those hens

To illustrate how in over our heads we are, I will start with where we got our hens. I assumed that we'd drive east on the 10 for an hour or so to Riverside, where we'd find some nice person who was also raising chickens and wanted to give us a few for our own backyard project. There WERE a lot of posts for chickens on craigslist a few months ago. Well, it's May and apparently chicken giving slows down after the spring rush. We called a bunch of people, but no one called us back, and when I told Brock this probably meant we'd have to order day old chicks and raise them in the kitchen as babies, he grabbed his computer and gave google a run for it's money.

EVENTUALLY, he found a central coast poultry resource listing farms that sell meat, eggs, chicks, and hens. Central coast. people. That is almost 4 hours north on the 101 and closer to SF than LA. At this point we were willing to go anywhere with a phone line and someone on the other end. So when Zsuzsa (think Zsa Zsa Gabor but with different vowels) answered the phone and said we could come up the next day, we committed on the spot. At this point it's Saturday evening at 6pm.

Brock in his infinite wisdom and sometimes surprising spontaneity suggested we pack a bag, find a hotel, and get the drive started. Good idea, husband! We stayed in Montecito on Saturday night and enjoyed a number of dirty martinis with truffle cheese stuffed olives at the Biltmore bar.

And then Sunday we headed up the coast to Cayucos, which is an absolutely beautiful drive, and ended up here:





We filled 2 boxes with hens, loaded them into the back of the car and that was that. 5 hours later (must account for Sunday evening traffic) we were back at home with a bevy of feathery friends in the Eglu.

And these:



I think they are kind of bummed that they have to be in the coop all day while we're at work. We really want to let them out to scratch around, but apparently you have to wait a week or so before you let them be free range, lest they fly over the fence and forget where their home is. Now wishing we had started with babies so they don't know any different. Anyone with a huge coop want a few more chickens?

One of them, the white one, is LOUD.