Chicken rug is done!

Wow.  This sure took awhile, didn't it!  If you remember, dear reader, I started this rug back in April when I went to my first rug camp.  I walked in the door with wool and a pattern.  I walked out with barely 2 chickens done.  Once I got home, I felt like I had to finish the fruit rug before finishing this one.  Then, life happened and I didn't have a lot of time to work on anything at all.  I finally bit the bullet and took the rug with me on vacation to Kelleys Island.  The border was so tedious.  The rug is 40+ inches by about 28 inches so there's lots and lots (and lots) of border to do.  But, after a few days at the lake, I had the border pretty much done.  That left me the final (darkest) chicken. 

I love the rug and I'm actually considering putting it on the floor (gasp!).  Most of my rugs are on walls because they are too precious to walk on.  But, I think I'm ready.  I just need to find a spot where my children never tread...

4 layers, 1 slacker

My friends on Etsy (do a search for "clevelandteam" and be amazed) have asked some questions about our chickens so here's an update. If you remember, dear reader, we got 6 laying hen chicks last May. One of the "girls" started crowing in July. So...5 girls and one big, beautiful rooster. We started getting eggs in October and, as of the end of the year, we had 3 laying. Now we finally have 4 laying.

Here's a shot of our chicken coop, lovingly designed and made by my husband and my oldest son. My son used the whole project for a Boy Scout merit badge.

Right now the girls are parked in the snow just outside our living room window. From the window, we can check the water and food levels. And, the coop is close enough to a grounded outlet to run a cord out to the heated water trough.

The girls are very cold hardy. My son researched the breeds and the Ameraucana chickens are good ones for cold winters like we get here in Northeast Ohio. Some days we find them in a "chicken dogpile" as my husband calls it. All six of them bundled together against the cold.

Many of their mannerisms are almost human. When something new enters the coop (human, vegetable, new food, etc) they approach it with caution, cocking their heads and checking out the situation. I could sit and watch them all day if it wasn't so damn cold outside.

I highly recommend the backyard chicken experiment. It's been fun for our whole family. And, by spring we should be getting 5 eggs a day! That is, if the slacker ever gets moving...