I've Gone Country A blog about a city girl learning a whole new world

Today has been an exciting day!

We went and picked up our chickens!!!!!!

I actually got in the cage and helped catch them….

They are very tame….which makes me VERY happy.

This morning  bright and early …Billy asked …. do you want to go get some chickens today?

He had a few things he needed to do so I thought it might be a little while before we would go.  Before long he stuck his head in the house and said are you ready?   I can honestly say that I was.  I immediately headed to the door.  I think I surprised him…he said I thought you would take a while to get ready.  He laughed and said all he had to say was “chickens” and that got things moving.

Saturday’s are busy days for us….that is usually our catch up day.  But today he set aside his whole day to help get them home and settled in.

We purchased Buff Orpington’s, that is the kind of chicken.  The man we bought them from told me that these are pullets…which means they are young female chickens (teenagers) that are not old enough to lay eggs…yet.  

I hope they don’t take too long….he said that it would probably be another 3 to 4 weeks.  It could be sooner…but probably that long.  He raised these and they were born this Spring.  Which is nice to know.  This way I can keep up with how old they are.  He told me that chickens usually lay good for the first three years…then about the fourth year they will start to slow down.  I found that interesting to know.

We brought home 8 girls and 1 rooster. I wasn’t real sure I even wanted a rooster.  I have always heard horror tales about how mean roosters are.  I want everybody to just be nice.  I don’t want to be afraid of any animal that we have.  Respect them…yes…afraid of them….no.  But this rooster is just as calm as the others, so as long as he is like that….then we will get along just fine.

I also found out that the red combs on their heads will develop more as they age.  The rooster already has a little more prominent comb ….maybe because he is a rooster..?…I don’t know….I’m learning as I go.

I do know one thing for sure….and that is that they are really beautiful!!!!!

Once we arrived… Billy set them on their new porch.  They immediately made themselves at home….

They decided one by one to jump down off the porch and check out the yard.  They approved….they immediately started pecking away.

David and Lindsay happened to bring the kids out to the land for a walk about the time we arrived with the chickens.  The kids looked on but didn’t say much, they just watched for a while.  But before long they were very intrigued by them.

Little do they know that this is actually where chicken nuggets come from…….!

I am really glad the grand kids get to see all these animals up close.  When you aren’t around animals it is easy to think that everything just comes from the store.

Years ago it was not uncommon for the average family to have at least some farm animals.  Not so much anymore.

Billy and I had a lot of yard work to do at their little house.  We used a lot of scrap wood for this project and ended up with a  good bit of left over boards that needed to be cleaned.  That means you take the old nails out of them.  It isn’t hard…it is just time consuming.  But it all needed to be done…and put away for another project.   Once that happened then we could cut the grass.

I found myself counting heads every little while.  At one point I could only find eight of them.  I thought for sure I had already lost one.  Billy and I looked everywhere….I finally found her in some tall grass.  She was all snuggled up resting.    That just reassured me that I really needed to get that grass cut today.

While we worked they meandered around the whole yard.  They were very quiet.  They didn’t fight or pick at one another.  They were being really sweet.  We did find them to be very inquisitive.  Whenever Billy would pick up a piece of wood off the ground, one would be right there checking it out.  I couldn’t believe how fast they were when it came to catching crickets or whatever other kind of bug might be up under the wood.  They feasted all day!

I thought I might have to put them in the coop while I cut the grass.  I didn’t want to spook them and have them flying over the fence the first day…but they were just fine with the lawn mower.

My neighbor that has chickens already, brought me a few eggs…knowing mine will still be a little while.  I told her that maybe I should have a little talk with my chickens and show them her eggs, so they would know what I am expecting of them!

It was beginning to get dark when we decided that we better put them in the coop for the night.  I wish you could have seen me and Billy trying to catch them.  They are tame….but not that tame…..and they didn’t want to go to bed (just like teenagers).

They can really make a grown man and woman look silly.  We were all over that yard….chasing chickens.  We finally managed to catch all but one….that is when I got creative.

I used my big fish net to capture her…. and it worked!

I think once they get used to their surroundings they will not have to be rounded up like we did tonight.  At least I hope not.  Or Billy and I better learn how to catch them better.

Everyone finally got tucked in for the night…

I sure hope they like their new home….a lot of love and time has been put into it.

When Billy and I finally got home….we were all pooped out.  We have been working on this one project ALL day.  After we ate dinner….I asked him if he wanted to go back over and peek in the windows with a flashlight to see what they were doing….

But…..I think we are just too tired….because we are not teenagers!

Besides…the neighbors would really think we were nuts…especially after all the chicken chasing we already did today.

I think it is time for us to get tucked into bed ourselves!

I wonder if that rooster is old enough to CROW yet?  Guess we will find out soon enough……