Posted on 27 Comments

Chicken dance

Feeding the chickens

Last time Eamonn and I went to Hillview Farms, we saw some chickens off in the distance who, once they noticed us, came running down the hill.  The closer the chickens got, the more interested Eamonn got in watching them from the safety of the car.  No, he was not adventurous where enthusiastic clucking and pecking were concerned.

Feeding the chickens

Still, that meeting must have left a favorable impression on him, because yesterday while we were wandering around the New Providence Farmers’ Market buying cherries for a pie and cucumbers for our supper salad, he suggested we stop at the farm on the way home and see the chickens again.

Feeding the chickens

So we did.  We bought a head of lettuce there, and asked if we could walk up the hill and take a look at the chickens.  The girl behind the counter enthusiastically handed us a bag of rye bread slices and said, “Sure! you can feed them, too!”

Feeding the chickens

We spent the next thirty minutes joyfully tossing bread chunks to a bunch of clucking hens and a few roosters, too.  I don’t know a heck of a lot about chickens, so all I can tell you is that there were big white ones, noisy black ones, ones with a pretty black & white pattern on them, a few red ones, and a small white one that Eamonn fell in love with.

Feeding the, uh, what *is* this?

There was also this.  What is this?  A turkey?  A pheasant? [edited – it’s a guinea foul. thanks, bzzzzgrrrl & kathi.]

I’m going to do a little chicken sleuthing online, and see if Eamonn would like to join me.  I know he’d love to go back and see these birds again soon, so he might also enjoy knowing more about them.

See, this is the kind of thing that I think Eren is getting at with her Summer Unschool project, and I feel it’s a great idea.  I don’t want to push my boys into school-type work at a time that should be all about jumping in the pool, sleeping over at Grandma’s house, and drawing chalk murals on the side of the house.  But I see a lot of merit in taking advantage of little sparks of interest as they come up, and then providing the opportunities to explore these interests.   Who knows?  Maybe an afternoon of googling chickens will set Eamonn on the path to becoming a farmer someday! Or a vegetarian.

Either way, the point is, as long as it’s fun, a little summertime learning never hurt anyone.

LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!

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Posted on 27 Comments

27 thoughts on “Chicken dance

  1. I vote guinea fowl on the what-bird-is-this quiz.

    But very cool, this sudden poultry interest. You should get some chickens yourselves, for the eggs, fertilizer and entertainment!

    (Eammon doesn’t read the comments here, right?)
    .-= See bzzzzgrrrl’s latest blog post: Minor changes =-.

    1. Normally Eamonn doesn’t read the comments, but strangely enough, he read these over my shoulder a little while ago, during a rainy day picnic on the floor. His ears must have been burning.

      I’d love to get some chickens, but I would fear for their safety (lots of foxes around here) and frankly, we don’t go through nearly enough eggs to make it worthwhile on that front.

      Although, you can never have too much fertilizer or entertainment!

  2. That’s a guinea fowl. We have friends who had one. He was named Vinnie the Guinea.
    .-= See Kathi’s latest blog post: Today =-.

    1. Oh, funny. I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to that farm without calling it Vinnie now.

  3. Eamonn would LOVE it at our house! We have 20 chickens that spend their time pecking, scratching and wandering the yard. They are so much fun to watch! The kids love to give them bread, and apple cores, and whatever else they can eat. They are definitely a wonderful addition to the family! 😀

    And your “unchool” thing…I do this a lot for the younger crowd for school. I’ve found that hands on is so much better for them than trying to make them learn out of a book. They love to be outside just watching and experiencing nature. It makes them so excited to keep learning! 🙂
    .-= See Heather’s latest blog post: I really am pathetic. =-.

    1. He probably would love that! He’s an animal-lover, and the only pets we have are two fish.

      Let me ask you – how do the chickens deal with the cold weather? What do you do with them in the winter?

      I have been more and more intrigued by the idea of having chickens, but I don’t know that we could really handle it, for a number of reasons.

  4. That looks like something my kids would enjoy – they love feeding the ducks when we go to the river. It looks like your son really enjoyed himself!

    1. All of the parks around here now have rules against feeding the ducks, so my kids have never experienced that. Feeding the ducks was always so fun for me when I was a kid, so I’m glad we found some obliging chickens 🙂

  5. My SIL has a picture on her wall of her when she was about three with her pet chicken. She loved that chicken!

    A good thing for kids to have in their lives, going to the farm is a good way to do it.
    .-= See Marty’s latest blog post: A Giveaway!! =-.

    1. Sweet 🙂 I hope we’ll have many more opportunities to visit local farms in the coming months.

  6. Polka Dot Cottage: Chicken dance http://bit.ly/uARtp

  7. Lisa, you really need to check out this site….. http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com/
    Anna, is so talented! She is an artist, photographer and good ole Texas gal….love love love her! Now, you should see all the chickens she has, shapes, sizes, colors and types, very cool! And she loves to share pictures of them, great to shown Eamonnn, not to mention all the other cute critter’s she and Alan have on their farm. I look forward to her site everyday, just to see what she is sharing, whether it is a new card, with a stamp she has created or pictures and stories of all her wonderful critters. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

    1. Her drawings are so cute, and she takes such beautiful chicken pictures! I had a hard time photographing the ones we saw, because they were in constant motion. Thanks for passing along the link.

  8. I love chickens. They are a hoot and beautiful. I love birds of any kind. Maybe a canary or finch would be better to start with??

    1. I have to admit, birds make me nervous! I don’t like the idea of them flying all around my head, LOL!

  9. chickens rule!! we have a little collection and they are mesmerizing to watch. 🙂 funny.

    1. We saw more chickens and a handful of guinea fowl at a blueberry festival yesterday, and the thrill apparently has not worn off 😀
      .-= See Lisa’s latest blog post: Flower Power =-.

  10. Hi! We raise some backyard chickens..We have a few Salmon Faverolle chicks that could possibly be the first picture. Mine are still little so I’m not sure. The second red pullet looks a little like my Rhode Island Red’s. I don’t know about the others. One looks like a turkey. Ok, guinea fowl..
    .-= See kyndale’s latest blog post: you know…. =-.

    1. I was thinking the second one could be a Rhode Island Red, but in looking up the chicken varieties online, I notice that so many of them look alike – it’s hard to tell!
      .-= See Lisa’s latest blog post: Flower Power =-.

  11. Hi,
    Those are some beautiful chickens. I had never seen a guinea fowl. They are rather cute too. It looks like a fun way to spend the day.
    .-= See Valarie’s latest blog post: Unschooling Update =-.

  12. […] morning, the leftover French Bread became French Toast, which I made with eggs from Eamonn’s favorite chickens.  It was delicious enough that even my picky Aidan liked it.  I may have to start getting up […]

  13. Good afternoon, Lisa – I have just spent a few minute – well more than just a few I should say – reading the Sweet & Sassy (?) blog and have joined. You gals are as adictive as my quilting blogs. It appears this couple live not too far (like maybe 60-ish miles) from where I live. I used to live on a farm in Eastern Kansas and we had a few animals as well as beef cattle and a couple of horses but no chickens. But we did have a large fishing lake stocked with catfish. All animal live is quite entertaining. Thanks for the link. Have a nice weekend. Dottientx

  14. Got the name screwed up from the get go! It’s Sassy & Sweet, right?????

  15. […] Can i feed my chickens durum and whole wheat? January 13, 2012 | Filed under: Poultry | Posted by: Laquon Marshall Image by lisaclarke After yesterday’s farmers’ market, Son #2 and I stopped at one of our local farms, ostensibly to buy lettuce, but really to play with the chickens… Blogged. […]

  16. […] I have a question about egg laying feed in chickens? January 13, 2012 | Filed under: Poultry | Posted by: Jeff Cameron Image by lisaclarke After yesterday’s farmers’ market, Son #2 and I stopped at one of our local farms, ostensibly to buy lettuce, but really to play with the chickens… Blogged. […]

  17. […] How do you feed your chickens on Happy Manor? January 22, 2012 | Filed under: Poultry | Posted by: Mike Curtis Image by lisaclarke After yesterday’s farmers’ market, Son #2 and I stopped at one of our local farms, ostensibly to buy lettuce, but really to play with the chickens… Blogged. […]

  18. […] How much flax seed to feed to chickens? January 28, 2012 | Filed under: Poultry | Posted by: HomeGrownFarming.com Image by lisaclarke After yesterday’s farmers’ market, Son #2 and I stopped at one of our local farms, ostensibly to buy lettuce, but really to play with the chickens… Blogged. […]

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