So We Got Chickens...

We finally got the chickens that I've been wanting for four years. Lyliana and I built the coop by ourselves. She was a great help, spurred on by the promise that she could paint it. And she did, inbetween painting herself and her clothes.

Our 4-legged baby wanted inside the pen, but we had to break the news that it wasn't for him.

This is Rhoda, a Rhode Island Red. She is the undisputed queen hen, top of the pecking order.

This is Giraffe, an Ameracauna.

And Princess, another Ameracauna.

The coop fits into our Redneck Beach Shack backyard seamlessly.

But it's a pain in my booty to clean out. Already the birds have done me in. The Urban Homestead assured me that they could not turn over or poop in the galvanized self-waterer. Twice a day, I clean out the grass that has been scratched into it. And, yes, I wash out the poop. My chickens poop into the unpoopable.

And the flies. Oh, my! Forget about lions and tigers and bears.

Flies and stink and... eewwww, gross!

I was assured by Jenna Wogenrich, author of Made From Scratch, that chickens eat bugs. "WooHoo!" I thought.

"No more mosquitoes, no more flies!" I sung to myself.
NOT!

These girls are not into bugs or flies or mosquitoes. Rather, they attract more into my backyard.

I plan to stick it out at least until I get some eggs. Hopefully, the eggs will be worth it. So look for an update a few months from now. It will either be titled "I Love My Chickens and Their Eggs" or "Get Your Free Chickens Here!"