Pure hedonism and other news

News of the week:

1. Overnight camping attempt in new location.

2. New forage opportunities!

3. State of the workplace report, with Egg song.

4. This is pure hedonism.

1. Overnight camping attempt in new location.

Two days ago, two chickens were missing when I came to the farm in the evening to close the coop.

After checking all the places that chickens had tried to use as a bedroom in the past (when they couldn't find way home),  I started to worry that they might have been kidnapped after all. It's not easy to find missing chickens in the dark with just a phone flashlight. I was about to give up, but the hand of chickenlord was upon me and I found them safe and sound, sitting quietly in the Special Grass Box, property of Natchan the Goat. 

Both chickens were promptly returned home. They didn't protest much. In fact they were relieved.

2. New forage opportunities! (Until the goat comes back.)

Natchan the Goat was scheduled not to come to the farm for two days so I let chickens use Natchan's space in the meantime. Chickens appreciated it. 

3. State of the workplace report

Our chickens have very flexible working hours and they work largely unsupervised. I believe this would lead to some terrible working habits in humans, but not in chickens! Most of them do show up in the office (nest) once a day and do finish their task. They are highly motivated and I would love to think that it's thanks to my leadership skills, but it's not.  I suspect it's the pay and the benefits they get - far above chickens' average in Japan - that keeps their working morale so high. 

They don't like to be disturbed at work, so I had to be quick to gather material for this State of the workplace report.

February 8, 2016

Check the nest Check the nest There's an egg there!

After work, our chickens often sing the famous "I laid an egg!" song. It seems they have an unofficial competition who can sing the longest and loudest. 

This video shows the same hen singing one very long song. I cut the middle part because it was too long. The melody is a bit repetitive - that's the chicken style.

4. This is pure hedonism.

One of the favorite activities of our chickens is a dust bath. 

Dust bath is a nice and healthy hobby (Chickens clean their skin and feathers - it's their version of a shower). For an uninitiated viewer, dust bathing might at first look like seizures, but in fact chickens are immensely enjoying themselves. So much that they look obscenely hedonistic.  

It's like humans spending a day in hot spa - they can't stop.

Hens in the video are accompanied by The-Not-The-Boss rooster, who is generally more approachable than The-Boss, who is basically just narcissistic and arrogant. 

Living in the moment - chickens certainly know how to do that!