A Delinquent Chicken Update

They are here!!

We went into this adventure expecting about 6-7 chickens, but everyone was just grabbing a few here and a few there when we were picking them up that we came home with THIRTEEN. Total chaos. 😆

We also rehomed a rooster pretty quickly once it became clear that pecking order wasn’t treating him very nicely, so now we have a solid dozen.

The small awkward ones are Silkies, and the orange ones are Buff Orpingtons, they are the main egg layers. We already have over a dozen eggs from them, which surprised me because I thought the stress of moving would stop everything for awhile. The Silkies don’t lay as many eggs, but they are apparently great caretakers/mommas, so they often are used when trying to hatch out more chicks.

A few days in to chicken custodianship, I asked our local grocery store if anyone is collecting all of their expired produce, and it turns out only one other lady was, so I got in on the rotation and could NOT be happier. I’ve already dispersed a huge Rubbermaid tub of bruised pears, sweet potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, asparagus, squash, bell peppers & lettuce to the herd, and (broccoli aside😆) they were thrilled.

We were told not to let them out of the coop for a week or so to let their GPS reset, so we haven’t been letting them out but we do plan on letting them wander eventually. The local coyotes and owls and eagles are a bit of a concern, but our neighbors are free ranging their chickens successfully, so I know there’s a way. We will ease in to it.

There’s a lot of work I still want to do on the coop, mainly the ladies really need a good nesting box, so that’s definitely my next project. We are settling in for another few days of subzero weather, so progress will likely slow down, but everyone is warm, fed, in good health & seemingly happy, so I’ll take it for now.

‘Till next time, cheers! ❤️