I like to keep my animals happy.
I let my chickens range free, I open their mobile coop door in the morning so they may roam about all day and I lock them up at night to keep them safe. Except when I introduce new young chickens to the daily routine. Then I open the coop door every morning and crawl under the chicken coop catching and counting chickens every night. Those silly young birds take awhile to figure out that even if you can see your friends above you, there is no getting through the wire floor, you just have to use the door. Eventually they will figure it out. 
Until then I figure that when I find myself under the chicken coop on one knee other leg extended for balance, one elbow on the ground because that hand is already holding a chicken stretching as far as I can for a second bird, well, that’s just an excellent ab hold.
These chicken induced exercises will be slightly amusing to me for about a week and then I will be second guessing my “let’s have happy chickens” philosophy.
I also try to keep my dog happy. He’s my dog, I love him. So I let him out to run around outside with me whenever I’m out. The other day he scrummaged around in the woods for ten minutes while I watered plants. Ten minutes and he came back, muddy, wet, tired, hot, limping on a hind leg and smelling like he rolled in something much deader than than the freshly caught chipmunk he proudly gave me. 
But happy? Oh was he happy!
Me, I was second guessing my “let’s have happy dogs” philosophy.
I just got a pile of little ducklings and a pair of goslings. And so, because it’s been so nice out, I made them a little wire pen they can be outside in during the day in the front yard. I put the goslings in and they munched on leaves and grass and looked oh so happy. I put the ducklings in and they nibbled and explored, chased bugs and happily popped right out through the holes in the wire. I then spent the next two hours babysitting my new babies and herding the occasional duck back in the pen while trying to think what else I had around that I could patch the holes up with. 
The shade was a perfect temperature with just a hint of a breeze, the grass was nice and soft and the little birds were endlessly entertaining.
I’m pretty sure “lets have happy ducklings and goslings” is my favorite philosophy!
Behind the Willows 
Cuteness overload. Love it! 🙂
Plus, in pictures you don’t even have to smell my dog! 😉
Adorable! A such a good excuse for mom to play outside! 😉
You are on to my secret! 😉
Happy is definitely my favourite word, and that last photo is priceless!
Those ducks are just SO cute, I can spend way to long snapping pictures of them!
My landlord has chickens and they have a small pen for nightime and go into the large pen during the work day. When they are home, they let them range all over the property (we live on the same property). I usually can tell because I hear crowing from my front porch vs. the backyard 🙂 With all the rain we’ve been having they are loving it out there in the mud and soft mulch!
Yay for ducklets and gooselings!
It’s fun you get to live with chickens around, I’d miss their noises if they were gone!
Happy animals are the best animals. ❤
Agreed!
Oh such happy animals and so cute!!❤️
Agreed! 🙂
Such is the life of a farmers wife, to crawl in the muck and the grass. Do this to have happy animals rather than sit on your….
Well, who would want sit around all day anyway?!? 😉
Oh my! What a delightful post! Compliments on your very happy and healthy looking chickens. I loved the mental picture of the ducklings popping through the fencing. 🙂
They were pretty funny even if it was a bit of a problem!
Cyoot duckettes. 🙂 … glad I couldn’t smell the dawg though.
Yeah, he was a serious stinky mess! The ducklings just keep on doing their cute thing though! 🙂 (more photos on the Instagram link in the sidebar if you are interested!)
well at least you don’t have to join a gym or go to yoga … and they certainly all are happy!
It’s the real way to multi task! 😉
So cute! Happiness of others is so important, including animals! I have 2 very happy rescue fennec foxes – You can read more about them on my blog 🙂 http://www.foxesandfood.com
I had no idea anyone had fennec foxes as pets yours are beautiful I’m glad they’ve found a good and happy home with you!
Thank you!
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