What's Up? Chicken Butt!

One of my favorite things about my chickens are their backsides! Not only because this is where the eggs will eventually be coming from (tick, tock, tick...), but also because the soft feathering/fluff on a chicken bum is so darn cute. I got some shots of my girls while they were out free ranging today so y'all can enjoy the view from the backside of a hen too! It's seems that the Speckled Sussex, Barred Plymouth Rocks, and Ameraucanas were the least camera-shy!

Star, a Speckled Sussex.

The following two shots include Ameraucanas and Barred Plymouths. It's hard to identify them by name from their butts alone.

I love this one. The girl on the right has heart-shaped fluff!

The Waiting Game

As y'all may have noticed, I've added a new Eggs Collected feature on the left. Right now, we're still at ZERO; I'm hoping that will change within the next few weeks.

I got my first chickens in June (5-Silkies): 1 died, 1 was murdered by a cat, and the other 3 turned out to be roosters. I returned the two that I was sure were roos to the breeder in August and got 3 more Silkies that she was certain (or at least pretty certain) were females...here's to hoping! Since then, we've realized that Brooke (my last remaining original Silkie that was sure to be laying an egg any day now) is, in fact, a roo. His cock-a-doodle-doo's, long hackle feathers, and stiff tail feathers have given him away...every morning like clockwork! We've decided to keep him considering he's about as fierce as, oh, a butterfly. My 2 older, hopefully-female, Silkies are 2-3 months from laying and the 10 new arrivals won't start laying until Spring. I've begun to wonder if I'll ever get a Silkie egg; it will certainly be something to celebrate when it does happen!

Waiting for my 19 big girls to start laying has reminded me of the wait I had to endure to see my children enter this world. I imagine myself taking pictures of that first egg as if it is a member of our family. Seriously, I may even hire a photographer and invite the entire extended family over for a photo with the darn thing. Since they were all born in early July, I'm praying that they'll start producing somewhere around the 1st or 2nd week of December. However, since chickens begin laying at around 20-28 weeks depending on the breed, it could be as late as January/February... OR worse, they could decide to wait until Spring since production goes down in the Winter. Tick-tock my little flock...Mama wants some eggs.

Stay tuned for the arrival of the 1st egg... maybe I'll have it gold-plated?

Silkie Swap Sale & Meet Up @ The Rubin Ranch!

Elana Rubin of The Rubin Ranch is hosting a Silkie Swap Sale & Meet Up on Sunday, November 21st for Silkie lovers! Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend this event, but I wanted to share the info just in case there was anyone out there who is able to go! If you plan to attend, be sure to RSVP to Elana @ elanarubin@yahoo.com. I've also posted info on the Wisconsin Silkie Breeders Club. Enjoy!