OH! The joys of raising chickens!

In May or June, I decided that I wanted some chickens. My uncle who passed away had a huge garden with attached pen that was perfect. My wonderful cousin has graciously permitted me to use that part of his yard.

A woman that I worked with had chickens so I asked her if she had a rooster that she wanted to get rid of.. so happened she did.
She brought him to work the following Monday and he is magnificent. Molder is an Aracauna, black with a rust ruff around his neck and beautiful long tailfeathers.
Now I needed some hens.

My husband and I went to the feed store and picked out our girls.
Two Buff Orpingtons, two Barred Rocks and two Production Reds.
I still didn't have and female Aracuaunas.

The girls were about 2 months old and I was afraid that Molder would bother them, but he didn't. I also had some wild chickens around the neighborhood. There had been about 50 at one time but now they were down to just three hens. The coyote's, hawks and cougars had wiped them out. By the time I got my chicks only one of the hens were left. She was hard to catch because she was wild, raised wild and very wiley.

A couple of weeks after getting the chicks, Blackie (I named her later) started coming up the the pen wanting to get in, but she'd run when I'd go near. Molder was desperate for her to get in too, his motives are suspect.

One day I walked out and she was right in front of the door, just a cackling. A blanket that we'd had outside for a yard sale was right there and I remembered when I had finches that I'd throw a tea towel over them when they escaped, so... I threw the blanket over her. Picked her up very quickly and tossed her in the pen. She is still afraid of me but very happy to be safe and with other chickens.

I woke up one day and went to work ( I used to work... *heavy sigh*) my mom called me later and said that one of the Barred Rocks had been killed.
I was so upset. So my husband and I did some more plugging of holes in the pen. We think it was a weasel or raccoon.

Later I got hold of two Americaunas, which are Aracauna's that are bred here in the US. One white and one brown stripped. I kept them in the house for weeks and then in the pen. Something ate the little brown one. We were heart broken. Kevin and I did more plugging.

I went out another morning and Blackie who had been sitting on a nest, was gone, the nest was nothing but a mass of feathers. I thought she was gone too.
We cried and figured out a way to make the coop have a door. Since then we haven't lost anymore although some eggs have been stolen, but a snake most likely.

Bertha and Buffy are the Buffs and they are all laying except for the white young on.
Biddy the Bard Rock and Big Red and Little Red both lay as well. They don't all lay every day but most days I get three eggs and on a good day I get five.

The colors of the eggs range from off white to dark reddish brown with specks.
Little Bit will lay light torquoise to dark teal eggs when she starts laying.

Chickens have a strict pecking order. Biddy is the mean one. She runs off even Bertha, the largest of the hens. Buffy is smaller thus the name (Buffy).

I enjoy them so much. I go out and just listen to them "talk". They make a variety of noises and I've learned to differentiate between some of the girls.
They meet me at the door wanting scraps. Yes I know "you are not supposed to give them scraps". But they love them so and I'm not just raising them for the eggs. They are my pets, just like Mr Sox.

A couple of days a week I let them out into the garden that has nothing growing in it but weeds, they eat bugs and plant stuff.