chickens

On Sunday we moved the chickens into their remodeled winter coop. These are some very happy hens.  They have lots more room to roam and (hopefully) are secure from predators.  The move came just in time to save us from having to dig through snow out to the summer coop at the back of the barn.

The hens started laying about a month ago and we’re getting 8-10 eggs a day. There’s nothing like having fresh eggs!  If you’re considering livestock, but aren’t sure about the work involved, get chickens.  They’re easy and very rewarding.

Welcome 2010!  There’s a bit of light snow falling this morning, but the temps are mild – 20′s.  Our goal today is to finish the upgrade to the winter chicken coop. We want to move the hens before we have to shovel our way through a big storm to their current home in the summer coop.  All we have to do is close up a few holes in the corners to “critter-proof” the coop.  Weasels can get in through an amazingly small hole!

Our 15 hens are now laying and we’re getting at least 7-8 eggs each day.  Some are still small, but the Golden Comets (the hens that supposedly mature early) already have super jumbo eggs! I love gathering warm eggs from the coop!

I picked up 15 chicks at Morrison’s Feed Bag today. I ordered 6 Barred Rocks, 6 Araucanas and 3 Golden Comets. They are soooo cute!  The chicks are living in a large dog crate in the girls’ barn. Of course, they have the required setup: heat lamp, feed, water, bedding. 

I imagine the chicks will be kept like this for at least 2 or 3 weeks. Then we might be able to move them to a protected area in the coop. We’ll see how they do.  They have lots of energy today and are busy checking out their new surroundings.

Our new chicks