Some people say that chickens are not smart; I have a Milk Hen that will prove those people wrong.
It began with a spill of goat milk. I had accidentally spilled the strip cup milk one morning when one of our Austrolorp hens was in the milking room. She went over to inspect it, and she drank it up.
From then on, the milk in the strip cup is hers.
She doesn’t just randomly show up.
She knows what the strip cup looks like. She knows each time a goat gets up on the stand more milk goes into the strip cup.
She hangs out in the milking room;pecking around for any spilled grain.
She runs to the strip cup after each goat is stripped out.
Woe to any other hen that should come into the milking room in the morning. She chases them off.
We love our Milk Hen.
PS: Sorry for so long between posts. Life is busy.
This is adorable! What a sweet girl, hope to see more of her specialness. Has she raised any chicks? I can visualize her bringing in her little brood for their first taste. You might have to publish a sweet calendar someday with the animals as the stars.
Pretty smart hen! I didn’t know what a strip cup was, but I think I’ve figured it out.
Any milk that stayed in the teat from the previous milking (12 hours prior) would not be fresh. We strip that milk out so it doesn’t affect the rest of the milk. Milk Hen doesn’t mind any off flavor.
How cute is that??? I love it Karen. The Barn Yard soap opera starring the Milk Hen! Hopefully a busy summer means a good one! xo
It is pretty funny when you have animals around. Definite form of entertainment.
Karen, I can’t even tell you how nice it was to open my email just now and see a post from you. I was so excited I opened it before any of my other mail. I was just thinking about how much I missed your posts while getting ready to go to work this morning. Thanks for sharing when you can. We all know how busy life gets for you out on the farm. See you Sunday.
OOOO
Lisa
Awww! Thanks sis! I’m glad you enjoy them. It is fun to get back into it. It is a fine balance between posting and everything else that needs to get done each day.
See you Sunday,
me
Never heard of a milk hen. Very cool story.
Good to have one of your unique posts again.
She is unique. I wish I knew which eggs were from her to see if the yolks are darker than normal. Thanks for still being there after the long absence.
Hugs,
Karen
She’s a cleaver hen, animals really are smarter than we give them credit for
She is smart. Not as smart as the goats but smarter than they usually get credit for.
Good to see you all!
Good to be back.
Thank you so much for following along.
Enjoy the day,
Karen