Why I created this blog

 Girls get a snack before we leave for the Christmas Concert

Why I created this Blog  

      I "Gave up smoking" 11/11/09 and was REWARDED with a gift of 10 chicks from my Father-in-Law. My 1 yr anniversary (no smoking) was 11/11/10. Follow the life of 10 Hens ...they are "My girls" 

     Born 03/04/2010 - life expectancy a hopeful 13 years - expected egg production 1per day/per Hen first 2 years then intermittent after that. THEY Laid the first egg July 2010 when they were only pullets and 4 months old.                                   

                THE GIFT THEY GIVE ME      

     If I'm down they always bring me up, if I'm overloaded they always calm me down... when you sit with them they clatter and chatter and move as if to help you meditate. Like chicken thoughts are clouds that go in and come out (Farm City,2011).

Sally-Jean has something to say! Then it's lights out!

Don't you love leghorns expression ?

"What's up Doc?"

And below, we have Sally-Jean. She is the calm, gentle, princess, but that doesn't mean she will take any crap from the hens; Don't even try it!

No Lucy-Lynne, above, doesn't have a cataract. She just doesn't like the flash :)

" Lady, Get that damn camera out of my face already!"

Gotta love the giant comb folding over on itself LOL! You should see it when she is running for food, what a crack up.

We had our snack now it's time for you to leave so we can get our zzz's

C U in the New Year ! 2012

Originally 4 Rhode Island Reds...then there were 3

     Bad news, I'm down one Hen, as of Monday December 26th 2011.  I have always let my girls have the run of the property by day but the chicken poop is getting way out of hand. Landmines are everywhere. I decided to try and haul them over to the enclosed garden, which is definitely further than 100 ft from the coop and way too far for my girls to get back without a Rooster to guard and drive them. So by day I would let them clean up whats left of our summer garden. Monday after Christmas i decided to implement this new strategy.
      Since we were sitting down for another Christmas family dinner at dusk, I decided to get the girls back in the coop before dinner.  It was getting dark quickly and I thought I got all of them.  Apparently one of my Mohawk Rhode Island Reds was lagging behind and didn't get in the pen.  I didn't discover this until after dinner when i went to deliver an after dinner snack and only counted 9 instead of 10.  To my dismay one of my Reds was missing. After hours of searching in the dark to no avail, she was gone for good. I'm sure she became dinner to something that evening, as my girls have no wild and instinctive protective behavior left in them.  I baby them to death, literally. So sad.

 Thank you God, I only have one more week of this blissful vacation from my studies. I'm feeling more anxious than relaxed as January 9th draws near. I want the wind in my hair and my seat in the saddle of school.

  I mostly feel guilt, with as much as 4 weeks Holiday time on my hands, between Fall and Winter terms. The girls benefit the most from my time off and garner most of my attention as they keep me busy with their antics and dietary needs.  Today it was plain spaghetti which I'm sure they interpret as white worms...LOL To say this culinary treat causes excitement is not accurate, as it really just encourages war.

Here is an example of a regular sized brown egg, from my Rhode Island Reds and then the Giant egg my skinny little Leghorn provided one morning. Poor girl that must have been rough.

    I can't wait to get started with this.  I want to get some pictures of my girls up and share their crazy lazy chicken life.  I need to figure out how to post the pictures and then I will begin.