Spring Has Sprung

 

I’m going bird crazy again!  I just can’t stop myself.  I got the urge to buy my first tiny little flock of Salmon Faverolles last year a few months after my dad passed away from cancer.  I’m not dense.  I know I was looking for more love, life, happiness and companionship (plus keeping me super busy) to add to my life to try and fill the void.

 

 

Well I don’t know if it’s because the one-year anniversary of my dad leaving us is coming up, but I went bird nuts last week.  I have ordered a giant barn big enough for 16 birds.  Legally we can have 15 but it’s good to have too much rather than too little space so everyone is super happy.  I have it decked out with 8 laying boxes, a back hatch for egg collecting and a 3 bar 5-foot custom roosting area.

 

 

I did listen to my husband and cut back from 10 new birds to 6.  And it makes sense when you think about it.  They don’t lay forever so it makes sense that with the limited number of backyard chickens I can have that I should stagger them each year.  So when my Faverolles stop laying, my new 6 will be laying and then next year I can get 5 more and those will be laying.  Then when they leave me of natural causes in 8 or 9 years, I get more and I always have fresh organic free range eggs and little friends that make me laugh every day.

 

 

The last little touches are that my barn also has a run that is large enough for 24 hens and it’s tall enough inside and out that they can totally take flight.  Which makes me really happy because even though I get non-flighty chubby AWESOMELY fluffy breeds, they do still get a little lift from time to time and like to stretch their wings.  Diet, exercise, sun and happiness for them is really important for me.  I want plenty of room for them to forage and free range while I’m at work.  I let them completely loose after 6pm and on the weekends when I can look out for my neighbor’s sneaky cat (grrrrrrrrr…).

 

 

Then we have a bright purple roof and the shutters, windows and door are all in white trim with white accenting.  Then the barn itself is in Sherwin Williams Tantalizing Teal.  A favorite color some may remember from my post when I designed my entire guest room on a dime.

 

 

So for now I have 3 Standard White Cochins and 3 Blue Ameraucanas coming in to join my current 4 Faverolles in their new decked out house.  And Jaime had me hold off on my 2 Blue Splash Marans and 2 Barred Rock.  Which is okay because I think next near I actually want 2 Blue Splash Marans and 2 Dominiques.  I know it’s so spoiled and stupid but I only like the really hard to get rare breeds.