~Chicken Hollow~

A good while back, I began introducing my small flock of hens to all my friends in blogland.  Apparently I got sidetracked, and never finished!  Then I noticed that Homestead Revival was hosting a Chicken Coop Extravaganza, and decided to join the fun!  I sent her a pic of my coop, but once again dropped the ball, and failed to post pics here!  My Bad...

This is the image I used, but I do have more!

This shot gives you a better idea of how I've incorporated the coop and run into my gardens.  I'm not what you would call a precise gardener.  I prefer to let my flowers do as they please, and they do, thank you very much!

These are my six original hens, Lucy, Opal, Isabelle, Alice, Betty and Harriette.  Even though I have a completely enclosed run attached to the coop, my Girls love to free range our big yard.  I try to let them out for at least a couple of hours every day.



Yes, all my hens have names, and even better, they each know their own name and come when I call them!  Sometimes it's a stampede, when I holler, "Where are my Chickens??"  Or an individual gallup across the yard when I notice that someone has strayed.  If you've never watched a chicken running full tilt toward a possible treat, you just don't know what you're missing!  Chickens are totally food oriented.  I taught them their names by handing out grapes, one at a time, and calling out the recipient's name as they took it.  It didn't take long for them to respond to their names, even without the grapes.  Betty is very chatty and always talks to me when I say hello to her.  Lucy and Alice are nearly identical, and if I call Alice, Lucy by mistake, she will totally ignore me. 

People often ask what the secret to having gardens AND chickens is.  There are lots of flowers in my garden that my Girls ignore, and some that they love to eat.  Petunias are a favored snack.  They sample lots of it, so I combat the problem with such abundance that they just can't do much harm.  If your garden is small, and they have few choices, six chickens will easily devour it.  Veggies are a bit harder.  They ate all my pole beans and most of my tomatoes...

This is my newest hen, Hazel.  She was adopted after the rest of her flock was taken by predators.  She's about a year younger than the other girls and it took them a little while to accept her into the flock.  Lucky Hazel is very fast and agile, not to mention resourceful.  She has managed to stay one step ahead of the (ahem) Older Ladies, and now gets along with them quite well. 

And of course, this is how my Girls pay their rent.  Fresh eggs are wonderful, and since my girls free range, eating grass and bugs, flowers and even toads, these eggs are higher in Omega 3 and lower in cholesterol, than store bought eggs from factory farms.  Best of all, my Girls are happy, living in their fairy tale coop, surrounded by flowers in Chicken Hollow.