A Day in the Life of a Happy Chicken

Oh, hello. Didn’t see you there. I was tracking a beetle. There’s so much to experience in the great outdoors that I occasionally get distracted, even when faced with such fascinating company as yours. But now let me turn my attention to you. You see, I’d like to tell you a story.

My name is Mimi, and I’m a happy chicken with the highest possible level of hen welfare. I’m smarter than you might think too. Just like you, I spend my day eating, exercising, reveling in my friendships, and looking for ways to engage my birdbrain.

Hey, it’s an expression.

So, ready to learn about a day in the life of me, Mimi, a proud free-range chicken?
Here we go!

 

A.M. Constitutional

 

My day starts at the crack of dawn, when I wake naturally without having to set an alarm or hit the snooze button six times. (Though occasionally, I will admit, I do love a good lie-in.) I wake bright-eyed and well-rested, ready to face a day that’s guaranteed to be full of fun. After a few morning stretches — hens have muscles too, you know! — I head outside.

First things first: Got to keep those feathers shipshape and shiny. As soon as I step into the yard, I head right for one of the many sandpits with which my caretakers provide me for a soothing dust bath. A good roll in the dirt cleans my feathers, ridding me of potentially harmful parasites before they can do any damage. See ya, mites!

Sometime after I wake up — maybe before my dust bath, maybe after — I’ll probably lay an egg. First I cozy up in the nest and get comfy, scratching and rooting and generally perfecting the space. Nesting, if you will. (Oh, you thought that was just pregnant primates? Oh, no, my friend.) Once I feel ready, I’ll do a bit of clucking and complaining before I produce that yummy ingredient of omelets and hollandaise sauce.

Voilà. Not so hard.

 

Morning Forage

 

From there, I turn my attention to breakfast. It’s a big world — especially when you live on as expansive and nature-rich farm as I do — and I’ve got lots of choices for roaming and eating. Happy Chicken Eggs hens have free-flowing spaces, so I can go in and out whenever I want, hunting and pecking to my heart’s content in my search for bugs and herbs.

Beetle!

Sorry, I got distracted again.

Anyway, for breakfast I might enjoy a bit of mint or bee balm, parsley, or borage. Although popular mythology and 1950s children’s book illustrations hold that chickens only eat dried corn, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I love my grasses and herbs. I will even seek out specific plants to boost my immunity when I’m feeling low or need help getting over a cold.

In fact, when I’m injured and given the choice between plain feed or feed that contains an anti-inflammatory painkiller, I’ll opt for the latter — just like you would. As my injury decreases, I’ll eat less of it and more regular food. See? Told you I was smart. Like, so smart.

Maybe even Sudoku smart.

Okay, no. I definitely couldn’t do Sudoku; I lack the opposable thumbs. But you see where I’m going with this. I’m not dumb, and I take my health and happiness quite seriously. And of course, my owners never give me antibiotics or other medicine unless I’m really sick. They care so much about chicken welfare they make sure I’m hormone-free 24/7/365!

 

Hen Hangin’

 

After breakfast, I enjoy a little playtime. I’ll catch up with Rachel to see what she’s been up to, and we might share a titch of gossip about how broody Josephine’s been lately. Sometimes we chase a few balls around while we chat, while other times we hop on hay bales or climbing platforms, which keeps us in a good mood and great shape.

Often we sit and stare at the colorful chains and bright, shiny CDs our friendly humans hang from the roofs of our structures. You have no idea how much I love looking at and thinking about bright, shiny things. What are these round, silvery discs with a hole in the center, anyway? Are they tiny moons? Captured bubbles? Who can say?

Well, Rachel says they’re magic. But I bet my fluffy little tail there’s no such thing.

Either way, such deep existential pondering usually gets me ready for my nap, so I head to a shady spot and settle in for a few hours’ snoozing. When I wake up, it’s usually more climbing and foraging and gossiping with the gals, and then it’s time for bed.

 

Sunset Sleepy Times

 

While you might just be sitting down to dinner or pulling up your Instagram feed come sunset, I’m perching somewhere safe for the night. I enjoy the last rays of the dying sun before tucking my head under my wing and dreaming of the next day’s playground adventures and herbaceous goodness. Till tomorrow!

Still curious about how I spend my day? You can see some pics of lil’ ol’ me here on the Facebook page, or you can read more about my life as a laying hen on our website. Soon our friendly caretakers will even have our very own chicken cam up and running, so you can see us ladies in action.

Also, you can always ask my human friends any questions you have over email — their opposable thumbs are really good at getting back to people right away. Get in touch!