Tastes Like Chicken

Ode to the Chickens (revised)

(sing to the tune of "Home on the Range)

Home, Home on Linda Laaaane.

Where the dogs try to e-eat my chickens.

Where often is heard a Cock-a-doodle-doo,

'Cause the chicken we stole is a roooooster!

New Shady Ladies

The girls are getting situated.  They've already given us THREE brown eggs.  The Chicken Man told us to keep them in the coop for several days so that they will know where "home" is when it's time to go to bed. Yesterday was the first day we are let them out of the coop.  I'm sure they were happy to get out...Jessie has kept them on their toes (if you know what I mean).

Their names are as follows...pictures to follow.
Pearl de Verre is a fiesty red head.
Miss Hattie owned a "store front" in
San Angelo.
Miss Kitty is a fairly well known "business woman."

Well Hell...

So I get rid of Doc because his crowing had gotten out of control.  Mom took him to the Chicken Man.  I was sad, but still okay with it because I still had Jessie.  Jessie wasn't crowing and might not start...a girl can dream, can't she?? 

This rooster situation is becoming tiresome. Now that Doc is gone Jessie has picked up the extra responsibilities of Top Dog like crowing from before sun up to after sun down.  Needless to say, Jessie needs to find a new home.  I'll be accepting applications from anyone who would like to adopt him.  Breaks my heart!

Oh Happy Day!

Things are looking up for my urban farming.

First, I must update you on Doc. The plan was for Brian and I to do the exchange on the way to Odessa this weekend. Then we would take our new hen on the road trip with us. Once in Odessa she would hang out in the backyard (most of the time in her carrier) during the day and then in the evenings she would sleep in the dining room. This is normal, right? Well, thanks to Mom none of this happened although I'm certain it would have made for a very funny story.

Instead, Mom did the exchange and she also got TWO more hens. So now I have Jessie, Jane and three other "working girls" who have yet to be named. I need to look up some appropriate names. She also got a dozen eggs tossed in. What a nice Chicken Man!!

He was also impressed with the beauty of my rooster. He's decided to get rid of his other red rooster so he can keep Doc. This makes me VERY happy. Doc was welcomed by getting into a squabble with one of the ladies. When you're smaller than the rest of ladies it's not a good idea to get cocky...even if you are one.

Pictures of the new ladies to follow!

Eat Much??

I promise I don't feed my chickens hormones!!

Hurts My Heart

As earlier stated, Doc has fine tuned his crowing.  He took a break to rest up his vocal chords and now he's back in full swing.  His Cock-a-doodle-dooing typically starts about 4:30.  He continues till after I leave for work and then tosses a few in throughout the day.  He even crows after dark at times.  I don't what to be "that" neighbor or be the butt of Jeff Foxworthy's "You Might Be a Redneck" jokes so I am having to give Doc back.  The original plan was for Mom to transport him to New Mexico to live with my brother, but after the dog incident and seeing Jane frazzled we didn't think we could separate them.  (I'm pretty sure the first rule of Farming is to not give your farm animals human feelings.)  I'm certain Jane would feel sad/confused for a bit, but hopefully she would finally reach acceptance.  Like I have because she has yet to produce an egg...I've accepted that. 

Anyway, Doc has gotten a bit out of hand so the time has come to relocate him.  I called the man who sold us the chicken (The one who gave us a 95% guarantee they were both hens.)  He is going to take Doc and give us a hen in his place.  I have no idea what will happen to Doc once he is in the Chicken Man's care...I'd rather not think about it.  I am probably not going to be able to get out of the car when the transaction occurs.

I tried to find someone to take him in the local chicken community (yes, there are chicken meetups), but it seems no one wants a rooster.  Can we compare this to China and females??

Life's just not fair.

Times Change

When we got Jessie he looked like a little Peep and we were worried that Jane and Doc would peck him to death.  Now I don't think we have to worry about that.  It would take alot of peckin' to take him down now!

New Coop

I have a new coop!  It's CUTE!  Thank goodness for handyman friends!  When all my chicken thoughts started I wanted to build my own coop.  Luckily I came to my senses and bought my first coop.  It's pretty cute, but with 2 roosters I wanted separate coops so each of them could rule over their own domain.  Also, Doc keeps pecking Jessie's feathers and I want to see what he'll look like with ALL his feathers. 

Anyway, I contacted Lauren and Jordan and they got to work right away.  It's CUTE! (I know I already said this.)  He built it and painted it.  Now all I have to do is make a run for it.  I have my ideas, but need to sit down and really draw it out.

Jordan and Lauren with their creation.  It even has a real roof!!

THANKS HANDYMAN!!

Dueling Banjos

Since I have two roosters will they both crow in the morning? So far it's just Doc.  Will Jessie have a deper voice because he's bigger?  I was told Jessie may not start crowing so let's pray that's the case.

There's an Evil Among Us

When I am out of town Brian is the sole provider for the chickens.  He lets them out and such while he's in and out of the yard.  One weekend he was doing his usual backyard duties and let the chickens out to roam.  He was inside watching the birds...small birds, not chickens...when he saw the chickens and the other birds make a run for it.  When he looked closer he saw a HUGE hawk looking for his next meal!  He was in one of my trees hanging out.  Now we have to be careful when we let the chickens out because as you may know they are not the smartest animals on earth.  A week or so later we were outside and the little birds took off because the hawk was lurking in one of my trees.  I didn't see him land, but I saw him take off.  I wonder if the chickens ever get that eerie feeling that they are being watched??

I would be pretty traumatized if I saw a hawk swoop down and get one of my cute little chickens.

Don't Go Towards the Light!!!!

One Wednesday evening (It's been so long I do not remember the exact date) I let the chickens out between working at Richland and CCCC.  This is common practice.  I like to let the chickens spread their wings as much as possible because I'm sure they don't appreciate being cooped up all day.  After I hung out with the chickens a bit and took a couple photos I went inside for  bite to eat and a quick nap (also common practice).  Then I rushed out the door to work.  Went to work.  Came home. Went to bed.

Do you see the problem here??

The next morning I am putting my make up on when I hear mom yell, "NO! NO! Leave it!"  I immediately think some armed man is trying to get through the back door...single white female syndrome.  Once I get up and run to the living room I find that mom wasn't yelling at a crazed man.  It was a crazed dog with a rooster in his mouth!  Polo had Doc in his mouth like he was a squeaky toy.  Tes wasn't far behind.  I'm certain she wanted a piece of the action as well.   Luckily, Mom got to the dogs before they had a nice chicken breakfast.  Mom sent the dogs in and put Doc in his coop.

How might Polo get a chicken in his mouth???  It's because I FORGOT  to lock the chickens in their coop!  I'm a horrible mother.  Does this mean I will forget to buckle my kids up in the car?

The evening before the chickens tucked themselves into bed...they're good like that.  Thursday morning I let the dogs out and fed them (evidently not enough).  When the chickens woke up they were pleasantly surprised that they had free range of the backyard. Little did they know that they were being stalked by the dogs.  Jessie, the only smart one of the bunch, wanted nothing to do with the new found freedom.  He stayed upstairs to get a good view of the action.  Mom think s that Doc took the hit for Jane so she could run back to safety.  Dogs attacked.  Mom rescued.  I felt horrible.  No one was harmed.


I don't think Polo was out for blood.  I think he was just playing with his new squeaky toy...at least that's what I will tell myself.  All's well that ends well, right?

My apologies

It's been a while....

The chicken farm is thriving.  And by thriving I mean all three chickens are still alive.  Jane has yet to lay an egg.  I was really hoping for a Christmas egg, but evidently I wasn't a good girl last year...all I got was poo.  Now that the days are shorter I probably won't get an egg for a while.  Doc took a break on his crowing for a while.  Now that his vocal chords are well rested he's back at it again.  They are starting to eat kitchen scraps like real chickens so at least they're doing part of their job.  They are handling the cold nicely.  We have put some bedding upstairs to keep help block the cold air.  I assume it's working because they're still alive. That's about it.  And yes, they are still PRECIOUS!!