Dirty Hens

So, this may come as a surprise to you, but hens do not enjoy bathing in water like other birds - hence the term mad as a wet hen. They do however, love a good dust bath which protects them from parasites. The first time I saw them doing this I thought they were sick and dying. It is an unusual thing to see a hen laying on her back or side kicking up dirt all over herself. It must feel pretty good too because they roll their eyes back in their head as though they were being massaged.

These two were doing just that today and I tried to get a shot of it. This picture made me giggle the way they look like best friends. They're still working out their pecking order and do a lot of running up to each other with ruffled feathers and going beak to beak for a few seconds. Then they quickly walk away in opposite directions as though they are embarrassed by the whole scenario. Funny birds. I suppose the fact that there is no rooster in their flock makes it trickier to work out who's the top dog, chick.

Tonight is yoga, dinner, and wine at an after-hours networking group meeting. I'm taking fresh baked artisan bread to share.