Easter Egger in the tree With chickens being a bird, you might think this to be a pretty straight forward question. But today’s domesticated breed is a long ways from their original ancestors. The wildness of yesterday has been largely replaced with size, plumage and egg production. So are those old instincts still alive? We have found that chickens left to their own means, may or may not roost in a tree – it completely depends on the bird’s personality. What is still instinctive for chickens, however, is the desire to be safe when it gets dark. These birds have very poor night vision and as a result, need to be ‘in bed’ before the sun completely goes down. Should I Let My Chicken Roost Outside At Night? My sleep this past summer was regularly interrupted by

It’s always impressed me just how good chickens are at digging holes. Most animals that are known for digging have feet that are good for scooping. A chicken’s skinny clawed toes are anything but effective at scooping. Yet despite this physical limitation, those little feathered cluckers can really move the dirt. So why do they do this? The primary reason that a chicken will dig holes is because it’s instinct. Yes, there are benefits for your bird to dig holes – take a dust bath, keeping cool, a snug place to lay eggs, ect. But it’s their instinct that drives them to do this. And the instinct to scratch at the ground is completely innate. This is pretty impressive considering that they have to be shown as chicks, ‘this is water, this is food’. But somehow,