Chickens

When my kids were young, if you told me that after they went away to college I'd get some chickens to fill up my empty nest, I'd have said you were crazy. Yeah, look who's crazy now. That's me - crazy, with chickens.

Summer Craziness

The animals have been standing in line to tell me their stories the past couple of weeks. Now they've started asking me why the heck they're not showing up in the blog.  I've had to explain that it's summer and it is CRAZY busy (and CRAZY fun) around here.  Not a lot of spare minutes to gather the thoughts and put them in writing! While I am certainly not wistfully thinking about winter, I am … [Read more...]

No Bail For The Broody

Poor Aretha. She's been sent to the Henitentiary for her broody ways. She squawks at me. She glares at me. She paces. She knocks over her water again and again and tries to fly out when I replace it. None of this fazes me, the warden. She had her chance to be a mama two years ago and proved not to be the mothering type. She went broody last year around this time, so she's familiar … [Read more...]

Lonesome Lucy

Poor Lucy.  Since her gal pal Ethel got killed by the raccoon, she's been out of sorts.  Yes, from time to time Scarlett will fly over the fence into the yard with her, but Scarlett is not the adventurous type. So now Lucy makes her own way in the world, usually alone. She scratches the mulch out of the flowerbeds daily.  The messiness drives Very Excellent Husband Don nuts, so I try and … [Read more...]

Chicks, Welcome To The Barnyard!

Oh, I love having babies around.   (Baby chickens, of course.) Mama Rapunzel and the chicks spent a week in the "nursery" in the shed.  I worried about letting them out in the barnyard.  They're still so tiny.   Should I err on the side of safety? Or should I open the door and trust the real chicken mama to know what's right? Heck, like I know anything.  I decided to let her be the … [Read more...]

One Big Happy Family

It has been a crazy few days.  Crazy, I say!  The barnyard has been in full tilt change since last Thursday when I received my three cute Olive Egger chicks via mail and then Ms. Rapunzel hatched one chick out of four eggs.  (One died and the other two never hatched.) In the midst of all of this, I spent three days wonderful days with Excellent Son Sawyer in Durango.  I cannot say enough … [Read more...]

Good Things Come In Small Packages

I'll be brief and to the point. BABIES! Meet the new members of the barnyard :-)  They're olive eggers. No names yet, just arrived an hour ago. Keep your fingers crossed for the eggs Rapunzel is sitting on.  They should hatch in the next few days, and then we'll have MORE BABIES! (Shared at Backyard Farming Connection, Maple Hill Hop, Tuesdays With A … [Read more...]

New Beginnings

Wow.  What a difference a week makes.  Just last Friday I noted winter was over...and we had eight inches of snow a few days later.  It's mostly all gone now, but I 'm REALLY glad I'm a slacker and hadn't planted anything in the garden yet. I miss Sophia very much.  I've been scatter-brained and unable to concentrate all week. But life must go on, so I've thrown myself into all sorts of … [Read more...]

She Was A Good Hen

My friends, the news is not good. Sophia was euthanized yesterday.  She died in my arms. It was a dreary day, but she seemed to enjoy the trip to the vet.  She was tucked in her box and she rode shotgun, craning her neck trying to see out the window.  We were just two girls, goin' for a little ride in the country. When we got there, the exam was brief.  Nothing had changed in the past … [Read more...]