Winter white on the farm

The hens don't like the snow much but the kids do!! So today, they played with both...the girls cooperated for a little while.

Home on the farm

 Our home sometimes feels like a mini farm, with kids and animals all around. We love that they grow up caring for animals, learning about others needs besides their own, and sharing the unconditional love one has for home pets...

Hens don't give great kisses like a puppy, but they sure give great eggs!!

Eggs and more eggs...

It has been fun seeing the range of small to large eggs we are getting, (the large are still smaller than a regular size egg).

It is also exciting to see the color too. We love the variety.  We had heard that the first egg a hen lays can actually look more like a robin's egg, but most of ours are a good size. Then today, Gracie layed her first egg...the tiny one in the picture below.  Compare it to the first egg on the right that came from Lucy, she's the biggest hen and her eggs are too. (The one in the middle was from Virgina.)

The kids try and watch the hens, they actually got to see an egg come out one day. The thought it was gross!! It was pretty surprising to us all that she laid the egg with an audience.  Most often, the hens prefer to have the dark nest box, after she lays an egg she will let out a celebratory "Bok Bok Bok!",  CoCo ran to check today and found a pretty green one!

Gracie

Eggs!!

The eggs have arrived!  Our hens are laying beautiful eggs.  The first eggs came from the two Americanas, who lay the green eggs and the Rhode Island Red who lays brown eggs. The first eggs that a young hen lays are called pullets. They are small and some times are imperfect in shape.

 The first egg we found this morning was so exciting! The hen, one of the twins, came up to show it off and then to our surprise, she showed us another one that was hidden in the corner!  She was so proud! 

 

We took the eggs inside and went about our day.  The hen missed her eggs...she kept coming up to the house and at one point jumped at our sliding glass door as if she wanted in the house. It took me awhile to catch on, but we quickly learned that we need to keep golf balls in the nest boxes so the hens don't notice that we take their eggs!! The golf balls are perfect substitutes.

These eggs are absolutely delicious! The kids scarf them down!

Playing with Hens

 The hens continue to grow and the kids continue to love playing with them...

 

CoCo and the Chicks

CoCo just can't get enough of these baby chicks. Everyday, Tovrea wakes up checks on the chicks before school and then rushes out the door. CoCo gets more time in the mornings to just sit and hold them.  Dolley, the black Australop hen, is a favorite! She is sweet and calm and she likes CoCo-

Growing Chicks

 The chicks are getting bigger! CoCo loves to hold them and they are slowly getting more use to us. At just a couple of weeks old they still live in our basement under a heat lamp.

Meet the Girls!!

It's turned into Chick Days in our house!  Our newest adventure is all about raising 6 baby chicks from hatchlings to big beautiful egg laying hens!  We are learning so much about different breeds, their temperaments and personalities and how to best care for hens.

There will be more posts to come as they grow. The current brooder is in our guest bathroom shower, heated to a nice and warm 85-90 degree temperature. Each week we will be cooling them down by five degrees to prepare for their outdoor coop by the time they are 6-8 weeks old.

Take a look and meet the girls at about one week old here... and to see even more pictures click the read more link below...

Dolley an Autralorp Hen

Grace a Dominique Hen

Annabelle an Ameraucana Hen

Virginia a Rhode Island Red Hen

Eleanor also an Ameraucana Hen

 

 

Lucy a Buff Orpington Hen