Chickens!

We’ve been talking about getting chickens for almost a year now. Last weekend, we finally purchased the plans for the coop I wanted. On Tuesday, construction began. Isaac was all too willing to give up his afternoon naps this week to help mommy build!

Last night, we put the finishing touches on our brand new chicken coop. I’m going to toot my own horn a bit here, because I am super proud of how well this thing turned out. I cut every single piece of wood myself, learned how to cut 60 degree angles and learned how to use a jig saw (to design and cut the handles) this week. I know my Grandpa Warren is looking down from heaven saying “good job girl”! The things he could build were amazing and this week his granddaughter did him proud! [Note: Daddy gets some kudos too though…he was my muscle holding things in place and helping with the stain.]

So with the coop done, today was chicken day! We visited a local chicken hatchery (some fellow NC State people)  and came home with 4 new additions to the family. Isaac was SO excited. He’s named 2 so far…the black one is his favorite (she has green legs) and her name is Wonder Woman. The white one is named Snowball. He’s still working on names for the 2 red ones; they’ve had a couple of different names today. Maybe some will stick tomorrow!

Isaac did great with the chickens.

Lucas didn't quite have the words to express his excitement. The video pretty much tells it all. He was so excited and so happy. I think it's his version of what a chicken says, but I'm not sure. The first time he did it we all (including the chickens) jumped back. It was hilarious!

Wripley hasn’t quite figured this all out yet, but she’s happy to stand guard and keep an eye on the new girls!

The most difficult part of this whole chicken thing is going to be keeping Isaac out of the coop! He begged all day to get in there, so tonight we let him help get the girls into the roosting area. Eventually they’ll learn to do this on their own. I’m thinking with a 3 year old chasing them around they might be motivated to learn a little bit faster.

And so our chicken adventure begins. Brian has said no more animals. He thinks that bees, chickens, koi and a dog are plenty for right now. I told him that was fine but if a giraffe shows up for free on Craigslist I’m totally going to get it!!