Friday, September 4, 2009

the chicken came first




We've got chickens. It started out as 4...then one died...then, we had to replace her, so we got 3.... and I still dream about the Blue Laced Gold Wyandotte that we saw which we couldn't take because she wasn't sexed, and we couldn't take the chance of getting a rooster (sigh.) So, now we have 6 Heirloom breeds: 2 Ameraucanas (Ramona and Natasha), 1 Gold Laced (Violet) and 1 Silver Laced (Alice Lucy) Wyandotte, 1 Light Brahma (Beatrix), and one Welsummer (Olive). And you've probably already figured out that I'm obsessed with them and have learned all the lingo and chicken speak I can find. These ladies live in a deluxe chicken condo in our yard, next to the raised beds, and they also have a mobile chicken tractor (both accommodations thanks to the cute-and-good-with-tools hubby) which they can free range in. We don't just let them loose because we are actually trying to grow things in our yard, and when left to their own devices, they pretty much eat (read DESTROY) everything. But they sure are fun to watch...Chicken TV... And I must say, I thought they were all pretty dumb at first, but now that they all seem to have personalities, they are a little more exciting, and their stupidity is somehow very endearing.






Well, 2 days ago, we got our first egg! Adorably small and sort of conehead looking - very pointy. So cool! It was almost 3 months to the day since we got them as 10 week old pullets. Man, what a long wait! I don't know how people do it who start with chicks - they have to wait twice as long to get an egg, and let me tell you, the wait is excruciating! But now that we have 2 little eggs (they will lay approximately 1 per day/per chicken) I have to say that I can't eat one! They are just too special! I know that's silly, and the whole point is to eat the eggs, but it just seems so miraculous. Today, one of my art students said I should blow out the egg and save it, so I think I will....That way I can have my egg and eat it too!

1 comment:

  1. Ah! The Golden Egg!!
    Find-out what botha youse
    could have forever Upstairs
    ...if botha youse ain't Christian:
    ☆ nrg2xtc.blogspot.com ☆
    GBY

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