Sometimes chickens want a relax time in their everyday foraging routine from sunup to sundown. The hens I used to have would eat a quick morning snack then head directly to this big pine in our forest and start sun and dust bathing. Fluffing up their feathers when done, they would scrounge the backyard for more grass or insects, by afternoon they liked sneaking to the neighbors yard ( everyday I had to chase them back. Though once my Buff Orpington Butter got broody and snuck into the neighbors garage and decided to brood her eggs on an orange bucket in the garage!). After I chased them back to my yard they would ventured to the deck where they hopped onto a tree stump and stole seeds from the bird feeder. When the sun started retreating, the hens would run to the front yard to grab some caterpillars then lazily walk back to their coop, eat from their feeder, and jump up to roost.
Dust Bathing
After finding a nice dry area to lie down my hens would start dustbathing and creating shallow pits that they would revisit day by day. Dustbathing is essential for chickens because it helps deter parasites who live hidden under their thick layer of feathers sucking their blood. I usually find mites near the vent, the bare skin makes them quite visible other than that they are basically unseen.
Sunbathing
Spreading out their wings down onto the ground and relaxing their whole body, chickens soak up the warmth and vitamin D and other essential proteins for a healthy body.
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| I see something way way up there. |
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| What Mellow saw. |
