These cluckers are incredible. The chickens continue to add such epic personality to the farm that I honestly couldn’t imagine what this place would be like without them.
I grew up with two chickens – Squirt and Pepsi – that were grown from eggs in an incubator in my 4th grade classroom. They came home with me one day and lived in our barn while free ranging about the backyard. That is truly all I’ve ever known of chickens. They were cool pets, liked to chase and eventually went to live with the chickens farmed down the road from us.
They never had personality.
The chickens we have at Crossley Farms are spunky. Every single morning, they’re waiting at the gate of the chicken run to be allowed out. They spend the day free range. We see them wander the garden, backyard, behind the barns, in the barns – everywhere. They chase each other across the backyard like rowdy kids. They crow at the sun and are sure to let us know when they haven’t been let out to roam yet. They are even testing the waters with the dogs and cats.
Every day, Aaron hunts for their eggs. He’s found them in the calf pen, in a pile of straw and even in the dirt at the back of the pole barn. Once in while, Betty White and one of the other brown chickens will actually lay in the coop boxes. Those are the two we’re sure to not miss for days at a time.
The great news is that even when we can’t find all of the eggs for a day or two – we do eventually find them! I think this says volumes about a possible lack of snakes around – but I refuse to count the eggs before they hatch.