The Piranhas

We like to train our chickens to come when called. It is more essential now that we have 26 of them. When they start to free range we need to collect them when we need to. Food is involved in the training and my wife started training during their first week with us.

Now that they get to roam in their pen in the Super Max we walk by them whenever we work outside and they look at us and regard us, but when they hear us call, “Chick Chick Chick” they come running in our direction. We buy inexpensive heads of iceberg lettuce for them and once a day we take them some and hand feed them.

My wife has been in Canada for the last two weeks leaving me in charge of this ritual, but the chickens have grown so much since she’s been gone and I’m wondering if it is a good idea to enter their pen with Kevlar. As soon as I sound the call they come running and flying into the screen. I enter carefully so as not to step on any of them, but they now try to fly to peck the treats out of my hand before I get to the spot where I feed them.

Once I bend down to feed them there is a massive cloud of chickens. They peck at the lettuce, they peck at my hand and they peck according to the pecking order. Each one will snag a piece and run off to eat it quickly and then return for more. No one goes without. I can only describe it as feeding piranhas. Fortunately my wife returns today and I’ll be happy to return that chore to her.