New chicks in the flock
If you haven't already figured it out, there is an addictive element to keeping chickens!
A mere eighteen months in ago, Spring 2013, we bought four adorably fuzzy little chicks and hid them in our 1/8 acre suburban backyard.
Then we bought a 4.5 acre lot in the Winter 2013 — more land means more chickens right?! This property is now nicknamed "The Coop." Can't wait to renovate the house and live there!
So, this Spring (2014) we bought ten more chicks {a.k.a Flock #2} and built coop #2 ... then in late summer we hatched 3 more under a broody hen in coop #2.5 (a small" nursery coop") ... and I was already building coop #3!
Then, about two weeks ago, we adopted a flock of seven, rooster-weary, feather-beaten adult hens {a.k.a. Flock #3)!
My dreams of a "patchwork" flock {lots of diversity} have been realized!
Did I mention, I made yet a fourth coop (for our three Maran roosters) using the kids' old cubby house? Unfortunately, a couple days after moving them, Gru the Roo found an escape route (despite my best efforts to make it secure) and all we found were a few piles of feathers around the yard. The neighbors said they'd seen the rooster loose and a happy fox running around.
So twenty-three chickens and counting ... oh, did I mention another broody hen "Peachy" is sitting on eight eggs, with an anticipated hatch date of September 28... that's next week!
So, we now collect about five dozen eggs a week ... finally enough to start sharing the goodness!
A mere eighteen months in ago, Spring 2013, we bought four adorably fuzzy little chicks and hid them in our 1/8 acre suburban backyard.
Then we bought a 4.5 acre lot in the Winter 2013 — more land means more chickens right?! This property is now nicknamed "The Coop." Can't wait to renovate the house and live there!
So, this Spring (2014) we bought ten more chicks {a.k.a Flock #2} and built coop #2 ... then in late summer we hatched 3 more under a broody hen in coop #2.5 (a small" nursery coop") ... and I was already building coop #3!
Then, about two weeks ago, we adopted a flock of seven, rooster-weary, feather-beaten adult hens {a.k.a. Flock #3)!
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| "Ginny" - a Birchen Maran - rules the roost. She's retired from laying. |
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| Left to right: Betty (Faverolle), Dorothy (Barred Rock), Anna (Rhode Island Red in back), Lacey (a Golden Laced Wyandotte), Sheeda (Rhode Island Red), and Cincinatti (Buckeye). |
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| Coop #3 - just needs a permanent roof! |
My dreams of a "patchwork" flock {lots of diversity} have been realized!
Did I mention, I made yet a fourth coop (for our three Maran roosters) using the kids' old cubby house? Unfortunately, a couple days after moving them, Gru the Roo found an escape route (despite my best efforts to make it secure) and all we found were a few piles of feathers around the yard. The neighbors said they'd seen the rooster loose and a happy fox running around.
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| Our three Maran boys in the Rooster Coop ... before Gru escaped :( |
So twenty-three chickens and counting ... oh, did I mention another broody hen "Peachy" is sitting on eight eggs, with an anticipated hatch date of September 28... that's next week!
So, we now collect about five dozen eggs a week ... finally enough to start sharing the goodness!