Meet the Chickens!

For several weeks, our dream chicken coop has been under construction on the edge of the Shadow Wood.

As I watched from my vantage point at the kitchen window, I imagined the happiness of looking out and seeing our fluffy girls pecking around against the green backdrop of a Tennessee Spring.

As their cozy coop and run took shape, a friend called to tell me her neighbor needed to give away six one-year-old hens who were great layers. It was an easy yes.

So, once the coop was almost complete and ready for occupancy, we picked up our hens!

Ashton, our gray tomcat, is fascinated and little bothered. He just lays there in the straw, watching and waiting. But their coop is predator proof. He doesn’t have a chance.

In keeping with our tradition, the hens were given names. My daughter can tell them apart. Me? Not so much. But the names are fabulous and worthy of their surroundings!

Have you ever seen a chicken chapel? Is it not the cutest thing? We are waiting for the steeple (YES it has a steeple!) to be installed after which I will reveal the name and more details of how it was designed.

So without further adieu, I give you the names of the chickens of Arundelle Green:

Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy (any Hamilton fans out there?)

Marianne, Margaret, and Elinor (of Sense and Sensibility fame!)

Two Plymouth Rocks, two Rhode Island Reds, and two Buff Orpingtons.

And they are lovely.

Lovely chickens with tiny little brains whose sounds and habits make us chuckle.

Plus eggs.

The golf ball is a trick I learned from my sister-in-law. It tells them where to lay the eggs.

From the very first day, they have laid eggs for us, 4-5 per day. Delicious, farm fresh eggs gracing our breakfast, and sometimes dinner!

Happy hens. Happy family. Happy farmlife.

And there is more to come. I really can’t believe I get to do this.

Y’all come visit and I dare you not to want to start your own little farm!

It’s a beautiful life here, at Arundelle Green.