The new addition to our fam

We've had a ton going on lately in the Dickerson and Philen household! In the past month, we had a new addition to the family....chickens! Jason (primarily) and I (assistant) started building a chicken coop last month. And this is not just any coop, mind you, it is a 4 star (soon to be 5) rated chicken coop, especially considering where these poor chickens came from. It is an 11'x 20'x 7' tall coop, complete with nesting box (which needs minor repairs). It took us a while to find grown chickens, but we finally bought six lovely lady hens and one studly rooster from a fella about 10 minutes away. We rescued them really. Five of the hens and the rooster were in a very small coop, only about four feet square and two feet high. The poor things had no room to hop around, much less spread their little chicken wings. The other hen was in another, larger coop, and turned out to be the pick of the litter - she is a real pet. We have various kinds - two white ones, one red hen, one black/red hen, and two black hens with feathers on their feet. One of the white ones is in poor shape. I believe she has a cold of some sort. Most have been named by the kids - Snowball, Snowflake, Sandy, and Rusty. The black ones are nameless right now. We're working on that.

I believe they are quite happy here and we are so happy to have them. They started laying right away, but we only get an egg or two a day. This past week we left the eggs in the nest, to see if any would take to nesting (lay on them all day to raise as chicks). Apprantly none of them have this motherly instinct. The eggs mounded up and not one of them stayed to keep them warm. Oh well. We will search for a mother later.

They are quite comical,these hens. In the evening and on weekends, we let them out and they roam the yard and "scratch" (that is a technical term), looking for worms, bugs and whatever else they might like to eat. They each have their own personality. I know you think I'm crazy, but they really do. The small red hen, Sandy, is quite inquisitive and is usually out on her own. She is not scared of us and doesn't seem to get excited about anything. Sometimes the smaller white one, Snowflake, roams with her. The rooster, Rusty, begins screaming before 5am every morning and takes great pride in his lovely ladies. He's very protective and makes sure to strut his stuff when we're around. The large white one, whom I call Big Mama but the kids have named Snowball, is the sickly one and does her own thing. The black ones usually stay close and interested in whatever Rusty is doing.

This past weekend, we let the group out to scratch and as usual, when it got dark they headed for the coop. I went out to check on them for the evening, when I discovered that the door had slammed shut sometime during the day so the poor things were huddled on the back side of the coop in a not-so-easy-place to get to. It took 30 minutes to coax the poor things out of their corner and into the coop. We thought we had everyone in...but the next morning, I looked out and one of the black ones was standing outside the coop! It had rained all night, so the poor thing was soaking wet when I discovered her - poor thing. She must have slipped out of the coop while we were struggling to get the rest of them inside!

In addition, Jason is having a new driveway installed. Right now, we share a driveway with his parents. Soon, however, we will have our own. I've included pictures of the chickens and some of the big equipment being used to build the driveway. I'll post more as the work progresses!

Chickens!