the chicken who thinks she is a duck.

we've got this rogue chicken. she is super tiny. a result of a game-bird rooster and one of our americauna hens breeding. she's a little runty thing. and has recently abandoned her chicken family in the chicken house, preferring the company of ducks in the big barn. i usually see her early in the morning by the pond while the ducks are taking baths. she follows them around and tries to blend in. well, yesterday morning, i didn't see her down by the pond. and i also didn't see two of our female ducks. the ducks have been building nests in the barn for a week or so. and i have been hoping they would start sitting. meanwhile, our little black chicken has been building her own nest of eggs a few feet away from one of the duck nests but separated by the kidding pen wall. well, guess who started sitting too?

chicken little nesting pretty

thankfully, there is a male turken (transylvanian naked neck chicken) who lives in the barn with a couple of his ladies. so the eggs are fertilized. in 21 days we should have baby chickens. lord knows what they will look like. tiny black chickens with naked necks. can't wait!

lucky number 7.

yesterday was my crancerversary. seven years ago i heard those dreaded words, "you have cancer." seven years ago my life changed. for the better, really. i truely like who i have become. i've always felt seven was a lucky number. so i'm going to dedicate this post to 7 random things for which i am grateful.

1. fresh eggs (our hens started laying!)
2. my husband's cooking (he's the best & makes a mean veggy timbale)
3. porkchop (what can i say, i love him!)
4. my health
5. this lovely farm
6. being my own boss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (no more dry cleaning!)
7. true love

rook farm's smallest egg.

one of our young rhode island red ladies laid her first egg the other day. it was so cute. jason fried it up and made porkchop a nice little egg sandwich.

little egg, big egg

perfect size for a beagle

we have an egg!

one of our beautiful partridge rock hens laid her first egg this morning! it's about time! we were starting to worry. we've been waiting and waiting! recently, we built the gals a nice chicken house complete with 10 luxurious nest boxes to help encourage egg making. but we've also been roosterless for several months. and technically, you don't need a rooster for hens to lay eggs - just to lay ferilized eggs. we thought maybe the hens needed a rooster to spice things up a bit. so we adopted a very handsome game bird rooster this weekend. he's only been here one day, and already we have a egg. coincidence? or chicken love?