This is a scene I happen upon quite often lately. The chooks put the kittens down for their afternoon nap then slowly surround them. Babysitting. These two sister chickens are always the closest to the kittens. You may remember them from the spring when they were job sharing one small chick, who they eventually lost.
Now they have taken over the duties of babysitting the kittens. If I had zoomed out further you would have seen more chooks and all the peacocks, who often make up the outer circle but they all moved off when I appeared. 
But these two who would not leave their babysitting posts for all the tea in china. This little scene is usually in a sunny corner, I am not sure why the babies were put to bed in the calfs pen yesterday afternoon. Bobby was outside.
Now look below – do you see what I see?
Yes. Someone broke the sheep’s door. Maybe Mia and Mama are getting too fat to fit through the door anymore, or maybe they all decided to try and go through at the same time with Hairy being a bit rammy. Old barn doors that are frozen to the ground break easily. This goes on the repairs list. And when it thaws a bit more today I shall dig out the door and push it along to make the gap wider. 
We went for a walk yesterday. 
My friends and I, though Daisy is in a crazy mood lately
chasing everyone and larking about. Once we got out in the field she was more interested in finding a little grass to pull up.
Li’l Puss rides on my shoulder most of the time that I am in the barn ( he uses his claws if you try to shift him off before he is ready), and follows along behind when I am out and about. He has been seen jumping onto the backs of cows. Queenie does not seem to mind but Daisy always startles and looks back in that totally dislocated way that cows can and says Get Off. But L’il Puss will only get off if he is close enough to a fence for a dignified dismount. I will get a shot of this one day soon.
The Daily View.
Good morning. Today will be another warmish day so we will spend time outside doing repairs and mucking out pens while it is comfortable to work out there. John is still off work (he does not work in the winter) so this is the time of year to get ahead on the heavy chores if we can get outside.
Daisy, who went through a period of good behaviour, has started jumping and kicking again during the second half of her milking, I will test her again for mastitis, then as soon as her homeopathic remedies arrive (today hopefully) I shall begin to transition her to once a day milking (OAD). This will take the pressure off everyone (though The Bobby will need to be weaned from milk if her production drops too far) and I will move her milking time to late morning when it is warmer. The plan is that I can milk her once a day through to the spring when I will get her pregnant again. So let’s hope that plan works out. Once a day milking is much easier on the cow and the humans. My research tells me that I can expect anything from a 10% to a 30% drop in milk. Though the fat content will be higher and the cow will put on some weight. I will be vigilant as far as health goes as the risk of mastitis over that transition period is much higher. But it is time. I have pushed her far enough.
You all have a lovely day. We will.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
71 responses to “Chooks are very strict Babysitters”
The farm look so different in the snow!! Beautiful!
Morning Mimo, it is like a different world in the winter.. we live a life of extremes.. c
Chickens are everyone’s friend I think although we did have one hen who hated cats and would give a fierce peck to one if it so much as looked at her! You may remember too that we’ve had a couple of hens in the past who have shared anest with a duck. Hope all goes well with Daisy – all these things we need to learn!
Christine
I am sure the babysitters peck these kittens if they try to move, this is why they lie where they are told so quietly.. have a lovely day.. c
Love the chicken babysitters! How funny that they’ve adopted the kittens. I’m amazed at how well everyone gets along on the farmy. 🙂
Living all together in the barn does make for some interesting relationships.. c
chicken sitter! who knew? hope things go smoothly with daisy!
careful how you say that!
I am hoping that things go smoothly too, but if it does not work then back to twice a day we will go.. c
Love the photo of Lil Puss in the snow. Well, love all the pictures, but that one best 🙂
I like that one too, cats are so photogenic!! c
How did the whole cat-riding-on-the-shoulder carnival ride get started? I find this quite interesting and wonder if you find it rather annoying, or enjoyable.
He has always done it with The Tall Teenager but lately if i lean too close to a post, usually to take a photo, he simply steps across. It is ok while I am in winter coats, he is a bit of a snuggler though and I am not!! Having a cat peering at your eyelashes while you are trying to take a shot is a little disconcerting.. c
Oh, I never thought of that. Then he is a photo critic perhaps.
Ah, maybe you are right, he is peering at the Screen! Why didn’t i think of that? c
I looks anything but warmish to me. Morning C. I really feel for Daisy, having had mastitis myself in the distant past. I hope the once-a-day milking works out.
I have also, this is why I have to make sure she is healthy before I start to go to Once a Day, there are dairy’s now that whole herds of cows are being milked once a day and as it is cheaper cost wise , for slightly less milk that has a higher fat content, they are coming out ahead which is encouraging.. c
Is it possible she is skittish because she wants a mate?
she is close to being on heat so yes absolutely, she always gets naughty round about then.. up to a week ahead.. but she has to wait until march/april.. it all depends on how long WE can hold out. c
I need that Volks Wagon for my daily commute…
Can’t have it!! (laughter!) morning mitch.. c
but but…I could really use something with that kind of gas mileage!! Please…
Runs on the smell of an oily rag this car, cooking oil in the summer as you know! c
yes I know…and that smell just can’t be good for you. So I should take it off of your hands to save you!! lol John can buy you something new and better…
yeah right!! c
How adorable that the chicks baby sit the kittens; it’s a good thing they weren’t born with the instinct to be enemies. Daisy looks a little thin or maybe it’s just the angle of the shot. Those naughty sheep. Have a lovely day C it’s chilly but sunny here and they’re predicting a thaw of 9-11C here by Friday.
Daisy’s breed (Ayrshire) is pretty tall and angular but she has been milking quite big amounts for over 7 months now. And I don’t want to take advantage of the cow, she can give less milk now as long as she will keep going. If she were a beef cow she would be weaning her calf off by now so it is time. morning eva.. c
Love the babysitters!!! Well—I love the kitties more but love the thought that the chooks are responsible enough to do the job!!! Lovely pictures as always. Makes me smile to see all the critters!
It is amusing how they are always surrounded by these chickens when they are sleeping, maybe it is a warmth thing, but they never sleep alone.. morning beth ann.. c
Chickens as babysitters. There’s a fantastic children’s book right there.
The chickens could have their own nanny service, getting calls from around the barnyard to mind other animals babies.(maybe a little ground squirrel is their messenger) . the chooks clucking about the farm with their bags full of tricks and colouring pencils! exchanging stories of badly behaved lambs or peachicks.. c
Oh your chooks are wonderful and so responsible! All your club of personalities look healthy and happy. (remember I would never denigrate them with the term ‘animals) Have a wonderful day!
They certainly feel like a club too! You have a fab day too chris! c
One of my Spaniel bitches (many years ago) developed mastitis as she was weaning the pups, and we couldn’t give her anitibiotics. My vet recommenended covering her mams with warm cabbage leaves before and after feeding the pups – and the inflammation soon calmed down. I think it also helps with letting down of the milk.
No it wouldn’t have been sweat Hairy Maclairy that broke the barn door? NIce to see him again 🙂 simply love the chook babysitting service. Morning Mis C. Laura
I am just double checking that she is well before we start the transition.. .. there is no sign of mastitis.. but i feel I have read about the cabbage leaves before.. did it work?
Sure seemed to reduce the heat and inflammation until such time we could wean the pups fully and get mum onto some conventional treatment. I would be interested to see how you would apply this to Daisy. I just used surgical tape to stick it on the most hairless bits of skin. She didn’t fight it – so she must have felt some relief. Laura
Li’l Puss a cowpoke! I’ve a feeling there’s more to this cat than meets the eye. Good to see the kittens are being so closely attended. But chicken babysitters? Who’d-a-thunk?
Great post today, Celi. Enjoy the sunshine and warmth while you can! Heaven knows how long we’ll have either one.
Oh, the farmie’s peaceable kingdom – such nice kitten guardians.
The barn doors reminded me of a house we had with cat doors which the Westie could fit through (house backed up to a farmer’s pasture so no way would cats stay indoors with al that to explore). A few years later we adopted a Bouvier – who got rather large, but in bad weather would try to follow the cat in through the cat door if it thundered…bent the metal frame up pretty badly trying to get the shoulders in. We did replace with a large do door – we found my 6 yr old daughter and friends used it as a quick entrance. Husband decided we either just hinge the door at the top for everyone or put a solid door in. Considering the nerve of the visiting raccoons, we opted to replace the door and build shelters for dog and cat for emergencies when we weren’t home to see their scowling faces glued to the window.
I can so see the large farm animals shouldering in…they were sure you meant to include them.
(If you get time, I wrote a post about stalking – I’ve held off for some time and tried to not make it too harsh. would be interested in what you think)