Today I thought I’d share with you some photos of our chickens; also know as the redheaded girls. We have 29 hens, we started with 30 but one disappeared over time. I’m sure a critter didn’t get into the coop and get it because it wouldn’t have just snatched one and left. Plus an animal of prey would leave behind evidence so it must have wandered off into the woods and didn’t come home and I’m sure it became coyote food that night. With 29 that all look the same it’s hard to count them when they’re all running around.
When the girls see you coming they all flock to the fence to greet us. The breed we have is Ida Brown’s and we picked them because they are consistent layers with no down time in the winter but I swear they are stupid as the day is long. Ida Browns are normally known for how smart they are but this batch didn’t get the memo I guess. For some reason they are afraid of the dark and huddle on top of each other at night if we don’t keep a light on for them.
Every morning they get a big batch of fresh veggies and fruits to eat along with their daily chicken feed. They are so funny they come running out of the coop to see what treats they are getting for the day. These chickens are spoiled I tell you but they deserve it, each one produces an egg a day. I take what I want and my Gram takes what she needs for the week and the rest are sold to an organic store. The girls totally support themselves every month with money left over just from the egg sales.
I wish it would quit snowing here the girls don’t care much for snow; they take one look out of the coop and turn around. I can’t blame them it’s been a long winter here in Michigan.
MORE CHICKEN POST YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
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- CHICKEN COOP BUILD PART 1
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- CHICKEN COOP BUILD PART 2
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- HOW TO CLIP CHICKEN WINGS
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- MEAT CHICKENS
They are cuties….just like the cutie Grama Red sporting that beautiful head of red hair!
Shirley yes they are like Grama Red, and just as crazy as she is too.
Hey, I was thinking the same thing! My sister had chickens years ago, fresh eggs are the best! We like eggs, very versatile.
We are having a summer day, supposedly 96. Yuck! Then some rain ( we’ll see) and “cooler” weather. Kathleen in Az
Kathleen OMG it’s hot there for sure, we are getting rain, snow, and sleet here today.
Wish I had the energy to keep up with chickens and my dog who would have them as snacks ! She has gotten more than her share of the doves around here. Several of our friends have chickens in their back yards and its fun to watch them go after the bugs. One friend has a pet chicken who loves broccoli and pears!
Fresh eggs are the best and when you bake with them there is a taste difference (so my hubs notices and tells me all the time).
I will gladly let others raise chickens and pay them for the fresh organic eggs for our meals and baking ..
Diana my dog would eat the chickens too if we let her, she’s very agressive. If we don’t have chickens I purchase from a local farmer too, nothing better than farm fresh and there is a huge taste difference.
I just think that sometimes our grandparents had the right idea .. Raise a garden, a cow or two, a couple of chickens, etc.. and then come winter there is food that has been canned and frozen. Nothing like fresh peaches for peach cobbler or canned applesauce that one makes themself
Diana I so agree and that’s what we do here. We raise all our own meat, eggs, and veggies. Im still waiting for my fruit trees to produce.
You are my hero ..People who do that are the best ..
We do the veggies, farmer’s market for the rest, organic if possible meats, eggs. I cannot wait for the peaches, pears and apples to come in … Canning Season will soon be upon us.
Diana we also have a local farmer’s market so I can purchase fruits and veggies there if I don’t grow a garden but I can’t eat meat or eggs from a store. I also can eat meat in restaurants, so I do soup and salad normally.
Lol.. They are soooo cute. What color eggs do they lay? My son gets fresh eggs from a friend and they are different colors.. Really pretty. I don’t know what kind of Chickens they are . Oh the weather here in the Chicagoland area has been crazy.. Ughh.
Melissa they lay all brown eggs. Our weather is horrible too, it snowed again today. Will it ever be nice again?
Dawn – Love this post. We are fixing up the coop to have chickens again (first time around I freaked out over Bird Flu and returned all our lovely hens to the feed store)…we’re trying again. The first item in the coop…a crystal chandelier lit by battery-operated candles…the chicks are going to love it! 🙂
How fun Jeanne I bet the chandy will be awesome. I’ve seen pics on Pinterest of one in a coop and got a kick out of it.
Hi Dawn: I have so enjoyed reading your blog – I have nominated you for the Liebster Award. You can check out the post here:
http://doodlet.me/2016/04/the-liebster-award-to-doodle-t/
Happy Monday!