The Chickens

Georgia Flatman (4 years) and sister Isabel (2 years) contemplate our chickens

Interview by Sheree Flatman

Georgia and friends

Chicken Eating a Worm by Georgia Flatman

Big Boy

S:   What can you tell me about chickens Georgia?
G:   Eggs… Dead chickens you poke with a stick.

S:   What do the live ones do?
G:  They peck at food.

S:   What can you remember about ‘Big Boy’? [our old rooster]
G:  He jumped in our fence, then he died, then he was buried.

S:   Anything else you know about chickens?
G:  They lay into a baby egg… Rocky! He’s always dead for life. [Rocky hatched and was abandoned at birth] They hatch out by themselves without their
mums and …

S:  Can you tell me anything about roosters?
G:  A rooster flies and says Cockadoodledo, and sits on the post. Do you know what I saw? I saw that on “Charlotte’s Web”. You know you should sit down with me and watch it. You can come and watch my ballet lesson.

S:  What do chickens do after the sun goes down?
G:  They sleep.

S:  What do chickens do all day?
G:  They cockadoodledo all night. They run around and get fresh air.

S:  What do they eat?
G:   They eat food – old things … Ask Isabel now.

S: What do chickens eat Isabel?
I:  ka to ta to to do
G:  … and they run.
I:  3 8 9 10 8 9 10

S:  Which ones are the girl chickens and which ones are the boys?
G:  A girl chicken is a chicken and a daddy chicken
is a rooster.

S:  How do we call them?
G:  We say “Here chook chook chook!”

S:   How else do we look after chickens?
G:  aah… we didn’t look after Rocky. We didn’t find his mum quickly.

S:  What do baby chickens eat?
G:  They eat tiny little grass.