Chickens!

We recently added more to our family....two sets of chickens.  We started with an assortment of Crested Polish and Barred Rock chickens, only getting four. The three crested polish are the ones in the foreground and the barred rock is the black one in the corner. They were about $3 each at the local feed store, so to us, it was a bargain, especially considering how many eggs we eat.  The only unknown was that we were not sure if they were male or female:  these chicks were in a mixed box, probably so the store could move inventory.  Most people don't buy roosters.  They wake you up at 3am to let you know it's dark out and they've already started their day.  They fight with other chickens, they're not subtle towards the hens, and they might be the kind that like to sever limbs from humans with their huge talons.

So, who knows, maybe we have four roosters, which would be a sad day.  We've had these chickens for a month now and they're doing really well.  All of them have made it through the baby phase, and now they've progressed into adolescence, showing their feathers and growing their fancy plumage on their heads.  I will write another post with updated photos (it's dark out now so I can't capture them in their full glory).

About two weeks ago we got another set of four chickens, this time all hens of the Rhode Island Red variety.  They are cutie pies, indeed!  They have a little black mark on the outside edge of their eyelids so it looks as though they have eyeliner on.  They are timid and beautiful, almost doubling in size in a week.  You have to hold them so they get used to you and aren't scared of you.  The first set of chickens we held a lot and fed lots of bugs and moths to so they come out and greet us when we walk by their chicken tractor that we made for them (Joseph did 95% of the work on it, I was moral support).

Let's hope all the chickens make it through the difficult adolescence and become the beautiful animals they are bred to be....and also hope that we only have one rooster.....