What came first - the chicken or the egg?

To that - I have no answer and I am not going to get my brain in a knot trying to figure it out! LOL

I wanted a space to diarise some of my chicken thoughts and ideas. Yes, I am probably a tad eccentric or should that be eggcentric? okay, enough of the puns!

We have been keeping chickens for a couple of years now with moderate success - things go along alright for a while and then we usually have a few tragedies. The latest is the death of our mother hen with six chicks - one chick also died, two went missing and the other three are living in my bathroom. It is the first time we have had live chicks so it was a pretty exciting event. My husband grew up on the land so for him it is 'meh' but for me (who grew up in the city and only went west when I was 19) and our three boys it is a new experience! I actually love my chickens - I find them fascinating to watch and they have their own personalities. I have decided this year I want to learn about raising chickens properly and have set out to learn as much as I can - I think I may join the local poultry club too. I have books to read and plans to make......

At the moment, we have about 5 roosters (long story - we did have about 15!) and about 8 or 10 hens (I want to count them and start keeping records - see which ones do well and which ones don't). One of the hens is too old to lay (she was a pity case) and is more of a pet - she is a cute little white Silkie. We get between 4 and 10 eggs a day depending on the weather - it is really hot at the moment so they are not laying. We have a large pen that is divided into a smaller yard (the Silkie pen -which contains a Wyondotte rooster and hen, a modern game hen, an Australorp hen and the Silkie hen) - this was more for our fragile and invalid stock ;-) The larger pen has 3 Silkie cross roosters, another gorgeous rooster (don't know the breed) and the rest of the hens, most of which are referred to as the 'owl faces' due to the feathering on their faces - I have no idea what breed they are! The chook house is made out of recycled tin and wood and has netting on some walls to allow for ventilation. The yard is on a bit of a slope and the ground is hard and rocky (hence some of the foot injuries the chooks have had). There is some shade but not enough for our liking. We have picked a new site near our house where there are lots of shady pine trees, soft dirt for scratching and very few rocks. We plan to build a 'poultry palace' there off the ground to allow for better air circulation and easier cleaning. We will have two yards and a seperate smaller brooding pen (each with their own accommodation). At the moment, the low fence seperating the two yards is causing issues as some of the chooks have been trying to 'hop' across and have been getting caught. I also want to get hanging feeders and waterers which will be easier to fill and maintain, rather than the ground dishes we have at the moment. I am even looking at an automatic waterer for the hotter weather. I will also be setting up properly to hand raise any future chicks. I also want a small pen and box set up for any sick or injured chooks we may get so I can look after them better. Hmmmm, big plans afoot! LOL

I think we are going to have to name our three little chicks, and even if they end up being roosters I can see us keeping them as they will be 'the first' hand raised chickens we have ever had (providing they survive of course). We thought if they do turn out to be roosters we would take them to the auction but I don't know if we will be able to part with these three special ones. *sigh*

Apparently yesterday, the yellow one 'accidently' got out when our youngest son was cleaning the cage. Apparently Rex the cat went to have a sniff, the chick pecked his nose, the cat ran, and the chick chased. Would have been hilarious! I reminded the boys though it could have ended very differently and they need to be more careful! I couldn't stop chuckling though everytime I pictured it!

Will try and upload some photos tonight - for now it is back to work!