It rained quite a bit last night and it’s too wet to go outside, so, I’ll write about the chickens. We have been graced by our hens for almost month now . . . and the novelty hasn’t yet worn off. Friday evening we sat out watching the girls scratch in the dirt while we played around on our computers, ordered food for delivery (with instructions to bring it out back), and drank (beer for Mister Man; iced tea for me since I’m on antibiotics). It was a pleasant evening worth getting bit by bugs. The chickies now have a coop thanks to Mister Man and I have clipped their wings so they can’t fly away. I’ll share some old and new photos, plus a short video clip.
Here’s one of the girls . . . I know she’s thinking “Hey, Let me out!”
This was their first home — very very makeshift. Nevertheless, the girls did seem content. They slept in a large cat carrier and had a small chicken-wire enclosure that I moved around the yard every day. I covered it all with netting to keep the girls in and other critters out. At night I moved the carrier into the garage since we have raccoons and opossums in the neighborhood.
Mister Man put together a very nice coop — but I haven’t taken pictures yet. He plans on fencing and netting off the back part of the yard to create a large living area for the girls.
Meanwhile, I put the hens back by the compost pile which they LOVED!! ooooooooh . . . . so many tasty bugs, grubs, flies, and worms!
What fun they had!
If I haven’t stated yet, the hens are Buff Orpingtons – a good hardy breed that is considered dual purpose (eggs and meat). Orpingtons are docile, cold hardy, good mamas and self-sufficient — the perfect type for Nebraska.
Here they are inspecting a broken cinder block. Since chickens have beaks, they seem to think that the world is in need of pecking!
Who’s over there?
Live from Lincoln, Nebraska . . . .
Urban homesteading is all the rage now — and it’s a fad I hope more people choose to follow. Home chickens are easy to care for, provide eggs, bug control, and entertainment. Further, raising a couple of hens and sharing the proceeds with friends and neighbors lessens our reliance on egg factories that inhumanely treat hens like cogs in a machine.
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