As I look around this place I wonder now who should I start with, so many little lives to put down into words so as their memory will never be forgotten.
I have a memory album with pictures labeled with their names and brief summary of where they came from but to take the time to put each life into print is deserved by every one.
Our life with chickens began when my son was about 9 or 10 years old. We had the opportunity to take a dozen Rhoad Island Red day old chicks from a friend who worked for our local extension office. The chicken eggs were hatched by 4-H groups but needed homes once they hatched. So being total novices with all this we did our research and my husband built a great coup inside our barn leading out into an enclosed pen. That new chicken home was built like a fortress. Nothing was going to get in to hurt our little guys.
Its been seven years and that coup is still going strong. We've had to replace the chicken wire since it only lasts about five years before starting to rust from exposure to the elements. But now that coup is used as our nursery.
Within three years we had a lot more than twelve birds and had to expand the outside pen. Actually that expansion kind of took over a lot of my garden area. Its working out great. I don't have to keep the paths between my herbs mowed or weeded since the chickens take care of keeping them clear.
Very interesting is the fact that to put chickens in a flower bed they'd scratch and destroy it in no time. But my herb garden isn't very palatable to them therefore most of the plants thrive. Of course what grows in that location has conditions and if it is favorable they return every Spring and if not they either pop up somewhere else or disappear. These plants aren't your typical kitchen herbs. What is growing in that garden mostly benefits the wildlife. Shrubs are a must. We have Butterfly Bushes, Weigelia, Buttonbush, Serviceberry, and a variety of Viburnums. Perennial plants include milkweed, wild lilies, nettles, baptiste, wild phlox, giant hyssop, ornamental grasses, coneflowers, perennial sunflowers, meadow sage, tall coreopsis, roses, etc. Being it's enclosed its a bird haven from roaming cats. Highbush Cranberry Bushes, a type of Viburnum, are just perfect if you want to provide birds with nesting, shelter and a food source. So these plants have it made. The chickens aerate the soil with their scratching, fertilize with their droppings, and manage the bug pests.
The rooster in the picture is from the original batch of chickens. He is our "Rosta" and rules. We have other roosters and surprisingly have little fighting. I guess they have enough room to get away from each other and enough hens to go around. :) I'd say these guys are happy chickens.
The pictured hens are just now 16 weeks, just old enough to start laying pullet eggs. Its been very hot here in PA this summer so our egg production just about stopped. Once it cools off it'll pick up again till the cold sets in.
