Have you ever wondered what your chickens do all day? From the outside, it might look pretty easy.
Wake up, eat, walk around, take a dust bath, lay an egg, and take a nap. Sounds like a pretty good life, right?
Well, according to the chickens, you have no idea how hard they work! If chickens could talk, they would probably tell you that running a chicken yard is a very busy job.
Hello there, I’m Farmer Ron, and I have raised chickens for over 20 years. And I like to share the joys and lessons that my chickens have taught me over the years. I do that at Chicken Yard Dad Jokes. Come by and visit!
6:00 AM — Time to Wake Up! The sun comes up, and the chickens are ready to start the day. They don’t need an alarm clock. They ARE the alarm clock!
The first chicken starts making noise, and before you know it, the entire flock is awake.
If breakfast isn’t served quickly, you may hear: “Excuse me! We’ve been waiting for hours!” It has been about three minutes. But apparently, that’s three minutes too long.
7:00 AM — Breakfast. Breakfast is serious business. Chickens love their feed, but they also want to know if something better might be available.
Maybe there are some scraps.
Maybe there are some bugs.
Maybe Farmer Ron has a bag of treats. The moment that treat bag makes a noise,
every chicken in the yard suddenly becomes an Olympic sprinter
.“Treats? Did somebody say treats?”And just like that, breakfast is over, and the treat investigation begins.
9:00 AM — Important Yard Business. Now it’s time to inspect the property. Chickens are excellent inspectors.
They check the grass.
They check the garden.
They check the fence.
They check anything you moved since yesterday.
If you bring something new into the yard, they will immediately investigate it.
You might think they are helping. They aren’t. They’re just curious. Their official motto is:
“ If you don’t know what it is, peck it.”
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9:00 AM — Important Yard Business. Now it’s time to inspect the property. Chickens are excellent inspectors.
They check the grass.
They check the garden.
They check the fence.
They check anything you moved since yesterday.
If you bring something new into the yard, they will immediately investigate it. You might think they are helping. They aren’t. They’re just curious. Their official motto is:
“If you don’t know what it is, peck it.”
11:00 AM — Time for a Dust Bath. After all that hard work, a chicken needs a break. That’s where the dust bath comes in.
A chicken finds a nice spot, fluffs up her feathers, rolls around, and enjoys some peaceful relaxation. To us, it might look like she’s making a mess. To her, it’s a spa day. And apparently, chicken spas don’t need reservations.
1:00 PM — Egg-Laying Time. Somewhere during the day, one of the hens decides it’s time to lay an egg. She finds a nice nesting box and gets to work. When she’s finished, she may walk out like she just completed an important business meeting.
“I made an egg. You’re welcome.”
And honestly, that’s something worth being proud of!
3:00 PM — More Eating. By now, the chickens have probably forgotten that they already ate breakfast. So naturally, it’s time to eat again. Chickens aren’t exactly known for keeping track of meal times.
If there is food available, they are interested.
If there isn’t food available, they are very interested in finding out why.
5:00 PM — Evening Gossip. As the day winds down, the flock gathers together. Nobody knows exactly what chickens talk about, but we’re pretty sure there is plenty of gossip.
“Did you see what she did today?” “Yes! And did you see where she was digging?” "I knew she was up to something!”
Every chicken yard probably has its own daily news network.
7:00 PM — Bedtime. Finally, it’s time to head back into the coop. After a long day of eating, exploring, dust bathing, laying eggs, and keeping an eye on everything, the chickens are ready for bed.
Of course, one chicken will probably refuse to go inside. There is always one. Eventually, everyone settles down for the night. And tomorrow morning, they’ll do it all over again.
A Chicken’s Life Isn’t So Easy! When you think about it, chickens really do have a busy schedule. They have meals to supervise, treats to investigate, gardens to inspect, eggs to produce, and plenty of important chicken business to handle.
Maybe chickens don’t have jobs like we do, but they certainly know how to stay busy. And that’s one of the things that makes them so much fun. They may spend their days scratching, pecking, clucking, and wandering around the yard, but they also bring plenty of laughter to our lives. So the next time you see your chicken taking a nap in the sunshine, remember:
She’s not being lazy. She’s just recovering from a very busy day!
— Farmer Ron
