Our New Chickens

I answered an ad on Craigsl*st for Australop chickens for sale.  We wanted at least 3 to 4 hens and a rooster.  We have hawks and a fox family and I wanted whatever protection a rooster could give.

So we drove an hour two counties over and met a delightful couple with a menagerie of animals.  It turns out that though owner had ordered Australop eggs it looks like she may have gotten mostly Welsummer eggs (think chicken on the front of the cornflakes box).  She also wasn't sure which were roosters and which were hens.  So we came home with 5.  3 we believe are hens and 1 we think is a rooster.  If we ended up with a second rooster the owner will take it back.

There were plenty to choose from.  Not really.  The owner grabbed 5 and her husband ( and husband and I) hustled them into the dog crate in the back of the car.  The method to choose mostly hens was to hold them by the neck and see if they went limp or if they were fighters - I kid you not.  If they went limp the owner considered them hens (on the advice of another chicken owner)

The chickens were well guarded which was a bonus.  Our Snoopy is glued to the pen and the chickens hardly bat an eye at him.

One of the hens (she says with almost total confidence :-)

There were also pigs.  

Discovering that their new home has great food and water.

Should I go out?

Watching them go down the ramp was like watching a girl in high heels for the first time.

We made it.  The outside looks pretty good too!