Ugly Chickens, Beautiful Eggs

When we first got our chicks, they were the most adorable, fuzzy, little creatures we had ever seen.  Then as they grew, they started to stink, they poop everywhere, and they started to look a little prehistoric.  Chickens are down right ugly... I mean the kind of ugly that only a mother could love.  We have grown to love them, and they have grown to tolerate us... as much as nine hens can tolerate 2 young boys that like to hold them, chase them and pet them.  They also hug them, kiss them, carry them, and somewhere along the line, the hens started to follow Blake and Luke as if they were their mothers, so they more then tolerate them now :)

I call them all "Mama" but the boys make up all sorts of names for them.  When the girls see us, they get all excited and start making chicken noises.  They are nothing like I thought they would be... nothing at all, but they are so much more.  My kids LOVE them and they help take care of them.  They enjoy gathering eggs and learning about them.  They think its really neat that we get to go shopping for our eggs outside and we don't have to buy them in the store.  We also have 4 Americana Chicken and they lay blue, green, pick, grey, and white eggs, so its always so exciting for the boys to see what colors we get each day along with the classic brown.  I think that we will always have chickens, even when the boys are grown and gone.  And how remarkable... to have such an ugly creature, provide such a beautiful bounty for us to enjoy :)

 

Farm fresh from the coop to the breakfast table