Chickens and Teeth...Chickenteeth?

Well the two all consuming events of this past weekend were our acquisition of "The Girls" and my oral surgery. I'm doing pretty well even though I currently look like a chipmunk with one cheek really full. I'll be happy when the swelling goes down. Meanwhile I keep taking my antibiotic and an occasional pain pill. I'll know better when I have finished the antibiotic whether or not it was the infection that was sapping my energy.

Our chickens are a lot more fun to talk about. The Girls, as I have affectionately dubbed them, are proving to be quite entertaining. We have them all set up in a corner of what will eventually be their coop. It's actually a greenhouse that the last owner of the house put up.

But bare with me while I explain the logic of using this old greenhouse as a hen house...chicken coop...whatever you want to call it.

Yes it is attached to the house. We can't actually access it from inside the house...at least not easily, but it is attached to the side of the house and we have a big picture window looking right into it.

This, hopefully, gives you an idea of what I'm talking about. Of course I took this in the morning, and it is a West facing window, so there is a little bit of that silhouette thing going on.

(And yes that is our television and stereo you are looking at. Husband keeps joking that we are going to see if we can get a smaller TV. While the rest of the world is trying to get bigger televisions we are going for smaller. Phbbt!)

Yeah, just call us hillbillies.

Oh yeah, back to the logic of using this as our hen house. Ready for this...drum roll please.

It's already built.

It also already has electrical via a heavy duty extension cord. The hard work is done. We don't have to worry about building anything new and we don't have to worry about how to keep The Girls warm during the winter months. They will either be able to stay warm through solar heat or with a lamp.

We intend them to be "free range" chickens during the summer months. There is plenty of ventilation in the green/hen house as well.

So all that's left to do is make some nesting boxes for them. They should be some pretty happy chickens by the time we're done!

In the meantime we're getting to know them as individuals. Yes, I said individuals. While their personalities are not fully developed yet we can already tell who the head chicken is, who likes to be held, who doesn't and who would really like to escape and explore the vast unknown. (She will definately be getting her wings clipped.)

Now I could go on a little bit more about my teeth but trust me, you don't really want to hear about that. The chickens are way more interesting.