soggy donkey herder on Nostr: #Raven update. Three days ago everything clicked for the ravens and they suddenly ...
#Raven update. Three days ago everything clicked for the ravens and they suddenly started communicating with me. I’ve been yelling human versions of their noises at them any time I see them - “kek-kek” and a tongue click, mainly - so they were familiar with my vocabulary already. I posted about how they’d gotten brave enough to watch me put the eggs out, and suddenly they took up the offer of communication. They took their eggs, but then one came back to circle around quite low over my head making the plaintive cry. I clicked my tongue and brought another egg out to the driveway, and they swooped down for it before I made it back inside.
When I went back out for lunch, the chickens had migrated up to the Greenhouse (transparent lean-to attached to the barn, not used as a greenhouse) to hang out in a dry spot out of the wind. I gave them some unsalted trail mix from the pantry and went to feed the equines. When I slid the stall door back open to go into the front half of the barn, I was kinda surprised to see *all the chickens* clustered by the door. I looked out into the driveway to see a raven eating their trail mix 😂 Horrifying!
The ravens continued to horrify the chickens for the rest of the day. I put the rest of the trail mix in the center of the driveway, so all the wild birds could pick through it. The chickens alternated hiding in the Greenhouse and hiding on the front porch, making “big bird!” warning cries and grumbling loudly, but honestly, the ravens weren’t fucking with them.
Yesterday was cold, quite windy, and rainy *all day*, and every creature except the equines stayed under cover all day. (They looked soaked, but they weren’t shivering, so they were fine.)
Today I brought the two eggs out and left them in the driveway, and they were gone by the time I circled back around to the front door again. I came upstairs and opened the dormer window for Nightlight, who likes to prowl around the roof sometimes, and started scrolling mastodon. Then I heard a soft caw-caw-caw. When I stuck my head out of the window, a raven was circling over the driveway, quietly inquiring about more food. I said hello, in english and raven, and it was pretty cute watching them figure out “a hole in the house and there’s the Food Human.” Then I brought them another egg, because when a pretty raven asks nicely I can’t refuse.
There’s only problem on the horizon. My two daily layers, the Easter eggers, are heading into a molt (and Toast is thinking broody thoughts, too.) Zelda is a decorative boat of a bird and she lays a steady 2 eggs a week. Ninja should start cranking them out daily again soon - even her tail is almost regrown - but she’s not laying yet. I think Mafia is tapped out; she’s obviously Very Old for a bird. Mary might lay again this summer, but I got her from the same friend flock dispersal as Mafia, so she’s likely in henopause too. I may end up buying dog food just for the ravens, just like I did with the last two flocks of ravens I befriended.
When I went back out for lunch, the chickens had migrated up to the Greenhouse (transparent lean-to attached to the barn, not used as a greenhouse) to hang out in a dry spot out of the wind. I gave them some unsalted trail mix from the pantry and went to feed the equines. When I slid the stall door back open to go into the front half of the barn, I was kinda surprised to see *all the chickens* clustered by the door. I looked out into the driveway to see a raven eating their trail mix 😂 Horrifying!
The ravens continued to horrify the chickens for the rest of the day. I put the rest of the trail mix in the center of the driveway, so all the wild birds could pick through it. The chickens alternated hiding in the Greenhouse and hiding on the front porch, making “big bird!” warning cries and grumbling loudly, but honestly, the ravens weren’t fucking with them.
Yesterday was cold, quite windy, and rainy *all day*, and every creature except the equines stayed under cover all day. (They looked soaked, but they weren’t shivering, so they were fine.)
Today I brought the two eggs out and left them in the driveway, and they were gone by the time I circled back around to the front door again. I came upstairs and opened the dormer window for Nightlight, who likes to prowl around the roof sometimes, and started scrolling mastodon. Then I heard a soft caw-caw-caw. When I stuck my head out of the window, a raven was circling over the driveway, quietly inquiring about more food. I said hello, in english and raven, and it was pretty cute watching them figure out “a hole in the house and there’s the Food Human.” Then I brought them another egg, because when a pretty raven asks nicely I can’t refuse.
There’s only problem on the horizon. My two daily layers, the Easter eggers, are heading into a molt (and Toast is thinking broody thoughts, too.) Zelda is a decorative boat of a bird and she lays a steady 2 eggs a week. Ninja should start cranking them out daily again soon - even her tail is almost regrown - but she’s not laying yet. I think Mafia is tapped out; she’s obviously Very Old for a bird. Mary might lay again this summer, but I got her from the same friend flock dispersal as Mafia, so she’s likely in henopause too. I may end up buying dog food just for the ravens, just like I did with the last two flocks of ravens I befriended.