1 Chick, 2 Chick, 3 Chicken, 4……………………..up on the farm in country Victoria
My SIL has 17 chickens at the moment – 11 adults, 3 teenagers (or maybe they were Bantams ?) and 2 tiny baby chicks. They all have names and are easy to tell apart as they are all different colours, feather patterns and varieties.
They’re gorgeous, especially the lacewings, but it was almost impossible to get a photo as they are definitely ‘camera shy’ and move faster than you can blink an eyelid. The baby chicks were the only ones willing to pose for a photo (and even then, I had to be very quick and only got 3 photos of them).
I have a dozen farm fresh eggs in my fridge and I can’t wait to eat them. A farm fresh egg from a chook which has been allowed to roam free all day scratching about for worms and insects and them appropriate seed and vegetable scraps scattered about, is like manna from Heaven. I absolutely refuse to buy commercial eggs from a supermarket where the chickens have been raised indoors crammed together and force-fed – it’s cruel and inhumane.
I’m not a vegetarian or vegan – but I like to know poultry and animals have been raised as close to what Nature intended as possible. Exercise, fresh air, freedom to roam and plenty of space to develop natural behaviours. I prefer Organic fruit and vegetables, despite the expensive cost in Australia. I can taste the difference in some of the vegies, especially broccoli and carrots (but not necessarily in others). I am sensitive (or allergic) to food colourings, additives, preservatives and some chemicals, so try to only eat fresh food where possible. Unfortunately, I can rarely afford organic meat now I’m not working. If I had a car, I would visit the various farmers markets dotted around Melbourne, as their produce, straight from the farm, is at least fresh and not stored for months in cool stores (if not organic).
But my local fresh food market’s organic stall is my current choice, if a little expensive.
I would have liked to get a photo of every chicken up on the farm as I really do think the variety of colours and feathers is interesting (as a city dweller ) – I guess if you live in the country or on a farm, they’re common everyday sights and you don’t notice them.
As you can see by the last photo (above), these chickens JUST WOULD NOT STAY STILL FOR ME TO TAKE A DECENT PHOTO!
They are beautiful – the different colours and patterns fascinate me.,
They fascinate me too, Julie. How clever of my SIL to buy all different ones. She lost many chickens to the feral foxes, but Megs (the dog) seems to be ‘earning her keep’ now as a Watchdog and my SIL hasn’t lost any chickens recently.
I’ve forgotten what species of dog Megs is. Uhmmmm…..can’t remember. I wrote it down somewhere.
The black and white patterned one is my fav – how gorgeous!
That’s called a ‘Lacewing’ I think, Carolyn – they are gorgeous.
Who could know that a group of chickens could be so described, but truly, they are gorgeous. I think it’s having just one of each variety in the group. They look very colourful.
I did take another 6-7 photos, but they’re blurred or half a chook is chopped off on the edge of a frame as they ran around so quickly – I’m just too slow (but usually not too slow at the zoo funnily enough) – maybe I have more time to aim & focus, or take more photos at the zoo, so am more likely to end up with a few decent shots.
We have a lot of free roaming chickens here on the island. They are in the cities wandering around, out in the neighborhood – in fact we have several who call our back yard area their home most days. It’s weird that they just breed and roam free, but they don’t really have any predators here. Lovely chickens in your photos.
Hope to see some photos of your chickens soon Lisa. I find them fascinating birds, but so damn hard to catch in a photo. I love the fact that all 17 of my SIL’s chickens are different colours & patterns.
How cool – I shot chickens over the holidays too:) Nice shots of those chicks.