Chickens

Grandma and Grandpa have been really working steadily on their emergency preparedness/food storage. They are on a fixed income, so they do a little bit here and there and it is amazing how quickly it adds up. Side note: Meredith showed me how she and Josh have set aside a small cupboard in their oh so teeny one bedroom/one bath apartment and they are using the guide I post on the blog each month to begin to build their storage. It does add up faster than you think! Good job guys! Anyway--back to Grandma and Grandpa. They have some friends in their ward, James and Maribeth, who live in a small area that is zoned for chickens. So Grandpa bartered with James--Grandpa would provide materials and build the coop and help him maintain the area, and James and Maribeth feed the chickens most of the time and let them use a nice corner of the property. Above is Grandpa and one of his prized chickens.

They bought 18 to begin with and after 10 weeks they have 14 who have made it and are thriving. From what they tell me that is normal.

They have 6 different kinds:

1. 3--California Whites(lays white eggs)
2. 3--Rhode Island Reds (lays brown eggs)
3. 3--Araconnas (sp?) (lays green eggs)
4. 3--Black Sexlinks (lays brown eggs)
5. 1--Bard Rock (lays brown eggs)
6. 1--Buff Orrington (lays brown eggs)

We saved all the parsley and left over greens from Chompies and took it to them. They will eat a handful of 'scratch' right out of your palm. They are so soft to hold and calm if you are calm. Grandma holding a brown egg from one of James's chickens.
Lisa holding one of them. Their 'hatch-day', aka: birthday, is November 10th, 2008, so they are right around 10 weeks old. Grandpa calls them his 'teenagers'! I named one Chatterbox, because she just peeped and peeped, one Goldilocks, and one Duchess. It's okay, isn't it? They are only for laying eggs. We aren't going to eat these, right? I read Marley and Me. It meets the criteria, right? Ten more weeks to go and they will be mature and start laying eggs. How great is that! At least a dozen fresh eggs a day. Hey, I want 'in'! I have friends in the canyon, hmmm..... I wonder....

Back to mom and dad's to watch a movie with the 'girls' and then around the corner to Lisa's for leftovers and off to the airport for home. USAir got me here safe and sound. Phew!
Duff and Christine picked me up with our 'baby' Darla. They tell me she moped all around the house for 5 days while I was gone, keeping watch at the top of the stairs for any and every car that went past hoping I was in one of them. She saw me come up to the car at the airport curb
and went crazy wiggling and crying until I could pick her up. Crazy pooch! Gotta love her sweetness and loyalty.