Chicken Ranchers!

I feel like a big city girl who got thrown sideways and headlong into a country life! I still work in the city, and I still do city girl things, like go to Starbucks (even though my husband's coffee is better) and go shopping, but lately, I've been feeling quite a bit like a redneck! (Now, for those of you who are offended by my use of the word "redneck," you need to know that it's a term of endearment around here!)

We started off the day shopping at the most redneck store there is - Bass Pro Shop
Here's a silly picture of my friend Beth, posing a la "redneck" for a goofy photo :)

Also, upping the redneck factor even more than usual, we're new "parents" to four hens - a Black Australorp, a Speckled Sussex, and two Rhode Island Reds. One girl had even gotten her leg wrapped in some string from a feed bag, thanks to a gnarly wind that blew all day yesterday, and in the process, blew feed bags all over the place - but we managed to get her untangled and she's good as new! JP even wrangled the hens out of the dog kennel we transported them in and into their coop. I'm proud!

I'm gonna have to get some work boots, by the way. If I'm gonna be a ranch girl, I can't be having chicken poo (among other things) all over my nice shoes!

So how did we become, as my husband likes to call us, "Chicken Ranchers"? Well, we were gifted an old chicken coop by a friend of ours who has a farm - she owns many sheep, goats, and alpaca, which are fiber animals - and I'm a shareholder. (If you're a crafty person and love fiber for spinning or want to support a fabulous cause, or just love handspun yarn, check it out - Fancy Fibers Farm. You can be a shareholder too!) Anyway, Mary had too many hens... well, you can read about it here! This coop was well-loved, so JP and myself painted it and replaced a few parts, added some new chicken wire, and it's as good as new! And perfect for our little brood!

We brought the girls home and promptly got them all settled in their new home. I did check on them at around 9pm and they were roosting in their nests, snuggled safe inside their little A-frame home!

JP and I love our little homestead here and are excited that sometime in the near future (maybe sooner, maybe later) we'll have fresh eggs to eat and share! I hope someday we'll have a garden, but that might be a stretch for me!

After all that was said and done, we got cleaned up and ready for a night on the town - my friend's little orchestra class was performing at a holiday event, and we went to cheer them on and eat some good grub! We had a great time!

Just a day in the life of Chicken Ranchers!