The Funny Farm: Nothin’ Like Chickens To Brighten Your Day

Keeping chickens can be a slog. Just like housework, there is no end to cleaning up poop, filling waterers and feeders, and contending with the dust. Then there’s being vigilant to predators, pests and parasites. So there’s got to be an upside, right? And yes, there is. Chickens are worth their weight in gold for their entertainment value alone. If we could bottle and sell their ability to make us laugh we’d all be rich. So when you’re feeling a bit worn down check out The Funny Farm for some validation that you’re on the right track.

Danielle Hobbs

It’s funny how much you can miss your chickens and they can miss you. I dropped a very large log from high off our wood cart onto my very small foot. I was able to let my chickens out and feed them on the first day, but after that my foot swelled up and bruised too badly for me to walk more then a few steps at a time, so tending my girls was out of the question. I had to leave it up to my son and husband, which they do not enjoy.

I was finally able to get out there this morning to tend them and, boy, were they happy to see me! Even the three roosters. I have chickens perched on each shoulder and flocking around my legs. No one was pecking at me, and even the mean Guardian of the Nesting Boxes didn’t try to peck my hand off today. They have been laying ten eggs a day up until the day after I got hurt, then they were only giving six or seven. Dumpling, one of my Leghorns hasn’t laid in three days. I wonder if they will stop their laying strike, and give me more today? I’m interested to see if their attachment to me actually does affect production. I think they were stressed that I haven’t been out to them in several days.

Chris Pacheco

Some interesting facts about chickens because you need to know these things: Contrary to what people think, chickens will not only eat what they know is good for them. My Brahma’s favourite food is the white Styrofoam board on the outside of the small coop. We put it on in November and then took it back off in November. I spring-cleaned the pen and tucked behind the brooder was a piece of it. The Brahmas came running.

My chickens love pasta, Swiss cheese, chicken and any fruit, except citrus, but they refuse to eat Cheerios or fake crabmeat.

Chicks are cute but they destroy everything around them. Mine are two weeks old and they spill their water 5,374,257 times a day. I put it in a bigger, heavier waterer and elevated it and now they spill more water from higher up.

My office is covered in dust because they make it from I-don’t-know-what. And they’re crazy. They are terrified of everything, but they also want to sit in my hand.

Finally, if you’re thinking of getting chickens, chicken math is a thing. You don’t think it’ll affect you, but you’re wrong. I started with four. I now have 27. So just go ahead, make your plans for the cute little flock of five, but build a coop for ten. Or thirty.

It’s the gateway drug to farming. I can’t wait to get my sheep and donkey. And maybe a cow. Or six.

Rachel Caldwell Iannarino

When you can’t find your kid: I moved the girls from their brooder into their coop yesterday. They are doing great. However my 11-year-old son is missing them. I looked out and found this!

Karyn Adams

I must share: my dad was sitting on the porch and this chicken jumped the fence and went right up to him and jumped on his lap. She sat there for about two hours. Even at 90, my dad still attracts the chicks.

Jo Bermejo-Goldsberry

6am: I’m sleep, phone rings. I answer and the lady tells me she has my chicks and they’re ready to be picked up. I think I’m dreaming. I was quiet for a while, so she reiterated that she was at the post office and our chicks had arrived.

God is good because I didn’t order or pay for any chicks but now we’re up another thirty chickens. I can’t make this sh!t up. Needless to say, my girls are thrilled.

Kathy Tedrick

Is the matrix broken? We have always had 24 chickens, they’re five months old. We got them in the mail and raised them from the get-go. They free range so we are used to giving them a quick count to make sure they all made it in the coop at night. We moved the coop to the other side of the yard. Chickens are kinda dumb; they could clearly see the coop at the other side of the yard but they just went over and stood in the empty spot where the coop used to be. After they made us chase them in the dark for thirty minutes and then carry them to the coop, my husband gave them a quick count. 27 chickens. We now have 27 chickens! We have no neighbors that are close, so where did they come from?! Our minds are blown.

Justin n Danielle Jones

Weird admission: I find it therapeutic to clean out my chicken’s run and coop.

I’ll gripe with myself while having coffee about having to get it done, but I won’t lie; once I’m out there raking, scooping, and hauling off their sh*t, I find the tasks to be oddly satisfying. It really gets the serotonin flowing.

It’s not like they can clean up their own crap, so it just feels good to be doing them a service. Nothing really beats having some happy chickens clucking, scratching, and pecking away in a freshly cleaned area

Lacy Raymond Newbury

I need backup here. I know I’m not losing my mind, but everytime I tell someone that two of my chickens were PURRING last night when I was saying goodnight to them, I get looked at like I’m nuts. I’m getting asked, “You mean like a cat purr?” “YES! It sounded just like that!” Anybody else’s chickens purr when spending time with them? It means they love me unconditionally, right?