#poultry2021

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This rooster, who was supposed to be a hen, is named Soup. Guess why.

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Here is a video of Omie trying to deal with turkeys on the porch. Bless her simple little heart, she's trying, but she doesn't know how to get them off there. The chickens, at least, know they need to leave when she comes out to see them off, but these young turkeys are just like, "oh hello, yes we're here too, can we come in?"

She's very insistent that the turkeys on the porch are a problem, and that she should do something about it - she watches them through the windows & lets me know if they transgress, so I'll open the door. I agree with her in this, of course. But then - how to remove?? They're not moving away from me?? Maybe if I...just...go here.....

I love her concerned look and her careful little walk. She's being very, very good, and with no commands from me after, "Oh, I see. Yes, let's get them off there." If only it ever occurred to her to get around the other side of something that's stuck in a corner.

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Dog body language quiz!

How does Omie feel about this turkey situation?

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Omie likes to be under something, just to hang out but especially if she's a little uncomfortable. A position of power, I assume. Under a table is the best place to chill, or wiggle under my legs, propped up on the ottoman, if the visiting dog is being rambunctious

Anyway I guess "under" is more of a concept than a solid physical reality, because the turkeys were looking at her funny and she decisively went to lay down under the leaning fire poker to get a handle on the situation.

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I feel like I could post some of my pics as "best calm farm manager dog keeping watch over her flock" and get away with it, but the side eye in the last one tells the real story.

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I let the teen chickens out of their little coop for the first time this afternoon. The Wyandottes bullied them a bit (typical), but overall they made an easy entrance into adult chicken society. They stayed out later than the others, though, enjoying their freedom I suppose, but ultimately went back to their accustomed roosting spot. In a few more days, we'll move them to sleeping in the big coop.

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It's getting warm enough at night, and the chicks are getting big enough, that they *almost* don't need the heat lamp any more.

But the light attracts bugs at night, and they're having a BLAST hunting them.

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In this one you can see the same tense stillness, and then she jumps up to run them off.

Poor Omie, she's a little afraid of turkeys 😅 She got bullied by a big tom last year, but was Too Good™️ to really give him what for, so he gave her the runaround. I'll be making an extra effort to back her up with them this time.