It's A Crazy Life.....

When we first got Mr. and Mrs. Puddlecluck, we were told that we should keep them in an enclosed area for six to eight weeks, as Guinea Fowl like to roam.  They said we needed to "teach" them where home was so that when they eventually free-roamed they would return at night.  This made us a bit nervous as we usually let our chicks out every day.  So we looked up on our favorite chicken site - BackYard Chickens to see what we could find about them.  Everything we can find says that they will roam up to a 1/2 mile away from their roosting spot.  Hmmmm...

So on Saturday we let the chickens and guinea fowl out to free-range for the first time since setting in our unfenced garden about 6 weeks ago.  We wanted it to get established before we let them out to dust and roam.  The chickens were estactic.  I think the guinea were even more so - you should have heard them chatter!

Fast forward about an hour.  Mr. and Mrs. Puddlecluck are wandering down the driveway.  Chattering away.  They are almost to the road.  I sneak out behind them to try to shoo them back into the yard.  They take off running.  It must have quite an amusing site for our neighbors.

So they take off down the road.  I wish I would have taken my camera.  They were so cute - they were chattering and meandering off to the west.  Just like an old married couple.  Then they crossed the street.  About an hour later I saw them mid-way down the field across the road.  An hour after that they were out of site.

The kids were pretty worried they would not come back.  We kept checking.  They kept looking into the fields.  I just hoped they would find us.

Shortly before dinner I heard their distinctive chatter.  They were back in the pen, happy as could be and wet as if they'd played in the rain.  I don't know where they went, but it must have been a good time!  They were chattering at the chickens and our rooster, Mr. Speckles looked just disgusted with what they were telling him - guess he was jealous that he didn't get to go on an adventure!

I think I mentioned in a previous post about our chickens.  Well, Mr. Crazy Life brought us some new ones shortly after that.  We now have about 30 hens and 3 roosters.  They are a mix of Barred Rock, Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orphingtons, Americanas and some "mutts" or mixes that we're not quite sure what exactly they are!  Our dominent rooster, Big Red, is a young one from last year and next in line is Chicken Little, the first egg we incubated and hatched at home.  The lowest rooster in the pecking order is Mr. Speckles, who although is beautiful with his coat of many colors and white polka dots, just doesn't seem to be as popular with the ladies.  *laugh*  Of course it could be the fact that the wee things named him Mr. Speckles.....he doesn't appear to be overly impressed with it and while the other chicks and roosters will come when we call them, he totally refuses!

Since we started keeping chickens, there have been a few things that have suprised me.  First of all, I have to say that I am totally not a bird person, but I tolerate the chicks for the eggs and food.  But I love how they seem to have such a sense of community within the flock.  There is a definite pecking order and it's interesting to watch that play out.  Also, I'm amazed at how social they are with us - the humans.  I never imagine that they would come when called or follow us around like ducks in a row.  I've gotten to the point where I enjoy being outside with "the girls" and talking to them and interacting with them a bit.  The wee monsters just like to chase the roosters and hens and make them scatter all over the yard!

Anyhow, our wonderful little feathered friends are now providing us with between seven and fourteen eggs a day, making our tummies and our friends tummies very happy.  We get all kinds of colors - dark brown, light brown, almost white, blue and once in a while a green one.  The kids are always excited when a colored egg pops up!

I'll try to update this post later tonight with a lovely (well, somewhat grey and wet due to the weather) chicken photo!

Today I'm writing about chickens.  More specifically, our chickens.  I love our chickens.  They are social, they give us eggs and meat.  And they're kinda cute.

And this is coming from a girl who HATES birds.  And I do mean HATE.

We started keeping chickens about three years ago.  We started with a small flock of Rhode Island Reds.  They were very happy with us.  We raised them up from young chicks.  They were just about to start laying eggs.......then the dogs got into them.  That was not a fun day, let me tell you.

We added a new batch of hens to our one lone survivior of the dog attack and waited out another egg-less winter.  Every day the wee things went out to the coop to check for eggs.  Every day all winter long, they were disappointed.  Then we started getting some warm, sunny winter days.  The kids were so excited on the first sunny warmish late winter day when we got our first egg.  They were even more excited the next day when we got a green egg - just in time for Dr. Suess's birthday!

We're now entering into our third spring with chickens.  Last fall we got rid of some of our older chickens and picked up a bunch of pullets.  We waited out the winter, watching them grow, fighting off owls and hawks (and losing about 6 of them to the predators), and now it's spring again!  Imagine our suprise that out of about 30 pullets, we ended up with 15 roosters! 

This spring was the first time that Thing #4 really got to enjoy the suprise and delight of the season's first egg.  She walked out to the coop with me and just about screamed when she saw the "eggie" there!  The brightness shining in her eyes was just melting a Momma's heart.  Then when she dropped said "eggie" a few minutes later and the overwhelming sadness there just about made it break.  Poor baby!

So this week, DH is taking our 15 roosters to a farmer we know and trading them out for some hens.  We're hoping for a good batch to add to our flock.  We did keep 3 of the roosters.  Big Red, our youngster from last year is the new dominent rooster.  We also kept Chicken Little, the first chicken we hatched out of our incubator last year (and a suprise rooster at that!).  And one cute little speckled guy that's a cross between a Barred Rock and something else (maybe a leghorn?).  We do need to find a new name for that guy though, because I think I saw murder in his eyes when Thing #1 called him Mr. Speckles.  I guess he wants a more dignified rooster name!

I love our "girls" and their men.  The kids enjoy running around with them in the yard and sometimes chasing them.  We love the eggs we get (in fact, I'm eyeing up some new egg recipes to try this year) and the meat they provide keeps us in poultry all winter long.  Not to mention that the eggs and meat taste so much better than store-bought stuff!

Yay for chickens!