One of our chickens.........well actually it was one of the neighbors chickens but it was here most of the time ..... handed in her chips last night. She lost a toe a couple of years back when she got tangled in some fishing line at the neighbors place. So she could not sit on the roost at night and I built her a box under my workshop trailer she could spend the nights in. She was always the first one I saw in the morning when I went to feed ours and let them out come daylight. She would be around my feet the I got the feed out of the bucket. I built her a nest in front of the trailer under an oak tree where she laid her eggs and hung out during the hot part of the day. She did not turn up this morning and that felt strange , so Fin and me started looking and we found her in the brush not far away ... not a feather missing. so I guess she died of old age or something. Weird how one misses those little rituals the critters come up with. Just a chicken some may say but one gets used to their little quirks and i'll miss " Toes "

You didn't eat it

I sure miss having chickens and guineas. They are truly one of the simpler things in life that make you smile more than you realize.

just like all the turkeys that come to your feeder may I ask

Man pretty much every single chicken we have is missing toes or feet from frostbite during the winter. And I expect them all on that perch at sundown!

She may have had other problems as well, but she could not get into the nest boxes or onto the roost bars in the coop. The neighbor has not run or coop and his chickens roost way up in a pine tree next to his house and she sure could not get all the way up there either.

You get accustom to their company funny how that works over time.

If your chickens are getting frost bite on their toes, your roost bars are to small.

Aint that the truth. For me the eggs are just a bonus. The smiles they get out of me is worth every grain of feed I buy

Nah they’re fine. Just having fun with Scuba.

I just bought a new Mr. Swishy this evening, which is what Diane called our last peacock. He is an India blue, going on 3, so he's old enough to breed 2, 2 year old black shoulder peahens I bought a few months ago. I also bought 2 yearling peahens and a yearling peacock tonight too.

I sold my last quad of peafowl to buy a truck. Mr. Swishy would put on a show for Diane every time she went in the barn to feed and water the birds. He would follow Diane around displaying and dancing. The new Mr. Swishy was dancing more than all the peacocks at the farm I bought him at. Hopefully he continues to display a lot and fertilizes the eggs well for me.

Keith

Good of you to see to the wee ones who depend on us for protection, Michael.

None of mine ever got frostbite. I kept them all in winter heating. They all had comfy shelves to roost on, and private cardboard boxes on the floor to lay their eggs.

Low windows , double pane , so they could stand in comfort in the coldest winters and look out the windows at the outside, and inside my living room windows to see me waving at them at night.

As Patrice has hers also, mine were all pets , that tilled my yard, kept ants at bay, and loved lounging on the deck with me in summer. Lovely colorful flowers that graced life with genuine affection. Who loved to be petted and hugged, just as any dog or any other pet.

It's amazing how birds , when given the chance, love the same affection any other “acceptable” animal does. And how long they can live....depending on circumstance.

You said it right, Michael..." The smiles they get out of me is worth every grain of feed I buy ."

It's so good for them to have that full life in such content , as yours do.

Lol.....never found a dead one yet.

Sorry Scuba!

I'm sorry for the loss. I totally understand.

I lost one of my nice big heavyweight red hens a couple weeks ago.

Shed meet me at the door in the mornings waiting for her breakfast.

We inspected her..no predator got her..she was in The pen.

She had an egg about halfway laid and died.

It was sad.

I've never lost one because of that before.