Egg-citing!

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Mom of 4

Exciting news! We were just given some more chickens! YAY! We now have 8 Silky Bantams, 5 Austrolorps, 14 Red ones whose name I don’t know.

The white Chicken House is full, so these new girls reside in the second chicken coop, located in the back of this ugly, I mean spare garage.

AGAIN, I say Thank you Lord, that I didn’t continue to push for Dale to bulldoze all those “Untidy” outbuildings. We have put them to good choose for chicken homes AND photography now!

Another blessing has been having a few extra dozen eggs to sell! That $10 or so a month goes to the “Fun Money” envelope, and when the kids have earned an ice cream cone reward or momma needs to run errands straight through the noon hour, we use that money for lunch.

Not to mention the blessing of Farm fresh eggs to enjoy, they just taste plain AMAZING! I have never seen such golden yellow yolks in my life. Guess it’s because our girls get to roam around and eat those good bugs all day.

We are thinking about selling 2 of the male silkies. Any takers? They are so stinkin’ cute! When we let them out of the coop each morning, they run over until they are standing RIGHT in front of the ladies, feathers all puffed up, and proceed to show off by scratching the dirt right in front of them.

Typical male behavior if I’ve ever seen it!

Dale says he doesn’t know what I am talking about:

“Men don’t puff up for the ladies….”

“Oh, why hello there Tonya.”

“The Chicken Coop is thataway…”

What a Goof ball……

{But a big goof ball I am totally, madly, head over heels in love with!} 🙂

So anyhow, we send the kids out after school to go gather eggs, and this is what was brought back up to the house yesterday:

This photo doesn’t do this last egg justice…..

It IS HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, look at it compared to the quarter!!!! Or compared to the standard sized egg!
{If I had thought about it, I’d have photographed it in one of the children’s hands so you could really see how big it is. But alas, it is already in someone’s tummy!}

We thought our hen, Big Momma, laid some huge eggs, but someone from the new hen-house has her beat, BIG TIME!

Look out Big Momma, there’s a new Hen in town!

We don’t know which one it is, but I figure if we look real close, she’ll be the one walking with a limp! 🙂

{giggles}

These eggs were sitting on this chair in the garage, waiting to be put away and I could NOT resist. It was screaming PHOTOGRAPH ME!!!!!

Figured that was a great way to end this post full of such Egg-citing Chicken news!

Post 2 for today is Vanilla Crumb Pie. Too bad I didn’t make an Egg Bake or something to go with the “theme” today, but that w0uld’ve been FAR too convienenent!

Kitties & Chickies

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Mom of 4

We had a visitor awaiting us when we came home from vacation. A new furry little Ferguson:

Saprina the kitty, rescued from a tree by our house sitter while we were gone.

To say my kids are infatuated with her is a bit of an understatement!

Tylan announced at supper tonight, that it was REALLY great that we had a cat now, so she could eat the mice. Otherwise…….those mice would sneak into our house and eat all our CHEESE!

This is our first pet kitty you know. I am NOT a cat person, but I just might be a bit smitten myself.

Key word: MIGHT

Sophie was not to sure at first, but after the customary butt sniff, deemed Saprina fit to be a part of our outdoor family.

“Wait, did you say OUTSIDE?”

Yup, sorry Saprina. This Momma is allergic to kitty cats, no matter how cute they are. Outside you go and outside you will stay…

Exploring the great outdoors is exhausting!!!!!

Awwww! {melt melt melt} I think I’m smitten with a kitten. (Shhh! Don’t tell!)

In other Furry Little Ferguson news, remember our Silkie Bantams? They were baby Silkies when we left for Florida and viola!

2 weeks later……..

We came back to BIG teenager Silkies that had outgrown their pen and need for a heat lamp. We promptly moved them to the old chicken coop, separate from the other chickens.

They don’t call it “Hen Pecked” or “Pecking Order” for nothing. It is for their own safety that they remain separated from the original chickens until further notice, so they live to see another day.

“I got my eye on you.”

Funny little Fur-babies!

Country Critters

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Mom of 4

When I pictured my life with Dale, I imagined a house with a white picket fence….

But what I didn’t imagine was that there would ever be 27 chickens behind that fence!

I am learning to be a Country Girl, I really am, and I have surprised myself along the way…….

I LOVE having gardens.

But ask me how much I loved having 4 different ones after summer is over….

Hmm, one for each kid to maintain????? haha 🙂

I love living out of town where no other homes are visible.

I love hanging our wet swim clothes or clean quilts out on the clothesline.

(This was not allowed in the neighborhood I grew up in…)

I love the fresh, cold from the spicket well water, though at first I swore you had to chew it first to swallow, based on the high mineral content.

Oh, and have I mentioned, I love my chickens?

I have? Many times?

Oh.

Ok, well, I still do, just in case you were wondering…..

I love that they come when I call.

Love them enough to have chased Mr. Fox down the lane, yelling and waving my fist (in bathrobe and slippers) to save them.

Story here.

Do you remember when my kids used their own money to buy 5 Astrolorp chickens?

It has been a really great way for them to take responsibility and care for them each day as part of their chores.

Well, Grandma Eileen, being the thinker she is, had a great surprise early/late Birthday present in store for the kiddos:

She got us Silkie Bantam chickies, with the promise of Americana’s to come, once they are hatched.

To say the kids were excited, would be an understatement!

Pax thought they sure looked tasty!

No kidding, this is what they should look like once they are full-grown.

We got the sightless kind because they are supposedly easier to care for.

BAHAHAHA! Just teasing.

Yes, this really is what they will look like, and yes, they can see under that mop of fur.

Aren’t they just so stinkin’ adorable!?!?!?!?!?! {cue girly squeeeeal}

The fun thing about the country life, I am learning, is that we have our fair share of other critters out here too:

Like Raccoons

Salamanders named Sam

As you can tell, Tylan is not to impressed with the visitor on his shoulder.

Right after this photo of little 1 year old Avery was taken, Sam the Salamander took off up her arm. She came UNGLUED! For weeks after, she’d tell the tragic tale, in her little teeny baby voice, showing with motions how Sam ran up her arm to her shoulder. She ended the story with “And I cwy and CWY!” (And, I cry and CRY!)

Princess the Possum. who sadly, did not visit for long.