancestral tree. After their original outdoor tarp shelter succumbed to snow, I replaced it with another, that quickly succumbed to rain. Recognizing a bad idea when I execute one (cough...twice...cough), I gave up on the tarp shelter idea. It kept the sun off nicely in the middle of the summer. It could not, however, keep anything else off. So, I took some advice from mother nature and gave the chickens their very own jungle tree for outdoor shelter. I didn't actually plant a new 40 foot fir tree just for them. Instead, I extended their yard to include a tree they previously could only yearn for. It's not really a jungle either, but how do they know? They prefer it over anything else and can be found roosting in the branches, sleeping in the needles, or just poking around its base all day long. Here they are enjoying their heritage.

Sierra, hoping for a treat I suppose.

Can you count the chickens in this picture?

Do you see the pine cone camouflaged chicken in this picture?

2 comments:

  1. Love your "jungle" chickens, they look like they are enjoying themselves! :)
    I found you through Marigold's blog.

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  2. Now what kind of tree is that? It looks pretty tasty to me. We don't have any chickens. The Goatfather objects (long story), but we have the UrDuck H'ai. They like ponds though and not trees.

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