Simplicity

It's now that I am reminded of how simple pleasures can excite, uplift and soothe.

Tuesday's dawn upon us, we stretch, nourish and begin our mind expanding.

I woke them only after taking my time. We move through the warming almost spring morning. They sit in tree forts and tree stands maybe trying to get closer to Him. The sun warming they're backs and the sky's expanse for them to dream, sing, and praise Him. Daddy arrives and the day is underway.

Lessons learned and lunch on the table.

Little man is out in the world again and we hear him coming. Barreling through the laundry door, he's yelling "eggs, I found eggs, The chickens laid eggs!" We aren't hungry, the adrenaline has filled our bellies and we are stunned. With wide eyes we all run...grown mommy and daddy, the frog princess, we run. Our feet stomping the new sprigs of grass, we follow him hoping it's true. Six months have passed...there's been much waiting and much watching. Sure enough there they are, two freshly laid brown eggs! And we linger for one hour and one half soaking up the moment, in awestruck excitement. We are proud! Proud of our patience, love and simplicity.

Month 4 Poultry Post

Well allot has happened since my last update, the six little chicks as you know are down to five. Uno the one with the attitude really did go missing and never came back...sad! Little Sis is still goin' strong even with only one wing she is just the same as the rest, getting big and enjoying long days wandering around not only our yard but the neighbors too.

The kids have a blast chasing and catching them then cuddling as long as they can. Although Faith went a little overboard recently. She had one hen in hand and tried to get another for Ty, who was getting frustrated not being quick enough. She did manage to get the second one but newly named Violet got a bit jealous and pecked her right on the eyelid...ouch!

The girls are not laying yet though, I've been told only happy hens lay eggs, so I don't know if they are unhappy or if it's just not time yet. I plan to reread about when they should begin, after all they are just 4months old!

We pulled the coop mahal into the pasture and currently just open different doors for them to enter their run when we're not home. When we are home they just get to be totally free range, which is most of the time. I was concerned that in the evening we were going to have trouble getting them back to their coop but when dusk is setting in they head straight for safety, tossing out some feed around this time has helped train them to come back, go figure!

Well that's really it for now. Wish happy chickens for us and maybe we'll get surprise eggs soon!

Loss of life and injuries

About a week after my last poultry post, Faith went out to feed that Wednesday morning and counted only five chickens. She came in quickly and made the announcement "mommy, there's only five, I counted only five!" We walked out together to make sure and sure enough one had completely vanished, no signs of a struggle, no clumps of feathers...just gone.

As we watched and tried to figure it out we noticed that the one we call "little sis" the sort of runt was injured. It appeared her left wing was completely detached from her body and just kinda hanging on by a ... well you can imagine! We quickly removed her from the coop and placed her in a box, beginning to evaluate her injury and mental state. I asked around on a chicken forum and it was suggested to remove the wing if it was possible. "Great, one chicken gone and now we need to do surgery on another" Her injury was not life threatening, so we didn't want to just put her out of her misery. We tried to remove it with scissors but it proved to be too painful for her and us. White as ghosts and felling a little flush, I called up a friend and we did surgery together. Some meds to numb the area and a sharp razor blade to do the cutting. Little sis took it well, she sat calmly with love for us in her eyes...I really didn't think chickens had personalities but oh they do.

We kept her separated for a few more days and while hanging' in the garage in a box she gained strength trying to fly, one winged out of the box. We decided, so she wouldn't hurt herself while healing, to lay the box on it's side and let her have free range of the garage. This is when we began to see all that personality... anytime we open the laundry room door to the garage she would come chirping and running to the door, walk right in to the kitchen and look for us...amazing!

Now about 3 weeks later she is back to normal, just missing a wing, with her family in the coop. I told the kids, " We have a one legged daddy, why can't we have a one winged chicken!"

Sadness

Well, as I just start getting the hang of this blogging thing and my camera broke! I am so saddened by this. I do have a few pics stored but what about those moments when I could capture something new, something special?

Just as a side note I think it was that darn Uno, the chick that has much attitude! I think it could quite possibly be a rooster, guess we'll see.

I was taking a shot of the six of them fighting over a nice juicy spider they scored and POP! A loud noise was heard and Uno seen running from the scene.

Bummer, slightly A typical chicken = broken camera

Construction

Today we worked on the Coop Mahal, for our six little chicks!

I have a feeling they are going to be very spoiled.

Here is a taste of our day...

Still more to do but holy cow or chicken we sure got alot done!

Thanks to my hubby who didn't really want chickens to begin with.

Six little chicks

Today we got six 2 week old chicks. They are so cute and already loosing their fuzzy covering to be replaced with mature feathers. The particular breed we were able to get is the silver laced wyandotte which apparently will be a good egg layer. They will lay large brown eggs and are really easy going. "A favorite amongst backyard flock owners." They are a dual purpose bird, that is they are layers but also are suitable for meat. We will not be raising this six for meat however. For now we want to raise them solely for eggs and as backyard pets. Time to get busy on a coop as they will be old enough to stay outside in just 2 short weeks. I'll keep you posted on their growth and the coop progress.
This is a beautiful breed, I can't wait until their mature feathers are fully developed!