A few days ago we had a couple of over ripe bananas that had been forgotten and I thought that I would see if the girls would like them. I knew that my previous big girls didn’t like them but I hadn’t ever tried them with my current flock.
I know “Flock Mistress” has a girl that loves banana.
Well it was pretty conclusive that they didn’t like them at all and Topaz reacted as if I was trying to poison her.
Barley and Peaches take a cautious look
These two are always the bravest and were the first to have a little peck.
Honey also had a cautious peck
Toffee gave her alarm sound when she first saw them but after the other girls had a peck she had a peck too
I added some familiar apple as encouragement and the apple was much preferred
Toffee as usual had been brooding in the nest box but came out to see what the fuss was about.
Topaz tried a peck of banana
All the girls took one peck then did a lot of scraping their beaks on the patio and didn’t return to have any more. They clearly didn’t like the texture.
Topaz was funniest though. She had one big peck then scraped her beak on the patio in a frenzy. She then shook her head vigorously then scraped her beak, shook her head, scraped her beak and shook her head again. She then glared at me as if to ask what on earth I was trying to do to her.
For a moment I thought she was having an allergic reaction. She was not a happy girl and took herself back to the nest box in disgust.
At the end of the afternoon I removed the offending bits of banana. They hadn’t been pecked again and the apple was all gone.
I think the message is clear. My girls do NOT like banana!
Click here to see the history of my flock.
The picture of Topaz already makes her look cranky, like “Why did mom put this out when I’m busy!?!” It’s funny that she acted like it was poison on her beak. My chickens like pretty much anything, except if we bring it out too much.
That cranky picture of Topaz is so typical. Sometimes I wonder how a little chook can live with so much anger. Your sum up of what she may be thinking is just so spot on. I read about chooks giving the stink eye and since having Topaz I have realised what that expression means.
Our Cochin hen Peach has been giving us the stink eye too lately, since she’s gone broody. She wants to hatch eggs, but doesn’t seem to realize that she’ll have to lay some to get some. (And she would get fertilized eggs too, thanks to the roo!)
Topaz passes that requirement. She has no concept of having to lay some eggs to hatch some (roo or not). Her remit is that if someone else lays eggs she can go and sit on them until some monster (me) takes them away. Trouble is, this completely excuses her from laying eggs herself. You have to love them!
I just love the alarm calls when you give them something they aren’t used to! Mine do eat bananas, but scrape their beaks afterwards; they might be better with fresher ones, but they tend to get what has is going off in the fruit bowl. They love peaches and nectarines, stripping the stones absolutely bare!
Mine also scrape their beaks after yogurt but they still love the yogurt but didn’t return to the banana after the first peck. I hadn’t thought of giving peaches and nectarines, I must try that. They love apple and pear, melon and grapes.