Fresh Eggs Again!

We were just about to place an order for Red Star chicks when we got the phone call. Eleven hens about 6 months old, needed a new home. Did we want them?

YES!

Not only are they already laying eggs, they are well past the delicate chick stage and have entered the full-grown egg laying stage. We have Buff Orpingtons, Bard Rocks, Silver Spangled Hamburgs and Silver-laced Polish.

Ray spent the next few days repairing the coop and making the run more secure. All we had to do was figure out how to transport them.

We had an old dog crate, a big piece of plywood and a few 2×4’s. We were able to rig up a chicken transporter.

We took our two chicken whisperers and wrangled 11 birds. I thought we’d need to make a couple of trips, but they all fit in the crate nicely so we made a slow trek back to the house and put them in their new home.

The poor dears were frightened when we put them in their new hen house, but that didn’t last long.

Once they saw the kitchen garden, they eagerly attacked it and decimated all weeds and remaining pests in a matter of days. They scratched and dug and pecked their way through roots and shoots and found all kinds of yummy bugs and grubs to munch on.

We didn’t think we would get any eggs from them for at least a few days, but they surprised us. By the end of their first full day on the homestead, they’d given us 6 eggs of assorted size and color.

The six eggs on the left are from the girls while the four on the right are from the store. 

And these hens? They are…nice. No hand pecking, no angry sqwaucks, no evil plots.

Maybe, just maybe, we can get along. (Fingers crossed.)

Full-grown hens this time
Already laying brown eggs
Nice, friendly and calm