Rehabilitated chooks! (smile! smilie)

[Snadger]

You may or may not know (I've been shouting it from the rooftops!) that I've recently been christened into the realms of poultry keeping!

I bought 10 dodgy chickens that hadn't layed for months, with a view to giving them a good home and if I got an odd egg now and again I would be very happy and thank them dearly!

That was three weeks ago tomorrow. After a week and a half of good feeding and sypathetic surroundings I was rewarded with an egg! Then one the next day, three the day after and so it went on until the tally is now SEVEN eggs a day!

I talk to the chooks a lot and they talk back although I haven't got a chook dictionary so haven't the foggiest what they are saying!
I do know that when I first got them though they were very, very quiet, which to me wasn't natural

If you've read this far and are waiting for the punchline.........sorry, there isn't one!

As far as as I'm concerned it just goes to prove that with a bit of kindness, decent food and surroundings, miracles can happen!

[Hilary B]

Well done. Good treatment will get the best out of anything (even a turkey).

[frias]

Eggcellent news. Well done to you and your chooks.

[MaureenHall]

You may or may not know (I've been shouting it from the rooftops!) that I've recently been christened into the realms of poultry keeping!

I bought 10 dodgy chickens that hadn't layed for months, with a view to giving them a good home and if I got an odd egg now and again I would be very happy and thank them dearly!

That was three weeks ago tomorrow. After a week and a half of good feeding and sypathetic surroundings I was rewarded with an egg! Then one the next day, three the day after and so it went on until the tally is now SEVEN eggs a day!

I talk to the chooks a lot and they talk back although I haven't got a chook dictionary so haven't the foggiest what they are saying!
I do know that when I first got them though they were very, very quiet, which to me wasn't natural

If you've read this far and are waiting for the punchline.........sorry, there isn't one!

As far as as I'm concerned it just goes to prove that with a bit of kindness, decent food and surroundings, miracles can happen!

Chicken language:
Good morning = bok bok
Hello dad = bok bok
I'm going to lay an egg = bok bok bok bok bok
I'm laying an egg = CHOOOOOOOK bok bok CHOOOOOOK
I've laid an egg = CHOOOOOOK chook chook CHOOOOOOK
Have you seen my egg? = bok bok chook bok
Can we have some treats now? = bok bok bok chook chook bok
Ooooh is it raining? = boooooooooooooooook chook

No doubt you'll learn more as you speak chook to your girls

[Nicos]

Chicken language:
Good morning = bok bok
Hello dad = bok bok
I'm going to lay an egg = bok bok bok bok bok
I'm laying an egg = CHOOOOOOOK bok bok CHOOOOOOK
I've laid an egg = CHOOOOOOK chook chook CHOOOOOOK
Have you seen my egg? = bok bok chook bok
Can we have some treats now? = bok bok bok chook chook bok
Ooooh is it raining? = boooooooooooooooook chook

No doubt you'll learn more as you speak chook to your girls

You sure do fit in well on the Vine Maureen!!!!!!!


...utterly fantastic Maureen!!!!!!!


Bit like Klingon but less aggressive then eh????

[Snadger]

Chicken language:
Good morning = bok bok
Hello dad = bok bok
I'm going to lay an egg = bok bok bok bok bok
I'm laying an egg = CHOOOOOOOK bok bok CHOOOOOOK
I've laid an egg = CHOOOOOOK chook chook CHOOOOOOK
Have you seen my egg? = bok bok chook bok
Can we have some treats now? = bok bok bok chook chook bok
Ooooh is it raining? = boooooooooooooooook chook

No doubt you'll learn more as you speak chook to your girls

Ahhh! that's where I have been going wrong then, I have been bok bokking when I should have been chook chooking! Lol
I bet they think I'm a right dork, with speech problems!

[sunflower]

That is so lovely. Well done to you and your hens. Happy henkeeping!

[windymiller]

What a lovely story. It just goes to show that a bit of kindness can work wonders.

Enjoy all your lovely eggs!

[MaureenHall]

Ne'er mind Snadge, they'll chat to you no matter what you say. Probably telling the others that the take-away has arrived anyway

[maytreefrannie]

snadger, you bring me back to years ago when my children were small and I kept chickens - at one stage, we got some 'retired' battery hens which we picked up from an unebelievably crowded, smelly housing unit - husband and the hen-man went in, I just stayed at the door.
Anyway, at first the newbies were scared and wouldn't come out of the henhouse but in a few weeks they were picking and scratching around the garden and proved the hen-man wrong - he'd told us they were all 'cleared out' (to put it politely) and we'd never see an egg from them.
It's rewarding to see them adapting to being properly treated and you deserve every egg they thank you with.
Best of luck with your new arrivals!

[milly2306]

well done! you must feel really good that your obvious loving care is doing the trick. i talk to my girls all the time and my son keeps creeping up with his phone to video me. he reckons it would be a big hit on you tube! ah, he's got to be a bit quicker to catch his old mum!
xxxmillyxxx

[JackieAt]

congrats and many happy egg laying years.
I too talk to my chooks much to my neighbours amusement especially first thing in the morning when she is pegging out her washing.
Nothing more relaxing than half an hour chicken talk after a hard day at work.... they seem to 'understand!!'

[Sue]

What about chir, chir, chir, this means look out girls I think I've just spotted some huge dangerous predator. Usually a magpie going overhead!

Chook, chook, chook - done very quickly. Look girls just found the most ginormous slug. (why they advertise the fact I don't know)

Sue

[MaureenHall]

What about chir, chir, chir, this means look out girls I think I've just spotted some huge dangerous predator. Usually a magpie going overhead!

Chook, chook, chook - done very quickly. Look girls just found the most ginormous slug. (why they advertise the fact I don't know)

Sue

Sue, you're as daft as I am

[terrier]

One of my neighbours said to me a few months ago "we always know when you're home, we can hear you talking to all your animals"