I'm sooo eggcited!!!

[asher]

My kids have a problem with us eating eggs from our cochins and silkies because they are afraid we'll be eating potential "baby eggs" (i.e eggs that we could incubate and hatch). WELL, I have been looking for hens for a few weeks to no avail. Found two today at the flea market, but wanted more so I posted on freecycle. A lady e-mailed offering me 15 free brown egg layers and a few Ameracaunas (sp?). We're supposed to go get them tomorrow. Wow.

I'm going to be low carbing which means eating lots of eggs and I'd much rather eat eggs from chickens and know what those chickens have taken in and how they've been treated than the ones from chicken mills.

(*I won't be keeping all of the hens to myself. My aunt is trying to make her little place self sufficient and one of those things will be selling fresh eggs for eating. So she'll be getting some, too. I don't have enough space to keep them all and it's not safe to free range them here.*)

 

[tricia]

I'm so jealous!

I can't wait to get my coop built and start my flock!!

I'm excited for you!

 

[asher]

WELL, she said she'd call me tonight (I THINK she said she'd call me and not that I should call her, anyway) around 5 to come get them. She lives about 45 minutes from me. I have a weird feeling she's not going to call, but that's likely the pessimistic side of me!

She free ranges them right now and I cannot because of predators. She did ask me if I free range and I said no, but we do spoil our chickens rotten and I'd be giving my aunt some and she free ranges during the day. I'm just afraid I'm all excited for nothing now and she won't call back. I will call her tomorrow just to check in a final time if she doesn't call me back, though...or maybe I'll call her back tonight.

I do want them badly and she needs to part with them (she said), but I don't want to be too pushy.

 

[happyhens]

On the bright side, though, if she doesn't call back you can still order or hatch some baby chickies, of the breeds you want. I was about to buy a whole flock of about 40 layers of different breeds and ages when I first got into chickens, we looked at them and went home planning to pick them up the next afternoon, as we didn't have anything to take them home right then. He was also selling the coop with them for pretty cheap. So we call the next day and he had already sold every last one of them I was so aggravated. It was probably a good thing though, because most of the hens were almost spent anyway, I try to console myself with that. But the coop was good! I would have used it for sure! He had it way overcrouded but it would have fit 25 layers easily enough. It would have been very difficult to move, but we have a truck, and we weren't but ten minutes away, we could have made two trips: one for the coop and some chickens, one for the run and the rest of the chickens. GRRR!

 

[asher]

Well, she did call. We went up last night (she works until late so didn't have us come until almost dark). Could not find the place.

Called her, got more directions from her babysitter (she was at the dr.) and we got lost four times. Cell finally went dead and we were in a place we were not familiar with, bad headlights (even on high), whiny kids and the driver (not me) was frustrated so we went home. Didn't have a lot of other options by that time.

I feel so bad for standing her up. Couldn't even get a message to her until this morning b/c of my cell being dead either (home phone does not work for long distance) so feeling really bad and guilty.

The driver says "This is NOT worth it for free chickens." to which I think (but do not say outloud) "It would have been if we had found them!"