This video is so sweet, you could plotz. I’m not kidding.
Look at how good, how affectionate these chickens are with these young children, some of whom are only just a little bigger than the chicken that they’re cuddling. You’ve gotta love the little boy giving his chicken a ride on a swing, admonishing the bird to “hold on.”
This has got to be so amazingly good for you, growing up. I’m convinced it’d be a better world if a lot more children cuddled chickens.
They’ll play with dogs or cats or even people: chickens like a good time.
One thing they don’t appear to like at all is their reflection in a mirror. This is proof that chickens are not narcissistic. Which I’m sure is a relief to us all.
You don’t have to be human to enjoy a frozen pond. Here’s a cat and a bunch of chickens making the most of it. Gee, it’s like a scene in a Freddy the Pig book: Walter R. Brooks, call your office.
Note the chicken standing around on one foot, just to show off. They do that to get the cat’s goat.
Well, okay, some of these interactions are not so friendly. But chickens have to get along with humans, goats, dogs, cats, and little kids who don’t want to give up their bag of tasty snacks. They handle all these situations if not with aplomb, then at least with chutzpah. And how many times do you see “aplomb” and “chutzpah” in one sentence?
At first glance it seems like the rooster’s hogging all the treats. But no–he’s giving them to these two hens. I’m beginning to feel like maybe my life needs chickens in it. Anyway, it’s a bonus video because the kitten flick was so short. Maybe you could call this a chick flick.
After learning about how hard it is to care for various kinds of birds, Patty and I got to wondering about chickens as pets. Those of you who’ve lived in the country won’t find this surprising, but to this suburban boy, it’s one of those “Why didn’t anybody tell me about this?” moments. My grandpa kept chickens, but they were for eating: my mother had some rather lurid tales about that.
But it seems chickens are friendly, cuddly, reasonably calm, don’t require exotic or expensive food, and can get along with dogs and cats as well as people. What’s not to like?