Many animals like to take dirt baths, especially birds and horses. Horses especially like to take dirt baths right after they've had human style shampoos.
Chickens like it best when the dirt is warm. These two had just finished an extensive dirt bath, and were just sitting around like yard ornaments. When they actually are in the throes of a dirt bath they look really strange and half dead. They lie all flattened out and still, with just one wing wildly throwing dirt on their backs.
I'm cooking chicken tonight. (Not my own) But it's hard to reconcile my love for these birds with my taste for the entree.
6 comments:
That's one cute chicken. Her expression seems to say do you mind? I'm trying to take a dirt bath here!
I've seen house sparrows do the dirt bath thing too.
Do your chickens ever do the dirtbath anthill combo? Some birds like to smash ants into their feathers (but you probably already knew that!)
I still need to draw the chickens!
But those chickens look so clean. Does the dirt really get them clean? Their feathers look like soft fur.
Dirtbath anthill sounds like something they'd ask for at a chicken spa.
Dirt is clean, Linda. These chickens are wondrous soft.
Oh! This reminds me of a job I didn't get. It was to illustrate a book called WHY DIRT IS GOOD. A book about people's obsession with all things antibacterial & how our fear of dirt is actually making us sicker.
I thought it sounded like a great job & was sad not to get it.
Linda, that does sound like a neat book and I'm sorry you didn't get to illustrate it. Research is leaning towards (moderate) dirt and pets being a healthy part of early childhood, possibly helping prevent asthma. Some pregnant women get a craving for dirt-- probably because of a mineral deficiency.
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