A Day in the Life of a Chicken is a collaboration with my chicken loving daughter. Our goal is to give you a behinds the scenes look at what it is like to have chickens. They are such amazing special creatures, each with a unique personality. They long to be loved and appreciated. They give to us daily - in return we treasure them.
We have arranged the story from newest to oldest. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy sharing it with you!
4/13/22
We ordered a new batch of baby chickens from My Pet Chicken. This batch took a long time to arrive in the mail - someone dropped the ball somewhere I am quite sure. They all arrived alive, but unfortunately only 3 of them made it. It was such a sad experience for our family.
4/13/22
When you are at the bottom of the flock and no one lets you eat with them.
4/3/22
Dust bathing with your bestie.
3/19/22
Daddy's little helpers.
3/23/22
You got to have and egg in the hole... (think George Strait). Fireman toast with homemade sourdough and farm fresh eggs.. Life is beautiful!
3/15/22
Spring is here. A garden bed and chick brooder waiting to be filled!
In loving memory of Opal.
3/7/22
One night before bed, one of our six was missing. We think we have the culprit.
2/20/22
Waiting for the favorite nesting box.
THEN (November) & NOW (January)...
Egg laying slows waaaay down in the winter, and even more with molting. Thanks to Anne Shirley, our Rhode Island Red, we are getting 1 egg/day.
1/25/2022
This is about all that's left of Maria's wounds. It is truly amazing how her body was able to heal. She always has been a fighter. You can see all the new pin feathers that are growing in. Throughout the recovery process we let her outside daily with supervision. Today we are excited to announce that she is back with her friends fulltime. It turns out that the best rememedy for healing is daily time with friends, fresh sunshine, TLC and a little dirt.
Please note that we did tend to her injuries daily with Veticyn wound spray, and examined her body thoroughly for any hidden wounds. A puncture would left untreated could result in a serious infection and even death.
For now, we are only letting the hens out to free range when we are home and able to monitor the skies. Just the other day we saw a bald eagle and red-tailed hawk soaring above. The battle is real y'all!a
1-9-2022
The day after the hawk attack we let Maria outside to bask in the warm January sun. We let all the other hens out from their run as well (they had been locked up for the past 24 hours as a precaution in case the hawk returned). They all flocked to their favorite dust bathing spot. We weren't sure if we should let Maria get her wound dirty, but settled on allowing her to follow instinct. Her wound was covered in dirt by the time we brought her back in for the night. Trusting that God and nature know best.
1-8-2022
As if molting mid winter isn't enough... our fierce leader Maria Von Trapp was attacked by a hawk today (sorry about the graphic pic). All the other girls were safely in their coop when my little boy walked outside to witness the battle and scare off the hawk. We moved her into the garage to recover with the aide of prayer and Vetericyn wound spray. Chickens will peck an open wound, so we kept her mostly isolated until she was fully recovered.
12/5/2021
Maria - our fearless leader. Every flock's gotta have one.
11/13/2021
Our chickens are starting to molt... November seems like weird timing. Isn't this when they need their feathers the most?! To ensure they are receiving adequate protein, we made a batch of molting cakes inspired by Fresh Eggs Daily. They loved them.
11/12/2021
All bunded up, getting ready for our first winter in the Midwest.
11/2/2021
Helping dig up the Canna Lily bulbs.
fall photo shoot
9/11/2021
You can count on me to take good care of you.
9/11/2021
Thank you for all you do for me!
9/3/2021
This weeks Mud Cafe specials, made special for our feathered friends!
8/30/2021
Abundance
7/31/2021
Our collection is growing.
7/31/2021
Just when you think you are getting good at something...
*Every now and then we would find a soft egg shell in the nesting box - but they eventually got the hang of it.
7/30/2021
Look what I did!
7/19/2021
When you are new at things, sometimes you get a little over ambitious!
*Double yokers seem to be abundant in the early days of laying.
7/11/2021
7/5/2021
Life is beautiful!
7/3/2021
There is nothing quite like the joy of finding your first egg!
6/27/2021
Sometimes you get the feeling that you have been blessed!
6/24/21
The best kind of friend is the one you could sit on a porch with, never saying a word, and walk away feeling like that was the best conversation you’ve had.
~ Unknown
6/7/21
You must really love me!
5/26/21
Eating with the big dogs.
5/26/21
5/26/21
I tradded in my waddles for muff's. I think it was a good decision!
6/24/21
If only I'd chosen muffs...
5/16/21
Watching Wild Kratt's on a rainy day... why didn't they ever do one on chickens?
5/16/21
You can’t blame gravity for falling in love.
—Albert Einstein
5/12/21
“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.”
―
5/8/21
“Happiness quite unshared can scarcely be called happiness; it has no taste.”
― Charlotte Bronte
5/7/21
Plastic packaging is for the birds...
5/6/21
Even little guys can do big things...
Going
Going
Gone
5/5/21
Scrambled eggs and dandelions... these are a few of my favorite things....
5/4/2021
"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,..."
~ Shakespeare
5/3/2021
There is no place I'd rather be in this moment that purring in your arms and listening to Peter Pan! Oh how I wish I had some pixie dust so we could fly together!
(Chickens really do purr... you'll have to trust me on this one.)
5/3/2021
Kisses are a secret whisper to the heart unreliant on words and reasoning - a place where love is best defined.
4/23/2021
Sharing scrambled eggs with those you love is pure joy! I'll provide the eggs, you bring the fork!
4/20/2021
Dandelions, an acrostic poem
Delightful
Abundant in the spring.
Nutritious and medicinal.
Deep roots.
Enticing to children and chickens alike.
Love spreading wishes one takes the time to share.
Invasions of yellow.
Opens to the sun.
Necessary for pollinators.
Seeds that fly!
4/14/2021
A coop is necessary. A couch pure luxury.
4/7/2021
When you take time to notice the beauty in someone, you will instantly fall more in love.
3/12/2021
Shhh... don't tell the teacher I fell asleep during spelling.
3/12/2021
This must be true love.
3/12/2021
The warmth of her love is like the rays of the sun.
3/11/2021
Being out in nature is where I belong.
3/4/2021
A gentleman will not hesitate to share his sweater with you.
3/3/2021
Home is the place where you know you are loved, and can rest easy.
