... on our first week of chicken keeping:
:: I had no idea they poohed SO much!
:: I knew I was going to enjoy having them around but I wasn't prepared for how maternal I feel towards my girls!
:: My bedtime reading this week has been Starting with Chickens by Katie Thear and Keeping Chickens by Rebecca Hillman at Sallygardens.
:: Chickens get a bad press when it comes to brain power. They're actually more intelligent than you might think - they worked the ladder out very quickly and you should see them clustered around the back door waiting for Amy to get home from school and give them their handful of corn!
:: Chickens are lovely, but seriously - how much poo?!!!!
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Footnote: Thanks to all of you who have emailed about knitted animals. I am slowly getting back into my groove and hope to have some ready to list on etsy soon - will send more details shortly.
Gosh, that black one is so pretty - makes me want to get the paints out!
Posted by: Caroline B | January 26, 2009 at 03:29 PM
How fun!
Silly question from a city girl - you got them for the eggs, right? Do you have a rooster? Do you have to arrange "dates"?
Posted by: Jennifer | January 26, 2009 at 03:45 PM
I love the top picture, its perfect!
I cant wait until we get some, I think that I will enjoy it a lot.
Are the eggs good?
Posted by: Kendall | January 26, 2009 at 04:43 PM
They are sooo cute! You are tempting me....but the poooo....no thanks. I'll keep getting my eggs at the grocery store;)
Posted by: Carolyn | January 26, 2009 at 05:18 PM
What cute chucks but, I'm afraid you are getting too attached to them. When you get a rooster you can "grow" little chicklets and how much fun will that be!!
Posted by: nannisandi | January 26, 2009 at 05:18 PM
Those hens look way too cute and indeed, friendly...not a hen's best quality....but you are getting way too attached to them. They need a man in their lives and then they can raise a family of fluffy yellow balls of fun!!
Posted by: nannisandi | January 26, 2009 at 05:24 PM
They are very beautiful. No wonder you feel maternal towards them.
Posted by: Gina | January 26, 2009 at 05:30 PM
They look like great company to me! ~Kelly
Posted by: Kelly | January 26, 2009 at 06:29 PM
What pretty girls. Do you have a compost heap or bin - the droppings are apparently very high in nitrogen and will make excellent compost. We use our rabbit droppings and their bedding in our compost bin and after a few months we have lovely dark compost.
Posted by: Denise | January 26, 2009 at 06:35 PM
They are such pretty ones. Don't envy you with the poo though!
Posted by: Zoe | January 26, 2009 at 07:04 PM
You should read the kids my favorite chicken book: "My Life As a Chicken" by Ellen A. Kelley
Posted by: sarah | January 26, 2009 at 07:36 PM
Yesterday I was loading a free app for my I-phone called backgrounds and I noticed a photo of yours. The photo is in the cute catagory and it is the picture of the tiny teddy ornament. I just wanted to let you know incase you did not see it.
Posted by: Joanne | January 26, 2009 at 07:36 PM
They are such lovely girls :D
Good luck with the mountain of poo though, there I do not envy you....
x
Posted by: rhiannon | January 26, 2009 at 07:39 PM
Beautiful pictures.
A chicken joke for you...
Why does a chicken coop only have 2 doors?
.
.
.
.
.
.
Are you ready...?
.
.
.
Because if it had 4 doors, it would be a chicken SEDAN!
(get it? coop - coupe? sigh)
Posted by: Rachel | January 26, 2009 at 08:05 PM
The girls look gorgeous!They are fascinating birds though,and definitely brighter than they are credited (like goldfish, who also get a bad press)
Posted by: susetheslowknitta | January 26, 2009 at 08:07 PM
Hee Hee! Of course they poo...and often! I guess that's one of those things where you just have to take the good with the bad!
I too feel very protective over my little flock. They're called 'the girls' most often. I love to see them sail around the yard, wing in wing chatting about the days happenings. I don't care about the eggs anymore. If they happen they happen. I just love the fabulous atmosphere that you have in a yard that holds chickens. It doesn't hurt that my Rosie likes to cuddle though!
I'm glad to hear that you're having a fun time getting to know your flock!
Jen
Posted by: frazzy dazzles | January 26, 2009 at 09:19 PM
I love my chooks too! Seriously, they have real personality!!! :)
Posted by: sewfunky | January 26, 2009 at 09:27 PM
Thanks for the chuckle about the....pooh!
To be honest I didn't think they went that much, I am since hearing that they do!
x
Posted by: lizzieJane | January 26, 2009 at 10:01 PM
All that poo makes for bigger and better vegetables! Scoop it up and dig it in your patch! It's all part of the fun!
Posted by: Dragonfly | January 26, 2009 at 10:17 PM
But isn't chicken poo supposed to be brilliant fertiliser? Think of the size of your veggies this year!
Posted by: michaela | January 26, 2009 at 10:17 PM
What fun! The girls are so photogenic. I don't know about all that poo. You should visit my sister's blog. She has chickens and a rooster. She might be able to fill you in on the poo thing! LOL
Deanna :)
Posted by: Deanna | January 27, 2009 at 12:27 AM
Those girls are gorgeous! And their poo is good for the compost pile too!
Posted by: mare | January 27, 2009 at 12:44 AM
I love your chickens! I showed your chicken coop and chickens, in hopes he would get excited and suggest we get some. No such luck! I will have to stick with enjoying yours from afar!
Posted by: Wyldhare | January 27, 2009 at 02:43 AM
Oh the POO! Yeah, they do that a lot but it makes excellent compost. It might be worth your while investing in a really big compost bin though because certainly with cleaning our chooks out once a week we filled our compost bin in a couple of months with the straw etc! Just remember to put green waste in too - grass clippings etc - so you're not left with too fibrous a compost :)
Glad you're enjoying them! I hung a cauliflower in our girls' run yesterday it was hilarious watching them peck at it, realise it was tasty then dive back in. Hours of entertainment!
Posted by: Vonnie | January 27, 2009 at 07:49 AM
Good luck with the chickens - will we be seeing knitted ones soon? The only chickens I have are of the china/pottery variety on the kitchen bookshelves!
Posted by: Anne Donald | January 27, 2009 at 08:17 AM
Oh they look lovely ^_^ And I'm not surprised you feel maternal. I would be! And yes poo = compost!
Posted by: Sinta | January 27, 2009 at 10:30 AM
Your chickens are beautiful. Animals give great pleasure, so go ahead get attached to them, it'll make for happier chicks and a happier you! :)
Posted by: Vivienne | January 27, 2009 at 10:43 AM
Ah yes, the poo! Yep they definitely do a lot of that. Yours are bigger than ours, we have wee bantams so I guess you'd get more than us though we have 5. This is slightly gross but Trevor is a chicken poo hoover... yuck! You are right about them knowing certain things. I do however mutter 'small brains' to myself sometimes. If it hasn't rained for a while and then we have a downpour they look up to see where it is coming from, bless! x
Posted by: Gemma | January 27, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Oh I'm quite envious Julie! I have always wanted to keep chickens, but it would help if I actually had a garden ~ one day ~ *sigh*
Posted by: marie | January 27, 2009 at 02:25 PM
Oh no, more cleaning! Can we see a pic of the first egg? Go on, you know you took one... or will take one.... waiting with baited breath!
Posted by: jill | January 27, 2009 at 02:34 PM
Beautiful chickens!!! Found out only yesterday that in Germany they have cars that actually run on chicken poo!!! (Wouldnt fancy being the one to collect it up every morning for the daily school run though)
Posted by: Clare Oakley | January 27, 2009 at 08:38 PM
I've given thought to haven chickens. We had them when I was a child but one chased me and pecked the heck out of the backs of my then little legs. Are some breeds just mean? Do you know which nes are gentle? Id really love to have some.
Smiles
LiBBy BuTTons
Posted by: LiBBy BuTTons | January 30, 2009 at 11:00 PM
I love chickens. I grew up with farm fresh eggs and I hope I can have them again one day...Till then our neighbor shares every now and then.
Posted by: CharityGrace | January 31, 2009 at 10:29 PM
Really????!?!? Lots of poo??? Shoot. I was hoping they weren't too poopy.
Posted by: Nell | February 01, 2009 at 05:17 AM
Lovely to see your girls out and about. Ours were absolutely digusted with the snow and refused to step on anything white!
They do a lot of poo, yes, but you know, you get used to keeping it clean, and they are certainly worth the effort. Their characters will grow and individual personalities will shine through. You Just can't help but feel maternal with them, especially as they come running and say bok-bok to greet you.
:¬)
Posted by: June | February 10, 2009 at 09:52 PM
Oh - I'm so envious! I want my own chickens desperately, but my husband isn't budging on this one. His grandparents had chickens and he has quite vivid memories of cleaning out the coop, the mountains of poo and the smell of said poo in the baking summer sun. Ugh.
Just remember that you can't just dig fresh chicken poo into your garden. It's extremely "hot", (meaning very, very high in nitrogen) and must be composted first or it will burn your plants!
Posted by: Jena Fulcher | February 12, 2009 at 01:31 PM
Hi Julie
I am trying to buy the pattern for your beautiful rabbits. I live in South Africa but my mom is in the UK at the moment and could get it for me if we knew how (or if it is possible)Please let me know what I have to do to get my hands on the pattern - they are just delightful.
Thanks so much, Rosemary
Posted by: Rosemary Baisch | March 26, 2009 at 06:46 AM