Chickens!

 I've been searching the papers and Kijiji for months, looking for hens.  A couple of weeks ago I got a phone call from a lovely woman, Caroline of Ferme Ouellette a nearby farm.  She said she had heard from a neighbour that we were looking for hens and that she had some that needed a good home.  All less than a year old, she had to cull her flock by about a dozen birds.  She said it would make her very happy to see them live with another family instead of making their way into her freezer.  We had already been thinking that 6-10 hens would be a good amount to start with, so why not 12?  So off to Ferme Ouellette we went.  The children had fun picking out the hens they wanted from Caroline's flock of over 30.  And Caroline looked like she had fun chasing them around and catching them in her big net!  We took turns choosing chickens and kept count as we popped then into the cardboard boxes lined with pine shavings.  Once we had reached 11, Caroline asked if we would do her a favour and take 2 more, Salt and Pepper, since they were always together.  And so our flock was complete at 13!

 I guess I should introduce them!  We have 4 Sussex hens, white with black neck and tail feathers.  One of which we have named Merida after the movie Brave.  She was the first hen to check out the food dish, and she is the friendliest of the flock.  She is very brave, usually leading the other hens into new situations.  Unlike the other Sussex, her black markings are faint, so she is easy to identify.  The other 3 look alike and we cannot tell them apart yet, but one of them is almost always hanging out with one of the black hens, so she is Salt, and the Black Sex Link hen is pepper.  The other 2 Sussex are Princess Leia and Cupcake.  Our other 2 Black Sex Links are Dora (the first to explore the run!) and Rainbow.  All 3 Sex Links are black with iridescent green and blue feathers, but Dora has a brown head and neck, and Rainbow has a brown bib.  Our 2 Barred Rocks are The Twin Rockys.  The 2 Bearded Araucanas are Schick and Gillette, yes, like the razors!  Our Rhode Island Red is named Rhoda.  And that leaves our most interesting looking bird, Gandalf the grey.  She is a mix between a Black Sex Link hen and a Polish rooster.  She is a beautiful blue-grey with a funny pouf on top of her head.

 

Clockwise, starting with the one on the branch: Dora, Gillette or Schich, one of the Rockys, Cupcake and Leia (or Leia and Cupcake), and Rhoda

They really love the food I've been fermenting for them!

  
 When we got home we discovered that one had already laid an egg in the box on the drive!  We left them locked in the coop that first day, to be sure they knew it was home.  That afternoon we found one more egg on the floor.  At dusk, I went to check on the ladies and found one roosting in the nesting box.  So I picked her up and put her up on the perch.  Then I found Salt and Pepper roosting on the floor together.  I decided they were ok there for one night.

 

One of the Rockys being stubborn

 The second day the ladies gave us half a dozen eggs plus one that was laid on the perch and broke when it hit the top of the nesting box.  Today so far we have had 5 from them.  We get mostly brown eggs, some light, some dark, some speckled.  And our 2 Araucana girls lay greenish-blue eggs!  

Silly girl, you're not supposed to lay eggs on perches!

 The second night all the hens put themselves to bed by 7:30.  All up on the perch, all fluffed up and purring.  What good girls!

Today we let them out of their run to free-range.  The dog had to stay inside because she is not used to them yet.  The girls had so much fun scratching around under the raspberry bushes and pines.

 

Dora and Gandalf

Cupcake or Leia under the bench Chris built using a metal frame salvaged from the Reuse Centre

The Rockys

Dora and one of the Sussex

Rhoda following a Rocky

Gandalf the Grey

Merida enjoying her dust bath

Rainbow

 I find myself spending WAY too much time sitting and watching them.  But in doing so I have been able to see that they each have their own personality.  The Araucanas are homebodies, never straying far from the coop.  Merida is so friendly, she follows me around and takes treats from the kids hands.  Salt and Pepper stick together.  Dora is fearless.  Gandalf is loud!  Who knew I would find hens so fascinating and amusing!