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...

Yes, I have been making lots of scarves and will be posting about the process tomorrow. But, I can't NOT write about our chickens today!! We had our first egg. We got the girls just after Mother's Day which means they are 21 weeks old this week. We've been checking for the eggs with no luck. Today I was chatting with them (I know. Get a day job) and said, "C'mon, girls. You're 21 weeks old. Let's make it happen." I was looking into the nesting boxes in the coop and THERE IT WAS!! A beautiful, perfect green egg. Cracked, unfortunately, but otherwise perfect. I had to blow it out because I just wasn't sure it was ok to eat.



Now you should know that we bought 6 laying hens. Ameraucana breed. Back in July, though, we heard some crowing around 6:30 a.m. one day. Hmmmm. One of the girls was a boy. How nice to finally be able to use the phrase, "There's a rooster in the henhouse!"



Of course, he's gorgeous and now we can't imagine getting rid of him. As long as he stays docile, he stays, if you know what I mean.