Take a Beak

Take a Beak
Originally uploaded by rudimyers

Yes, we own chickens - Australorps to be precise.

For Christmas, my husband gave me chicken feed, a waterer, and a chicken coop. We had discussed many many times the idea of raising chickens and eating the eggs. I had done some minimal research on MyPetChicken.com and read Beginner's Guide to Chickens by Faber so had an idea of what breeds of chickens I wanted.

After we came back from traveling over Christmas, I searched Craig's List (where else?) and found a man nearby who was advertising several breeds for sale. I talked to him on the phone, and since he sounded like he was serious and knew what he was doing (chickens are his hobby, but he has THOUSANDS of chickens), I asked if we could visit and take a look. Of course, it rained the entire time we were there talking to him, but the boys didn't seem to buy. He turned out to be a great guy, and, even though we only paid him for two young chickens (two months old), he gave us three more chickens (so four females and a male total) to take home.

Today, I let the chickens out in the yard for a bit. They are pretty friendly and curious, although I had to climb a learning curve for getting them back into their coop!