Lucy and Ricky

Meet Lucy (red) and Ricky (white), the newest addition to the family! We are on a warpath to start eating healthier and living off our wonderful three acres. We thought we'd start with fresh eggs. We got these two little guys when they were a few days old at a local feed store right down the road. They were so cute and fluffy! One was red and one was white, so we christened them "Lucy and Ethel". Ethel 'cock-a-doodle-do-ed' about a week ago, so her/his name is now Ricky. They've been relatively easy to take care of; they roam our garden, eat all the nasty little bugs and keep the yard well fertilized. Our cat Jake, has taken a liking to them. He'll watch them for a good 20 minutes with a ferocious look and the spring up and chase them all over the yard. It was time to build a cage for them. Plus if they were going to start nesting, we sure didn't feel like hunting all over the place searching for eggs!

My dad drew up a schematic and started working on this pretty amazing chicken coop. He had a ton of scrap wood and chicken wire in the garage. Few weekends later . . . ta-da! A two-story condo.

Since we are going to get a few more girls, (that's what you're supposed to call them: 'girls', says our chicken consultant. Doesn't it sound quaint and "Little House on the Prairie-ish"?) my dad is going to add on and give them more space to run around. And some nesting boxes.

Here's to a dozen eggs!