The Greater Prairie Chicken

In the spirit of continuing my poultry education I’ve happened across a story about hunting permits becoming available in Minnesota’s annual ‘Prairie Chicken and Turkey’ hunting season. 

These fascinating looking things are similar to grouse, originally native to the mid-western prairies but now endangered, and extinct in some states.

While it might seem mad that hunting is going on with the species under threat its reassuring to know in Minnesota only 87 we killed in the last hunt and the establishment of a hunt is encouraging interest in conserving the birds and their grassland homes.

Here is a video of them with their strange and eerie hooting noise they make during the mating series.