Animals
- Ya Gotta Have Friends!
You might remember some weeks ago that I moved two chickensinto the barn from the henhouses...Rose, who was being picked on un-mercifully by the other hens,and Ivanka the naked neck chicken who had stopped leaving the henhouse. (As a side note, you might...
- Minerva
Minerva May Honeycutt has had a makeover.I know...."finally." She was really looking bedraggled after our long cold winter.A new hat and hairdo,along with some overalls and flannel blouse(not to mention the necessary farmgirl apron)and she is ready for...
- My Hero
Each spring we go through a period of time when the local foxes are hunting for their kits. During that time our chickens are in great peril and free ranging has to stop for a couple of weeks. This year that time came a bit early. The other...
- Smoochie's Fascination
For the past several days, when I am out for the morning feed, I have noticed that Smoochie (one of our fainting goat bucks) has been blubbering at the fence beside the chicken yard. "Blubbering" is a mating ritual for male goats. When they are desirous...
- Turkens....half Turkey/half Chicken?
One look at these two chicks might convince you that there is such a thing as a bird that is half chicken and half turkey! Actually for the past week now, I have thought that perhaps these two were miniature ostriches. But, after a little detective work,...
Animals
The Nitty Gritty
This post may be old news to you who have your own chickens,
but to you who do not....
well....
a little chicken education.
(and hopefully not as gross as the past two days, right?)
I thought today we might explore the digestive system of the chicken.
Fun, huh?
Did you know that chickens do not have a stomach.
No, siree, they do not.
They have two organs instead....
a crop
and a gizzard.
(Personally, I have always loved the word "gizzard"!)
Most times you cannot see a bird's crop
(or gizzard for that matter)
because the crop is hidden under the breast feathers.
The crop is a sac that acts as a "doggie bag" for the chicken.
It allows the chicken to pick (or peck) up a large amount of food
and then take it with her to digest at a later time.
(Digestion is done in the gizzard.)
This sac lies at the base of the neck just at the top of the breast
to the right of the chicken's midline.
Ivanka was kind enough to show us her crop.
Fear not, there is nothing wrong with Ivanka.
She is a Transylvanian naked neck chicken.
You will notice that her crop is quite full.
She just finished stuffing herself with scratch...
a little treat of corn and oats that the hens get each day.
Slowly throughout the morning, the contents of her crop will pass
down into her muscular gizzard and be digested.
Digestive enzymes and grit will accomplish digestion
as the gizzard grinds away.
The grit is something that we give as a supplement to their diet.
Grit is nothing more than tiny pieces of limestone.
Thank goodness we humans have a stomach, and no need to eat stones!
Just imagine what that would do to our teeth!
Do chickens have teeth????????
- Ya Gotta Have Friends!
You might remember some weeks ago that I moved two chickensinto the barn from the henhouses...Rose, who was being picked on un-mercifully by the other hens,and Ivanka the naked neck chicken who had stopped leaving the henhouse. (As a side note, you might...
- Minerva
Minerva May Honeycutt has had a makeover.I know...."finally." She was really looking bedraggled after our long cold winter.A new hat and hairdo,along with some overalls and flannel blouse(not to mention the necessary farmgirl apron)and she is ready for...
- My Hero
Each spring we go through a period of time when the local foxes are hunting for their kits. During that time our chickens are in great peril and free ranging has to stop for a couple of weeks. This year that time came a bit early. The other...
- Smoochie's Fascination
For the past several days, when I am out for the morning feed, I have noticed that Smoochie (one of our fainting goat bucks) has been blubbering at the fence beside the chicken yard. "Blubbering" is a mating ritual for male goats. When they are desirous...
- Turkens....half Turkey/half Chicken?
One look at these two chicks might convince you that there is such a thing as a bird that is half chicken and half turkey! Actually for the past week now, I have thought that perhaps these two were miniature ostriches. But, after a little detective work,...