Well, old Omelette is gone. She was our first ever chicken here at the old homestead. We got her and Black Chicken and together they were Salt and Pepper. Pepper died so we renamed “Salt” to Omelette. She was an ornery old chicken and we never were able to hold her or pet her since she was not hand raised. She never trusted us or really even came close to us, but everyone lived harmoniously. She is even the chicken on the header of this website!
But ever since she started laying strange, shell-less eggs, then stopped laying completely, and finally being mean and broody on a nest of unfertilized eggs, we decided she was ready for a new home. We posted an ad on Craigslist and found a home where chickens like her can live out the rest of their days on a farm scratching around.
The person even told us to come visit the farm and see her there. You never know if they are actually going to eat her, but that is always a valid option. I eat meat, I even eat chickens. I just haven’t gotten up to the actual killing part. So this worked out really well.
…And in with the New!
Britton said if we got rid of her that we could get some new chicks. That was another motivating factor. We thought we would just get 2 more, but the first store didn’t have any Ameraucanas/Americanas, so now we have three! They are so sweet.We have a Barred Plymouth Rock, another Leghorn (Omelette 2), and the Ameraucana. Take a look!
The three chicks on a chair
Two in a bowl -Yin Yang -esque
One miniature Omelette
When you get here you can have a whole farm – just make sure you have good fencing so running free dogs don’t intrude!
Yes! And we are so excited for that! Good point about the dogs though. Have you had any strays wander your property or try to eat your wandering chickens/rooster? Our dog lives completely in a peaceful co-existence with our chickens but I know some other more vicious breeds could easily kill them.
Many people here just let the dogs wander and reproduce. There are then loads of uncared for, starving animals that wander around hunting and killing whatever they can catch. Chickens (“wild” ones that are sitting on eggs or little ones), kittens, puppies whatever. It is one of the shameful, disgusting things about it here. We put cyclone fence up. Expensive, but wonderful peace of mind! If you can, put the fencing on a cement base otherwise you will be forever patching holes. The cats don’t seem to be interested in the chickens (except as a fascinating playmate) which is interesting since they will kill little birds if they can catch them. Build some strong enclosures but mainly fence in the property because you are guaranteed to have visitors.