Monday, November 17, 2008

From Ahh! to Aghhh!!! in just 5 Minutes!


This past weekend I had the privilege of joining three wonderful women on a weekend getaway to the coast! It was refreshing. We left Friday afternoon, enjoyed dinner out and catching up, spent all day Saturday at the spa...





...dined in (thank you Jennie!!), and watched all of Pride and Prejudice (yes, the 6 hour awesome version).

I was so blessed by our time together, body and soul breathed "Ahhh" as I headed home.












Then I got home.

The van was gone so I knew everyone was out on some adventure. After all, isn't that what weekends with dad are all about? I knew that while I was gone, Andrew was going to pick up 5 more hens and might consider the rooster that the seller wanted to include in the sale. I also knew this would bring our chicken count up to around 30 and I knew that 30 chickens would look like a lot more than our original 8. But, as I looked around the property something just didn't look right. We had some chickens in the front yard, usually they stay in the back. I thought maybe this was what was throwing me off. But, no, there was something else. I could see some chickens in the backyard, too, and somehow it all just looked like... more.

I called Andrew to let him know several chickens were out in the front yard. You see I'm just not in a state to be running around rounding up chickens and we want them to stay in one central area so we can contain their laying areas and keep them all accounted for. He sounded strange on the phone, like he was waiting for something. He said he was sorry he wasn't home because he wanted to be there when I met the new chickens. What an odd comment I thought.

So, I decided I needed to investigate. I made my way through the barn and saw a couple of baskets hanging on the stall door. "Why would Andrew be decorating with my baskets?" I thought. Oh, maybe it was the girls who did that. I decided to dismiss that. Then I noticed that there was an entire horse stall filled with perches and straw. To my delight there were two eggs in the trough so I grabbed them and continued outside. This is when my, "Ahh!" changed to an "Aghhh!!!!" As far as the eye can see there were chickens... everywhere. I took a little video of my discovery. Please excuse the spacey sounding commentary. I was in shock.



So needless to say, when I left for my weekend getaway we had just finished collecting our first dozen large eggs and a half dozen bantam eggs which we plan to incubate. When I got out of the barn that afternoon I already had 8 eggs in my basket and we found more that night. Our flock is now up to 81 chickens!
I guess we're officially in the egg business. Thankfully that last big purchase included tons of egg cartons so we really are all set. Another thing I'm thankful for... Andrew found an article that said that a chicken community shouldn't be more than 80 as they can't remember more than that many fellow feathered friends and it will cause disruption in the flock. So, phew, I guess we're set.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, that would be some welcome home! It looks and sounds like you had a great time on your get away. :) How are you feeling these days? It sounds like you never slow down. ;) Melaney

Anonymous said...

How funny. You look like a farmer now.

Anonymous said...

Christy, Wow, I keep getting calls from Dad wanting us to eat some of his chickens. I guess that we will have plenty of organic chicken to choose from!! Ha Ha Ha!!
What a blessing to be in the egg business. That may actually bring in a little income. Can not wait to see your little farm.
Diana

Anonymous said...

Yes. We offer organic free range eggs. We may eat one of the roosters. He's a little agressive for my taste. No pun intended!! I need to get busy with starting the business because today I've already collected a dozen eggs!! Guess what we'll be having for Christmas? Eggs for breakfast, egg salad for lunch and how about a chef salad with boiled eggs on top for dinner. :)

Anonymous said...

What a fabulous weekend! Great to spend some time with you. (I didn't know that chickens could reproduce so quickly!!!!) ~Jennie

Anonymous said...

How much does a dozen eggs cost and where can we buy them?

Anonymous said...

Our beautiful, organic, free range eggs are $3/dozen or $4/eighteen.

We collect them four times a day and hand wash them before packing. There are a variety of browns and blue/greens, as well as white. They come in varying sizes (med, large & jumbo). You get a variety based on the day of collection.

You can pick them up at our house or we can arrange to bring them to Salem Emblem Shop for pick up if that's more convenient.

Give me a call!

Anonymous said...

O.K. You can't imagine how much this is bugging me - how did you end up with 51 extra chickens(81 minus 30)? :)
Laurie Post

Anonymous said...

Have I failed to mention my dear husband's Craig's List addiction? The man can find a deal! He actually ran across a family that was getting rid of 50 chickens. Crazy I know. They also gave him an incubator, chicken feed, watering pans... And, he bought it all for almost half of what they were asking. And they called to say one chicken didn't get picked up so they went and got it and now we have 82. :)

Stay tuned, he's got another deal brewing. This one's not chickens though.

Anonymous said...

Christy - I have a yummy french toast casserole recipe and is takes a dozen eggs! When the whole family is there for Christmas we can make two!!!
~ Ruthe

Anonymous said...

Oh, I've got lots of plans for Christmas. We'll even have a Christmas egg hunt! :)

Have your plans changed?

Lord, lift me above my own narrow horizons, that I might fulfill your true vision for me. - B.J. Hoff