Speaking of birds, we are officially in the chicken business. In between rainy spells, we managed to get our coop and pen finished up. Finding chickens proved a little harder. Apparently, the two things to invest in right now are chickens and gold! We scanned our local classifieds for chicken ads, but everyone we called was sold out, despite their outrageous prices ($20 for a hen!). I eventually tracked down what seemed to be the last three hens, all Rhode Island Reds, in the surrounding counties. The following day, however, we added two more hens, Redstars, to the pen. You'd think that after only one day, no one would have managed to even settle in, much less get territorial. But, as it goes with chickens, one of the "original" Rhodes decided to get all snippy about the "newcomers". I'm sure they'll have it sorted out soon enough though.
Our rooster is an Araucana rooster that was initially the head rooster of the flock we shared with Joe's aunt and uncle several years ago. He has since fathered a son and, as the young rooster matured, much fighting ensued. Two roosters is apparently one too many, so we got the old rooster as a hand-me-down. We were quite happy because we had always liked that rooster. I don't have pictures of the big chickens yet, but I do have pictures of sweet little baby chicks!! In an effort to diversify our flock, we got Buff Orpington and White Rock baby chicks from the local farm supply store. Because we don't have the space or the electric capacity to run a heat lamp around the clock, our chicks are living with friends. They were also raising chicks for themselves, and what's a few more?
1 comment:
They look so doggoned cute and fluffy!!
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