Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Beautiful Fall Day

I am excited that Purina Poultry has been featuring several of my photos on their website and Facebook page lately, and I am now beginning to submit photos and copy to Backyard Poultry magazine.

Here are a few of my favorites, taken recently, on a beautiful fall day.













Some things just happen!

O.C.D., some people translate that as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

At our house, O.C.D. stands for Obsessive Chicken Disorder!

A couple of weeks ago, I met up with a chicken breeder friend of mine to pick up a couple of pullets for my daughter-in-law... but, of course, I couldn't stop at that.  I ended up added a couple of marans to my flock, so I'll have some dark chocolate eggs in a few weeks.  THEN, I got a coop for the marans, because that is so much easier than incorporating them into an existing flock. THEN, the coop seemed kinda empty with just two chickens in it so I went to visit an Orpington breeder friend of mine and got two more pullets (a chocolate cuckoo & a jubilee).  Now, the coop seems properly filled!







Update... Welcoming Swedish Flower Hens to the Family!


Wow, it has been a really long time since I  updated my blog.  I get so busy with this and that, that it just seems to get pushed to the side.

In July, I won an auction for some very rare chicks.  Swedish Flower Hens from Greenfire Farms.  It was one of those moments, late at night, when I couldn't sleep.  I was picking around on Facebook and noticed someone had posted about something they were selling on a rare breed poultry auction site.  I thought, "RARE BREED POULTRY AUCTION SITE... HOW DID I NOT KNOW THAT EXISTED?????"  So, I followed the link, picked around a bit, and sorted the auctions by price.  I found this auction for Swedish Flower Hens that was due to complete in just a few minutes and had no bids.  It also had no minimum bid.. so I had to bid.  I just had to.  I assumed other people were watching the auction and would bid at the last minute.  They didn't.  I won.  The next thing was to figure out how to tell my husband that I had 10 chicks coming in a few days.  I don't remember how I told him, but he accepted the news with grace.

I had never had chicks shipped before, so I was a little nervous about that.  I received a call from the post office about 8 AM one morning, telling me they had my chicks.  I jump in the car and went to pick them up.  There were 13 in the box.  All safe and healthy and chirping away.

So, over the next several weeks, I gave a few away to my daughter-in-law (starting her on the chicken journey as well) and began the process of determining which ones I would keep and which ones I would sell/re-home.

In the end, I kept 4 girls and one boy.  I kept a variety.  Two girls with crests, two without.  Two red, one black, one copper.  Two with yellow legs; two with white legs.  And one calico cockerel.

We are now almost to the point of lay. The cockerel has begun trying to mate.  He is a real talker, so hoping my neighbors will love him as much as I do... because he is gorgeous!

Below are some photos from the Swedish Flower Hen journey...




Cirque du Chick




Happy 4th of July
Proud to be an American, Where a Chick can Roam Free!





My beautiful blue-eyed cockerel named Sage.
This is the roo I decided to keep.


Not at all hard to see how they got their name Blommehöns.
This is Bloomer, and he looks like a flower about to bloom!

Mabel (Maybelline, as I call her)
because of all that great eyeliner!
This was Olivia,
until Olivia turned into Oliver. 
Downward Chick (yoga pose)

Move to the outside coop

Bedtime in the new coop







             
                       "Are you talkin' to me?"                                                 "Say what?"











  





My handsome boy, Sage... 3 1/2 months old, looking so grown up.