Hens - We have them

We've been on the fence about getting chickens, so I decided we should go meet a few to see what we thought.

I knew I didn't want babies for a number of reasons which narrowed the field tremendously. I came across a few local farmers on craigslist and connected with a nice couple in Leesburg that had a few 8-month-old hens for sale.

Why not visit and just see what they're like? We can decide if we want them after we leave, right?

Three minutes after stepping into the chicken coop, I have a hen in my arms and I'm saying, "We'll take them." As soon as Jae and I were in the car, he turned to me and said, "I thought we were going to think about it, first."

So did I, but their soft feathers and total trust when they were in my arms just won me over. Could you resist THIS?

Exactly.

The problem is that our coop fell through and we're leaving in a few weeks to travel. 

Thankfully, the Bennett's offered to house the two hens (Buff Orphintons) until we get back from our trip. Which gives us a few more weeks to figure out where we'll house them and what the hell we need to get to keep them safe and happy.

On a side note, the Bennett's had a bunch of other animals including a one-day-old lamb! Isn't he cute?!?!?! Momma sheep wasn't too sure about us invading their stall, but baby was super sweet and loved all the attention.

As we left, the Bennett's gave us eggs that our two girls had laid just that morning. 

Our first eggs!!!

IN MY BELLY!

I've downloaded some plans to build our own chicken coop. It will be a lot cheaper, but I'm not sure our relationship can survive the cooperation that will be required. HA!

So, ready or not, I'm a chicken momma now.

Chicken Coop Drama

Well, I was all excited about chickens. I did tremendous amounts of research, connected with a few local folks that have backyard/urban chickens, and bought a chicken coop.

Then, I was panicked. What the HELL am I going to do with CHICKENS? In my yard? In suburbia? Who's going to watch them when we're on vacation? I don't think we have racoons in the area, but what if we do and they try to kill my flock?

I called to cancel my chicken coop order, but they informed me it was already on the freight truck and it was too late.

This must be a sign from the universe that I'm meant to have a few clucking little hens wandering the yard. I'm leaning towards naming them Thelma and Louise. If I'm going to have hens,  I might as well make them badass, men-hating crazy gals, right?

Anyway - here's the coop I ordered:

The reviews all said good things like: easy to assemble, spacious, sturdy in high wind, easy to move. I plan on making a few modifications to add a reflective roof that will help deflect heat in the summer and increasing security so potential intruders can't get in (racoons, stray cats, etc).

Let's use this image as our baseline. Once I get the coop and assemble it, we'll have a little comparison to see if I am capable of following directions.

I ask myself this question at least once a day: What the hell am I doing?