Our Chickens!

After our trip to the beach, Nora couldn't wait to see our chickens.  While we were gone they took to living in the trees and wouldn't really come down.  Several of them were missing (apparently owls aren't so nice).  They were complete free range chickens and it got a little too scary with all the woods so we got together and caught the remaining three (Maximus McNugget and the twins) to put them back into their coop.   Sadly, Hoppy (the miracle chicken that got hurt & had a shattered hip/leg but still hopped around) didn't make it. It was no small feat!  It literally took hours to coax them in.  I spent what seemed like forever sitting by the door with a string to hurry & close it once they ventured in.  It worked but boy was it time consuming.  McNugget finally flew onto the porch to Lala & let us pick her up.  Now, we try to watch them a little more carefully!

PeePaw, the chicken whisperer came for a quick visit & saw our chicky chicks.  If you remember, he has all their siblings.  He helped us make sure we had the nesting boxes all set up with golf balls & straw to encourage them to start laying.

Nora & her favorite dog in the world, Russell

Photo by:  Nora

This girl has all her grandpa's wrapped around her finger!

'Whispering'

We like to think Maximus McNugget really missed us while we were gone.  She likes to make noises at us when we come to see her.  She even started letting us pet her.  That is not a typical chicken trick.  =)  She doesn't always do it, but she does often.  She also regularly eats out of our hands.  One of the twins will occasionally, but only for a couple of pecks and the other will not come close to me.  Apparently I am more frightening than Nora.  They barely flinch when Nora walks up to them.  (Shouldn't the unpredictable toddler be more scary?!?)

By far the most exciting thing happened with our chickens...they started laying eggs!  Finally!  We've been able to enjoy fresh eggs often.  Maximus lays a light blue colored egg and the twins lay a light tan color.  Nora (okay all of us) love going to check for fresh eggs.  We have also learned the loud sounds they make before/after the laying.  Instantly I connected the sound to this chicken laying egg prize machine from my childhood.  You would put your quarter in & the hen makes a lot of clucks that get louder & more extreme before she 'lays' the egg (that has a prize inside).  We would always try to win the gold eggs. {Anyone else remember it?  I want to say it was at the Carolina Pottery shopping mall.}

Showing off some fresh eggs!

Aaron with eggs!

Now we can't wait for the days to get longer.  These crazy chickens must be mixed up & aren't laying at all! It's like they only have half days now & can't seem to figure out what's going on.  Maybe for now we'll just give them a little extra crack {I mean scratch} to keep them happy.