Avian Explorer » chicken

Goats

Elizabeth — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 16:57:00 +0000

Back when Jon and I were in South Carolina, his parents took us to a farm where they make soap out of goat milk. They had the most beautiful animals. There were chickens.

and peacocks

and the cutest goats ever! They even had pellets available so you could feed the goats.

Goats are so neat. I really like how their pupils are rectangular. This is supposed to help with depth perception for evading predators.

Have you ever seen the blog Nanny Goats in Panties? Margaret posts the best pictures of goats. This is my favorite. Someday I would love to have a goat farm.

Chickens in Salt Lake City

Elizabeth — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 01:59:06 +0000

Have you heard about the controversy surrounding residential chicken ownership? There is a fantastic NY Times article about the problem. It’s allowed in Salt Lake City, though. We discovered urban chickens during a walk.

They are so beautiful. The statute states that you can only keep chickens for making eggs. Since we don’t eat eggs and they don’t have an exception for people that want to keep chickens for cuddling, we can’t keep chickens.

Oh well, it’s probably for the best. There are two cats that have taken an unhealthy interest in my backyard because of all the bird activity.

Search Terms

Elizabeth — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:32:00 +0000

Okay, whoever came here using the search term “mixing cockatiel with chickens” needs to know that these species can’t breed with each other. The only mixing of cockatiels that I’ve seen is with a pink cockatoo called a Galah. I tend to think that is a hoax, but there is a video, so maybe it’s legitimate. But this type of breeding is dangerous for the cockatiel. The cockatiel could be hurt during the mating process, or become egg-bound. In any case, don’t try to breed your cockatiel with a chicken.

On a less alarming note, whoever came here wondering about what it means when a cockatiel dips its head, you’ve come to the right place! When a cockatiel dips his head and spreads his wings like Audrey is doing below, he’s flirting with you.

This position is referred to as a heart-shaped pose (Update: or more commonly known as heart wings, as Cyndi mentioned in the comments). The best way to respond is to play along with him by dipping your head, making kissy noises, etc.

The dipping behavior is also a way to determine if your cockatiel is male or female. The males flirt and sing. The females enjoy being flirted with and sung to.

Chickens

Elizabeth — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 02:24:00 +0000

We spent the day in San Francisco today, so no new bird pictures. This is a view of the city from the Castro.

This rooster was at the San Francisco Zoo. Look at his headdress! He’s the George Clinton of chickens. How does he even see through that?

This guy was very goal oriented. He saw a female and approached.

These were very open chickens. He had a whole audience to watch him mount the chicken.

She has a pretty big headdress too. Hers looks more like clown hair than feathers, though.

This isn’t bird related, but have you ever seen a meerkat? They’re so cool! This guy looks like he owns the world.