More chicks....and more to come?

The other morning, Paul and the girls drove to a nearby town to pick up a couple dozen chicks, strictly meat birds here.  And after watching this morning's Good Morning America broadcast regarding the e-coli outbreak in four southern states, I am becoming more and more grateful to Paul for starting us down this hobby-farm path!  Just yesterday, I pulled out a pork steak from from the freezer (courtesy of our pigs from last year) and made up some Sweet-n-Sour Pork.   Very yummy!  Not a morsel remained for left-overs.

Everyday, Candace and Caitlyn have the chore of collecting eggs and watering the chickens and goats.  We've been getting about half-dozen eggs daily;  pretty good considering we only have 8 hens, and one of them (Big Mama) isn't laying right now. (Oh!  And an update on her;  she and her seven chicks are getting along just fine)

Anyway... so yesterday at the lunch table, when talking about chores that needed completing yet, Caitlyn said "well, there's this one chicken who never moves!"  And Candace adds, "yeah, and there are eggs under her that we can't get."

So, off I go with the camera, having a hunch we had another brooding hen. :D

Sure enough;  she puffed up all big when I tried reaching for her.

And I was able to shift her around just enough to get a count of the eggs under her;  I THINK I counted five.  (I'll admit that I was a bit worried about getting pecked at, so I didn't push my luck! :D)

We don't have a name for her yet;  actually none of our white leghorns have names, so I think we'll call her LITTLE MAMA. :)  Clearly all of the eggs aren't hers;  leghorns don't lay brown eggs.  But if she's not picky, neither are we.

Yeah, buddy..... you da man! :)  

:-)

And while I was taking pictures of Mama, I felt the dang cutest sensation on my shin.  Tristin (definitely the more friendly of our two goats) was licking my shin.  I just stood and let him enjoy the salt;  whew, it's a good thing I shaved!  I guess a salt-lick is on our shopping list for our next trip to Farm-n-Fleet.

And Starz just looked on from the window.