Introducing…

Rhoda, Ruby and Roxanne!

We brought the girls home yesterday morning at about 11 a.m. and left them alone for the better part of the afternoon to get used to and allow them to explore their new digs.  They were kind of jittery and did more squawking than clucking and each time we checked in on them later in the day, the squawking got less and less.  They seemed to be settling in.

The girls were three of several Rhode Island Red hens that shared a coop with two huge roosters who liked to have their way with them as you can tell by the lack of feathers on their backs.  We were assured that the missing feathers will grow back in about three weeks time and I sure hope so because bald chickens aren’t the prettiest sight.

When we checked in on them later in the afternoon, guess what we found?

A huge brown egg right in the middle of the floor on top of the wood shavings!  It must have just been laid because it was still shiny.  I guess they hadn’t found the nesting boxes yet.  We were told that it might take them as long as a week before they start to lay again on a regular basis because of the stress of the move.  Believe me girls, I know just how you feel…about moving, i.e.  *wink*

We’ve been doing our homework…

and have found that chickens love their greens.  We had a fresh salad last night for dinner and brought out the discarded leaves of lettuce and cucumber peels.  They ate every drop!

These gals aren’t the neatest housekeepers but I’m sure they’ll learn.  No quilts for them until they learn to take care of their digs!