Animal personalities

Many people say animals do no have personalities. I know when mine are happy or sad. They are non stop laughter, even when they are trying to be serious.

I let my one smaller chickens out to forage today. Not an easy feat with ice patches but they still love it. They are out doing happy dances and I think having races.

My other older chickens are having special snacks today and are they ever happy!

My one muscovy greeted me today by the front door - a no no. Too close to a road. I took her back down and gave her a special reward after a backyard mini walk. I didn't want her to associate a treat with being by the door. Every morning she talks to me for about 3 minutes when i start doping the animal rounds

And once in a while I get a mean or grouchy animal. They quickly find a new home of join us for dinner - not in there way they could appreciate.

Comments

  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yes indeed. Animals have many distinct personalities. Not just our chickens and dog but even our pigs. Have friends who sent their pigs to freezer camp. They also have cows. They fed some of the milk to the pigs so they started giving it to us for our pigs. Definitely had some happy piggys, then we didn't have any for a few days. They checked out their dish and followed my husband to the second dish and checked. No milk. They stopped and looked at my husband and started snorting and pushing on the feed bucket. They wanted the milk not just the feed. Lol

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    My brother got his pigs drunk on sour milk once.

    Yes, ther animals get spoiled fast when they get treats and give you "that look" when you come empty handed

  • MaryRowe
    MaryRowe Posts: 736 ✭✭✭✭

    It's amazing how quickly "treats" become "entitlements," and how easily your critters master 'that Look" to guilt-trip you when their expectations are not met, and other tactics to get their way. My cats are especially manipulative, but my chickens and rabbits when I had them all figured out pretty quickly what they could demand and how to get it. I don't see how anyone who lives with animals can doubt that they have personalities, and are keen and knowing observers of their humans.

  • Annie Kate
    Annie Kate Posts: 680 ✭✭✭✭

    Yes, and some of them are so smart!

    One of our chickens was able to fly out of the coop but couldn't figure out how to get back in. So when she wanted to get back in, she would come to one of us and we would bring her back. She was still a bit nervous about being picked up but figured it was worth it, I guess. At times when we would come home, she would be at the front , waiting for us to let her back in.

  • JodieDownUnder
    JodieDownUnder Posts: 1,483 admin

    @Denise Grant I say that people who think animals don’t have personalities, are not animal people! Even wild birds get in on the act and can be characters. Most would say domestic animals exude personality but if only I could have spoken, horse, cow, goat language, I would have had some unbelievable conversations. It does seem I can speak dog!

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @jodienancarrow I agree.

    And if you talk to your animals they often times know what you are saying.

  • shllnzl
    shllnzl Posts: 1,820 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I even have a wild roadrunner that seems to want to hang around for a conversation, or maybe it just wants me to go back into the house so I stop scaring off its prey? It certainly wants to claim my space as its own.

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I have 9 teenage ducks. Today they were out (long story) and greeted me this evening as I was feeding and tucking in any animals for safety sake. How hysterical, all in a line running and stumbling along.

    My beasts are good for at least 3 or 4 good laughs a day.

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yes, the beasties do have distinct personalities. My seal point Balinese, Charlie, is the family greeter. He wants to meet everyone.

  • MaryRowe
    MaryRowe Posts: 736 ✭✭✭✭

    I've been raising three kittens, littermates, since they were 2 months old. They are now going on 16 months. It's been so much fun watching them develop unique personalities. They are a team, do absolutely everything together, and yet their personalities are totally different. There's the regal little princess ruling her domain, the silly mischief-maker always on the go looking for trouble, and the easy-going lover boy, gorgeous and knows it, who prefers to lay around as if posing for photos,

  • jowitt.europe
    jowitt.europe Posts: 1,465 admin

    We do not have domestic animals, no pets. We travel too much. Funny to say that in Corona times... But I have many birds with personalities. My blackbirds: I have one couple in the lower garden and one in the upper garden. They are very curious and always check what I do. They would come close to me. I do not even know whether these are the same from previous years or their children.

    And we have a very persistent, noisy and lazy sparrow child. He (it’s a he) shouts the whole day and flies, runs after his parents, but would not look for food itself.

    The cuckoo was sitting on the top of our birch and cuckooing... and... and ...

  • bcabrobin
    bcabrobin Posts: 251 ✭✭✭

    The sheep got into the sour fruit salad I gave the chickens. She was drunk, can't walk straight, her momom ba was funny. She finely got under the tree and slept it off. I saw her checking out the dish later, so think she liked it.

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    My brothers pigs got drunk on sour milk one time. When Bob realized they were drunk (they could not stand up) and not dying we all laughed.

    I imagine all animals could use a good party once in a while.

    My chickens are hysterical when they eat tomatoes. They roll their eyes and have red juice that runs down their chest. The first iem I saw that I thought they had been in a fight