Thursday, April 15, 2010

Chickens

I've wanted a couple of chickens for a long time; unfortunately, Cliff didn't want them.  For one thing, I had hopes of securing some nifty sort of pen, or even better, a chicken tractor that I could move from place to place so my chickens would have access to grass each day.  Cliff really didn't want to get involved with anything that requires building something or buying something.  He also knows how my interests can wane, and if I lost interest in my flock, all that work and money would be invested for nothing.  
Yesterday we went to Feldman's to get acetylene and oxygen, and I noticed all the peeping baby chicks for sale.  I looked at the different varieties and saw there were some Barred Rock pullets that were fully feathered out.  That means no shoving them in a box and keeping a light on them, because they can handle the weather just fine.  


I hunted Cliff up and asked him what he thought about keeping a couple of chickens in Mandy's old pen, which has only been used for lawn mower storage since my dog, Mandy, died four years ago.  
To my surprise, he agreed.  
So I came home with two pullets, Gertrude and Lois (after Cliff's remaining two aunts).  Don't ask me which is which; they're identical.  


Yesterday they seemed unhappy to be out in the big world, with only each other for a friend.  This morning, though, their peeping took on a more cheerful tone.  I'm going to have to buy a feeder and waterer for them, but for now they're eating and drinking from cut-down Folgers cans.  
At least I have somewhere to go with my table scraps now.  
They will have to stay in the pen; we witnessed a neighbor's rooster being attacked by a hawk one time, and the only thing that saved him was his weight.  The hawk couldn't lift off with him.    

13 comments:

  1. cool, I always wanted chickens. can't remember the last time I ate a real (non-pale-weird-looking) chicken

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  2. Anonymous9:53 AM

    oh wow...LOL...that Cliff is a real softee LOL...kinda sorta like my hubby!!!! God Bless and have fun...and I understand "company is coming down the road???" God Bless...hugs...Ora

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  3. Good for you getting your chicks. My son has the top of his pen covered in chicken wire or something to keep the hawks, owls, coons and possums away from their chickens.

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  4. Congratulations on your two beauties, Donna. Pardon me for a moment while I have some chicken envy :) I have outrageous plans to start my own coop next week because it's not going to get done any other way. I say outrageous because I'm not even very good with the basics (hammer & nail). But anything is possible if you make your mind up, right? Right (I hope). Enjoy your two pretty girls! -Tammy

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  5. Lucky! We are wanting to get 4 real soon! Need to make a spot for them first!

    Inga

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  6. Oh my you never cease to amaze me. I thought you'd given up on chickens. Now you'll have one more thing to keep you busy. How nice it will be to have fresh eggs. Like your milk, the eggs will be so much better than store bought. Have a great Thursday!

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  7. Now my wife will REALLY want to visit ... I won't let her keep chickens because of being away from home for half the year!

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  8. Here is a link to the neatest mobile chicken coop I've ever seen:
    http://www.the7msnranch.com/search/label/chickens
    (Hope it's legal to link to other people's blogs)
    Anyway, that link goes to two posts, one entitled "Peeps in my Easter Basket." The second post, "You Might be a Redneck..." is the one with the pictures of the coop. This thing makes me want chickens.

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  9. Ma, two chickens don't create a lot of work. I'll just look in on them every day. Once I get a feeder and waterer, I'll probably only have to fill them once every several days. And it'll certainly not be a big chore to gather the eggs two hens lay. Eggs, of course, are still in the future.

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  10. I'm glad you got your chickens. I hope you have fun with them. It's so nice when we can enjoy the simple things in life. Have a nice evening.
    Hugs,
    Pat

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  11. I love the chickens. I want some bantaams. I've been hunting but haven't found any yet. Their eggs make the best pickled eggs ever.

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  12. Welcome to the chicken world. Oh, and watch out, they are addictive.

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