One of the hard things about leaving Oregon was getting rid of our chickens. Sure, I knew they were in a good place at the neighbor's, and I really shouldn't have been that attached to them (they're only chickens, after all), but we did raise them from cheeping little chicks and the backyard looked empty without them. So when Nancy brought up the Maryland Poultry Swap happening this weekend, Carl decided that his parents needed chickens, too. It turns out there was a small fenced area that would be perfect, and an old dog house/sheep shelter that was easily converted into a chicken coop. They left yesterday morning for a week in Maine, leaving Carl and me unsupervised in our poultry pursuits.
The poultry swap was an informal but surprisingly large affair of tents and tables set up in a field, and there were plenty of other dusty pickups with dog carriers in the back when we arrived. In addition to chickens, there were ducks, peacocks, pigs, guinea hens, doves, goats, and English Pointer puppies. We almost ended up with one of each, but I managed to keep Carl focused. But even among chickens there were a ton of choices: little pluckish bantams, ridiculously feathered Silkies, roosters the size of a dog, Easter Eggers with feathered faces, prim Plymouth Barred Rocks, brassy Rhode Island Reds, and chirping chicks. In the end we decided on a mix of three Auburn Javas, two Rhode Island Reds, a gray Easter Egger, and a Buff Orpington/Easter Egger mix. The last two will lay blue or green eggs and we can't wait!
 |
| The ladies checking out the buffet |
 |
| The Palais Poulet - the open roof allows access to the nest boxes, and the green door slides shut |
 |
| Interior view |
 |
| Houdini the Easter Egger. She's already tried to fly over the fence. |
 |
| Auburn Java |
 |
| Carl coaxing the ladies towards their new digs |
 |
| Our first egg! |
The ladies are busy settling in to their new homes - one of them has already laid us an egg. Knutty Acres just got a little bit nuttier.
No comments:
Post a Comment