It's 5:15 pm. When I went out to feed this morning, I locked the horses out of the stall. They can stand under trees if they get hot - they hollowed out a stand of waiawi and it's always cool in there.
I think my husband usually feeds between 4:30 - 5:00, but sometimes it is a darn pain to get everyone where they are supposed to be. So, I am thinking, if I wait until they're really hungry, the chickens will go where they're supposed to be, the sheep and horses ditto.
It is just plain hard (and probably pretty funny for the observer) when one or two chickens decide to run around the coop, or forget how to get from the horse stall to the chicken coop. Twelve hours ago, they successfully navigated the trip from chicken coop to horse stall, but, you know, they are chickens. In spite of a bad reputation, sheep got nothing on chickens in the dumb department.
So, here I am, standing at the window looking out at all the animals lined up at their respective gates. Not the chickens....but they're pecking in the general direction of the right place. I get a kick out of going out there with the re-purposed coffee can/grain scoop. The chickens make a mad dash for my legs. The sheep start running and the horses set up a chorus. I just hope this vague feeling of guilt for making them wait for half an hour is balanced by the neat marching in file of animals and fowl heading for their respective places.
Otherwise, I will be chasing chickens with half an eye toward that bad ram.
5 comments:
Did it work?
The other day, I decided that Steve and I should try to move all 5 calves from the lean-to to the garden to play. The problem is, I did it after they had eaten. So, they wouldn't follow the milk buckets. 5 calves going 15 different ways. Feeding time is always exciting. And chickens are stupider than any animals I know. I hope they all went in for you!
(Laughing)...just found your blog yesterday. Great writing and your sense of humor is right up my alley.
I bet it's hard not to get an attitude of "you get what you deserve stupid chickens." Dumb is relative, I guess. The only time you'd recognize it is if you're smarter than the thing that's dumber than you are.
I wonder if my cat thinks of me that way?
I think the Commander always overfeeds the animals. I like to wait to feed the animals like you describe and they are always waiting for me, everything goes nice and orderly.
Hi Daph, I think it worked - my husband went out before I could test my theory, but he came in pretty quick, which means he wasn't chasing chickens and sheep. Usually, if I wait long enough, everyone goes where they are supposed to.
Chai Chai, usually that works for me, too.
Hi Tami, Aloha and welcome! I don't know, though. I have had chickens who stuck their heads through chicken wire and let the dogs chew off their heads. That seems pretty |dumb| (like an absolute number form of dumb) to me.
Yeah, Ruth, I do think hunger is a great herder of animals.
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