I thought I would focus on something less depressing today! Chickens! We have eleven funny little chickens with their own personalities. My daughter has named them. I can’t tell the difference with some of the hens unless they have outstanding identifying features. And one has started following me around! So, I’m much more partial to her… her and the rooster we have named “Hey Hey” like the rooster in the movie Moana!

It all started with three little chicks who all grew to be hens. No roosters. They were timid things. I forget what kind of chickens they are/were but they were known for the anxiety driven behavior. These lay white eggs.

Eventually, they moved to the outside pen area so that they could be protected from outside predators. But unfortunately, they loved sleeping on top of the pen. My husband forgot to grab them one night, and something got two of them ☹ This is one thing I have such a difficult time with in the country – having to accept that these things happen.

This is our survivor, Isabella.

Because my daughter loved the chicks and we had planned to get more anyway, we bought ten more chicks.

We bought these under the guise that they would all be hens, but you never know. I was a little nervous. I didn’t really want more than one rooster! All these lay brown eggs except for two that were olive eggers. They lay olive-colored eggs, obviously.

These funny little things were well loved by all of us and would sleep in our laps. I was especially partial to one that I name Adeline Belle! This one was a Blue Australorp and was very personable. I always held this one.

They love sleeping in the pen so we do not have to worry about them except to ensure the door is closed at night. And now, they’re beginning to lay eggs. Because we let them roam about, we have found eggs in various places on the property but we only grab the ones that are in the pen in the nesting areas. I don’t want to grab them usually because I don’t’ know how long they have been there. Maybe eventually we will have new chicks.

I did find some of the eggs strewn about and broken in a random place. I am thinking a predator found some of the eggs.

Anyway, here is our rooster! My Adeline Belle was not meant to be an Adeline Belle but a Hey Hey! My little guy turned into a big rooster!

Isabella, our survivor, is a cranky little thing but has gotten better. She was always picking on the other chickens because she was bigger and older but now the pecking order has worked itself out and she’s acclimated to them with the rooster being the big guy running the pack. He used to run from her!

This was their batch of eggs yesterday in the pen. They haven’t been consistent but eventually, when they get older, there should be more eggs 😊

I have learned a little bit about the eggs. Initially, they say not to wash them because they have a cuticle on them that protects them from outside bacteria. However, I couldn’t stand all the stuff on them so I researched washing them. Apparently, if I put them in the fridge after rinsing them under water and wipe them with a soft towel, they will last for about 2 months, one less month than if I didn’t wash them. But that’s okay. I don’t want to put them in the cartons with the stuff that is in their pen iccck.

Anyway, those are our chickens. They make lots of noise but are a lot of fun 🙂