Chickens

A few weeks ago, we got 8 chickens from a friend.  They were about 5 weeks old at the time and had been confined.  We kept them in the coop and chicken run for several days until they got used to being here, then DH let them out and has been trying to train them to eat bugs in the garden.  They are pretty slow learners, though, probably due to being in a confined/indoor space for the first part of their lives.

When I walked out to the potato patch today, they followed me (hoping I would feed them, no doubt).  They love potato bugs, but still haven't figured out how to find them.  I put a couple of the bugs on the ground and one of the chickens ate them.  As soon as I walked back toward the coop, they all ran back too.  Previous chickens we've had were much more adventurous than this bunch. 





My feeling is if they don't start eating some of the bugs in the garden, they'll be going in the freezer sooner rather than later.  Right now they probably average about 4 1/2 - 5 pounds each, just right for eating.