21.3.11

Cluck of the Week: Eating for three

By now it's no secret that we feed our hens more like people than like animals. Well, we snack them more like people -- they do also eat real feed and worms and bugs. But they're like Pavlov's dogs when the sliding glass door leading to the deck opens and lately we've discovered they hear (and flock to) the sound of the front door.

I suppose it's no surprise that the best treats come from the three year old. Because she's home most days of the week, she's the one who has the most opportunity to "share" our tasty vittles. I've caught her tossing them strips of string cheese, whole grapes, orange segments, and a potato chip or two. Usually they love staying near her because she feeds them more than she eats herself.

Today wasn't one of those days. Leave it to me to think Honey Oat Rings from the Dollar Tree are on par with Honey Nut Cheerios. I told Bella she had to eat them until the box was gone and then I'd buy the right kind. What does she do?

The face of defiance.

Yeah. Notice those brown dots. They're hard as steel and dark in color. And the entire box of them is now strewed across my deck. Guess who else won't eat them?

We had to rustle up something else because the girls were severely pissed off that we'd tricked them by putting rocks out for them to snack on. All I had was a discarded lid full of granola from a yogurt cup (someone in this house needs to hit the grocery store!) that the kids refuse to eat.

I love how one looks like the other's reflection.

The hens thought it was heavenly. (Let's not talk about how much sugar must've been in that granola!)

14 comments:

  • Cheri

    You can't fault Bella for not wanting to eat something that even chickens feel is not fit for consumption!

  • Bibliomama

    Ha. Even better because she looks like she fled the house naked from the waist down to dispose of the wretched fake cereal.

  • Kelly Miller

    Dude. She loves those pink leggings. I'll be glad to see them go. Normally we use leggings during the winter, too, but not these!

  • Rudri Bhatt Patel @ Being Rudri

    I recognize that look of defiance. My five year old has that look too.

  • ayala

    She is precious. This is cute!

  • Kelly Miller

    @Rudri - It's definitely a universal look. She refused to make eye contact with me until she knew she wasn't in trouble.

    @Ayala - Thanks!

  • Rose :: FineCraftGuild.com

    ahh, this is exactly the post for me. how hard it is to raise chicken by 'normal' people (ie no farmer folks). we're in the countryside here and always wanted to have a rooster who would wake me up and the fresh chicken eggs in the morning to go with the whole experience and, oh yes, the notion of having these chicken roam around....

    so, let me ask: how hard is it? can you go away for the weekend? do you really need to lock them up at night so the fox can't get them? do they get sick a lot? what do you do for their end of life?

  • Kelly Miller

    Hi Rose! Raising chickens isn't very hard, but it does require diligence. Our chickens are free range and we've lost 2 of them to predators. That part is hard. We buried them way out back of our property. The first death is always the hardest.

    When we need to be away, we ask our neighbors just to keep an eye on them. We leave plenty of food and water and close them in the coop. So far so good.

    Feel free to email me directly kelly at themillermix dot com if you have more questions!

  • TKW

    Those spoiled little hens! Love the picture at the end!

  • Justine

    Hah! Even chickens have culinary preferences. I don't blame them or Bella. But this comes from someone who feeds her daughter Lucky Charms, so really I should applaud you for at least trying to go the healthy route with the cereal. My favorite isn't any better either: Cinnamon Toast Crunch anyone?

  • The Mommy Mambo

    Smart girl!

  • Unknown

    Oh my gosh. SO funny! : ) This made me totally smile!

  • Jami

    This is pretty funny. Those honey oat rings must be bad stuff if even the chickens won't eat them! LOL

  • {Stephanie}The Drama Mama

    She's a clever one. This was cute just like Bella.I'm laughing that the hens wouldn't even touch the cereal.

    --the Drama mama

Post a Comment

I'd love to hear what you have to say! (If you want an emailed response, be sure to enable email in your Blogger settings -- see a tutorial here.)

Now. Spill it!