Chicken Population Explodes!

A taste of spring arrived yesterday.

The snow that's covered the ground for weeks melted; temperatures rose into the 50's, and bits of grass turned green.

The chickens celebrated by going everywhere.

For weeks now, they've spent lots of time in the chicken coop or wandering up to the sheep barn. And, their diet has consisted mostly of chicken feed and scratch grain. But yesterday they had sun and easy walking. Their search for better food began.

When I was moving hay from the hay and equipment barn, I looked over and saw a hen. And I found another hen in the hay stall when I moved bales to the horse barn.

And there were chickens in the young chicken yard, chickens in the garden, chickens in the sheep pasture, chickens in the yard, chickens on the back porch, chickens in the horse paddock, chickens in the horse stalls, chickens in the sheep paddock.

Caeli, the Border collie, just trembled as they ran amok.

Visitors often ask, "How many chickens do you have?"

Last night, I counted. Fourteen hens and two roosters. But yesterday, I was sure that we had fifty.