The Chickens

I know I have been talking about the chickens for a little while now, I am only now just getting a chance to blog about them.

Mike had always joked with me that we should get some chickens. I always thought he was crazy, and in no way, did I want to have anything to do with chickens. I personally thought they were the ugliest things, not to mention, I felt weird owning a pet, that I enjoy eating. lol I have been on a chicken craze (as in grilled chicken breast) for the last year. I really didn't want to put a face to my favorite dinner food. ;)

So, the topic of owning chickens ended rather quickly, and was not mentioned again for quite some time. Then, shortly before Easter this year, I happened to come across an article online about raising chickens in your backyard. I was rather impressed by what I read, and decided to research it further.

Needless to say, on April 22nd I purchased (10) 1-day old Buff Orpington chicks from a local feed store, and well, as they say the rest is history.

The feed store has a 90% guarantee of all the chickens being pullets (baby hens) So we are keeping our fingers crossed, that is actually the case. (In other words--Pray for no crowing..lol)

To back up a bit, I decided on the Buff Orpington's

because they are an easily available chicken, and one of the most popular chickens to own. Not to mention, I was rather surprised how pretty these chickens are. After researching this breed of chicken, I was happy to learn how especially docile, calm and patient they are. These 3 qualities were a must, since the chickens would be raised around Benjamin. And I wanted him to be able to handle, and help care for them along side of both Mike and myself.
So, that is how owning chickens came about. Surprising, to say the least, but definitely something I am so glad we decided to do. I still can't believe how fond of them I am already.



Fast forward a couple of months.....
So, here we are reaching the 3 month mark of owning chickens. I must say, I am surprised and astonished how much I have grown to actually love the chickens. I still am amazed at how endearing these creatures are, and how easily they pull on your heart strings. Benjamin also loves the chickens, and is eager to help care for them everyday.

When we used to have the chicks in the brooder inside the laundry room, Benjamin insisted on visting with them every morning to say "good morning chicks!!!" And even though, almost 3 months has passed by, he still insists on going over to the coop and saying hi to the chickens, every time we go in the backyard.

The three of us, have also grown very fond of one particular chicken, who we have named Petunia. She is by far the most spoiled of them all, but also the most friendly. I have joked many times to Mike, that she will eventually be made into a house chicken. lol I doubt he would ever let that happen. But she is definitely the only chicken I would even consider allowing in my house. (I still can't believe I am typing that about a chicken..LOL)

Anyways, here is a little video I put together of the chicks and the coop construction. We are actually 100% finished the coop part, and are just starting to design the run part. We have had a few "predators" around the house, (owls, possum, and various neighborhood dogs) so the design of the run has to be more tweaked a little more to ensure the chickens safety. But we hope to have it completed in the next few weeks.

Without further ado....the video

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