One of my favorite things to do is let my chickens out for supervised free ranging time while following them around with my camera. I love to watch them exhibit their chicken-ness and have a good time scratching, pecking, and exploring. On an outing earlier this week, Jobin and Tubs were especially interested to see what was blooming in the garden area by the house.
Red checked out the garden for a bit as well, but then decided to join the rest of the flock in the woods where Cam was watching over the other hens as they searched for bugs.
When the daylight began to fade, Cam led the way back towards the coop with his faithful girl Ellie by his side (she's really enjoying her return to the flock after hatching out her five chicks).
On the way they had to grab a few quick bites of the freshly mowed grass before calling it a night. Sylvester stayed close to keep an eye on them until they retired for the evening.
And just as soon as it started, the evening stroll was over. I can't think of a better way to wind down than watching my flock enjoy themselves and seeing the sun set through the tree line in the woods. Life is good!
If you have chickens, do you find it relaxing to sit and observe their behavior?
~Tammy
thanks for sharing your 'chickenness'. :) cam is a handsome fellow!
ReplyDeleteLove your weekly chicken updates. You have a beautiful flock!
ReplyDeleteYour blog is sooo enjoyable. I love all of your photography and writing. Thank you for sharing your life with us.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the stroll around your garden. I too enjoy watching them spend time with each other, especially stress-free foraging.
ReplyDeleteOh I adore watching my chickens interact with each other and take dust baths and chase bugs all day. I can't imagine life without chickens!! Love all your photos of your chickens' outings. :)
ReplyDeleteNo chickens yet, but one day! Love all the names.....I can so see the personalities shining through. I always enjoy stopping by. Have a great weekend...Blessings!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness do I love to watch them. :) This was a great post - nice to see all the different breeds. They are just beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteI love that shot of Cam and Ellie, they look like a sweet married couple! I let my girls & boy out at lunchtime for a few hours as we don't have to worry about predators. The only reason I leave them in the run for the morning is so that they lay the eggs in the laying box not somewhere obscure! At the moment their favourite spot to go is under some trees where they spend hours scratching in the fallen leaves. I love watching chicken behaviour (apart from when they are picking on Mollie the Silkie bantam!) S:)
ReplyDeleteThe girls are looking beautiful.
ReplyDeleteTammy, I do enjoy your feathered Friday! They are all so cute, love the shot of Sylvester chicken sitting. Great shots, have a happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteSounds like the perfect way to spend an eveninf.
ReplyDeleteA perfect evening stroll! Love all the sweet photos! The garden is lovely and your little hens are so pretty. The photo with Cam's tail backlit by the sun is great. It really looks like the Peaceable Kingdom! xoxo
ReplyDeleteI just love how Cam's tail feathers in the shot where they are lit up by the warm sun! And I find it VERY relaxing - in fact, I think I'll go let our chickenistas out just now! (I don't know what to call them, since they aren't chicks anymore, "pullets" sounds utilitarian & detached, yet they aren't officially "hens" yet until they start laying. So chickenistas has fit - for our young miss chickens.) :)
ReplyDeleteOh Tammy I love your photos. I am sitting here watching your chickens enjoy the freedom while my taunting wild turkeys are right outside my window. I need your photo skills. They sure are beautiful. B
ReplyDeleteI pinned this under my "Dream Life" category. Those chicks just look so country...
ReplyDeleteThey are so cute :) Summer evenings are the best and by the look of your photos even better with chickens!
ReplyDeleteCam is so handsome! I do enjoy letting the ladies free range, but until the raspberries are done, they are having to hang out in the run. Cliff said he is not sharing his raspberries!
ReplyDeleteThey all look so happy together!!!
ReplyDeleteI love Cam. Handsome indeed! Amazing photos. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter and I sit outside the dog run fence and feed then watermelon rinds. Then I either put her to bed depending on how tired she s or I make sure the chickies are put away for the night.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots! I'm more making sure Audra doesn't decapitate them at this point than watching them. :)
ReplyDeleteHow very idyllic. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteTammy, your chickens are beautiful and so are your pictures!
ReplyDeleteLovely way to spend the Evening so very enjoyable..I used to watch the Hens over the Fence were I live. Great Shots by the way!
ReplyDeleteI love this series and hearing about the chickens adventures! Beautiful pics, as always! And, I love how they are so interested in the garden!
ReplyDeleteYou are really making me want to get some chickens of my own!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun way to spend an evening. I have never really been around chickens like that, but I bet they really are fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteYour chickens look so happy! Nice to see the cat peacefully looking on...at this point, our chickens chase the cat whenever they can find her!
ReplyDeleteAdorable, and I'm impressed how green your grass is still!
ReplyDeleteJanie x
You have beautiful, plump, happy chickens!! Awesome way to rid your yard of bugs too!
ReplyDeleteThat's a good way to get to know them even better too. It's fun that you follow them around. I like the pics. Cam's an absolute beauty, isn't he??? :)
ReplyDeletebeautiful captures...lovely!
ReplyDeleteTammy, I just can't get over how absolutely gorgeous your photos are! I spent the past 10 days or so nursing my daughter's extremely sick guinea pig back to health. I was heartbroken that we might lose her, and I'd even picked out a spot under the rose bush because I was preparing for the worst. No one will ever need to remind you or me how much our animals-like your wonderful chickens-mean to us:)
ReplyDeleteGreat photos and you know I love this series of yours :). The music man and I sit with our girls at the end of the day several times a week. Chicken TV we like to call it, they are such a kick to watch.
ReplyDeleteSome great shots and I like how the photos really set off the chicken's plumage. Looks like your kitten is enjoying the views too!
ReplyDeleteI love it! Watching my girls is humorous and calming all at once!
ReplyDeleteI just love your Roo, he is gigantic!
AWW I loved this. See that I have a bazillion chickens (well twenty something) and I still really love watching the chicken antics at your place too.
ReplyDeleteMy chickens even ride miniature horses now (hee hee) I know you saw my new post ... you have to get your chickens a miniature horse.
Love your expressive photos, great shots.
To answer your last question, yes, I do like to sit with my chickens and hand feed them greens from around the yard a couple times each day. Even though they are being raised for the table I think it's still important to give them the best quality life I can while they are with me. I really love to watch them do their chicken antics. I wish I could let them out to free range, but there is a hawk, racoons and coyotes here that I want to protect them from. A chicken tractor is the answer for me. It just needs to be built.
ReplyDeleteI adore watching our hens. Looking at these pictures makes me wish we could have a rooster....Cam is gorgeous! Did I tell you that we had to give our Jersey Giant away because she was a HE? He ( Snowball) is living happily at my brothers though, so we can still visit. :)
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