Neasa's and Fern's tiny first eggs!
So in my garden post when I mentioned blogging about the chickens sometime, I didn't think it would be so soon. However today had to be the day I wrote about my gals because the two younger chickens, Fern (my favorite) and Neasa, laid their first eggs today! I am so happy to have four laying hens.
Okay now let me tell the story of me coming to have my chickens.
It all started about a year and half ago when I was asked to gather eggs, water, and feed the the chickens for my neighbor. I immediately became interested in having my own chickens after I experienced how awesome it was to go out in the morning have fresh organic eggs. Jake was never nearly as excited as I was about the thought of being poultry owners , but sometime between last year and this past spring he became okay with the idea of getting chickens. So it was now down to getting a coop built, AKA another project.
My chicken dreams were slipping away as more important projects kept popping up taking priority over the chicken coop. My hope was almost lost when my neighbor, who asked me to care for her chicken last year, texted me, and asked if I would like her two chickens being that she was moving to NC.
A couple weeks later Jake and my bother in law moved the chicken coop to our backyard. I brought the chickens over, and just like that I had two chickens. Tori named those two Penny and Jewelry.
With Penny and Jewelry I typically got two eggs a day then a few days where I would only get one egg. I wanted more eggs, so I looked into adding chickens to my two chicken flock. I found out that is was possible to add chickens, but that a pecking order had to be established. That means the the chickens will scuffle a bit or alot till they sort out their individual ranks in the flock.
I looked in the classifieds for cheap chickens and found a guy selling soon to be laying chickens in close by. I bought two of his chickens, and introduced the new chickens to Penny and Jewelery. The pecking started. The new chickens, Neasa and Fern, never fought back, and I felt so bad for them being pecked and chased. Thankfully blood was never drawn.
Now that is was been a couple of weeks the pecking and fighting is slowing down. I think it will take a little while longer for the four of them to become totally happy with one another, but everything is going well.
Today has been the most exciting day thus far though. Finding Neasa's and Fern's eggs was so great. When I first saw them I was taken back because the eggs were just little things. I can't wait to go out tomorrow and see if they have laid anymore eggs!
Neasa, she seems to be the most photogenic. Maybe she wanted to peck my camera. She did not try, and hasn't pecked me, but that look in her eye seems a little fishy.
Okay now let me tell the story of me coming to have my chickens.
It all started about a year and half ago when I was asked to gather eggs, water, and feed the the chickens for my neighbor. I immediately became interested in having my own chickens after I experienced how awesome it was to go out in the morning have fresh organic eggs. Jake was never nearly as excited as I was about the thought of being poultry owners , but sometime between last year and this past spring he became okay with the idea of getting chickens. So it was now down to getting a coop built, AKA another project.
My chicken dreams were slipping away as more important projects kept popping up taking priority over the chicken coop. My hope was almost lost when my neighbor, who asked me to care for her chicken last year, texted me, and asked if I would like her two chickens being that she was moving to NC.
A couple weeks later Jake and my bother in law moved the chicken coop to our backyard. I brought the chickens over, and just like that I had two chickens. Tori named those two Penny and Jewelry.
With Penny and Jewelry I typically got two eggs a day then a few days where I would only get one egg. I wanted more eggs, so I looked into adding chickens to my two chicken flock. I found out that is was possible to add chickens, but that a pecking order had to be established. That means the the chickens will scuffle a bit or alot till they sort out their individual ranks in the flock.
I looked in the classifieds for cheap chickens and found a guy selling soon to be laying chickens in close by. I bought two of his chickens, and introduced the new chickens to Penny and Jewelery. The pecking started. The new chickens, Neasa and Fern, never fought back, and I felt so bad for them being pecked and chased. Thankfully blood was never drawn.
Now that is was been a couple of weeks the pecking and fighting is slowing down. I think it will take a little while longer for the four of them to become totally happy with one another, but everything is going well.
Today has been the most exciting day thus far though. Finding Neasa's and Fern's eggs was so great. When I first saw them I was taken back because the eggs were just little things. I can't wait to go out tomorrow and see if they have laid anymore eggs!
Neasa, she seems to be the most photogenic. Maybe she wanted to peck my camera. She did not try, and hasn't pecked me, but that look in her eye seems a little fishy.
Neasa and Fern the new layers!
Jewelry. She seems to give the most eggs, but is also a bully.
Neasa is my favorite chicken. I love her black and white feathers. She is also the brunt of most of the bullying of Jewelry, and is most scared of me.
Last but not least, Penny. Tori tells me she is the boss of all the chickens. Maybe she is, and has Jewelery do all of her dirty work.
