Step Chickens?

Surrogate Chickens?

Substitute Chickens?

Make Believe Chickens?

Ha ha! I’m not sure what to call them but when I need a chicken fix, I’m down to Fran and Wes’s to visit with their flock of gals… and a couple boys in the mix for fun. I’m just not sure how I can wrangle hens at my moby, so the next best thing is to take a trip down the road a mile to visit Fran and Wes on their nice little homestead! We go out and visit and I bring them some treats and all. It’s so nice to just hang out and watch them… I’ve warned Fran, come a little warmer weather, I’m bringing a lawn chair and a cold ice tea so I can just sit and watch them for a good long time. Chicken TV you know.

We had some left over salad and a few breadsticks from the opry backstage and rather than toss them, I knew some ladies that would not mind at all! By the time we are done with the show and home, salad just doesn’t quite look real appetizing the next day. But the chickens thought it was WONDERFUL and when I scattered those greens, it was like Christmas morning at the Goeslins house!!! hahaha! Everyone was grabbing and hoarding every little thing they could!

I also got 5 dozen eggs for cooking, eating and all that. We love fresh eggs, they are the best thing going. Great for stretching a food budget for sure! We’ve been testing cheesecake recipes so that has helped us to go through them pretty quick too! I have a dozen set back to age a little bit… if you want boiled eggs for deviled eggs or for salads and such, super fresh eggs are hard to peel. So I’m getting used to marking a carton and letting them age a week or two in the frig. That works much better!

Had a couple breadsticks left and the girls enjoyed them as well! Not many, because they are SUPER good and don’t last long at the Opry. It was super funny to see one little Rhode Island Red reach in and grab one WHOLE big piece and take off running in the yard. Of course, everyone else was curious, so the poor thing could not find a safe spot to peck at it. She would get off by herself, set it down and then out of nowhere someone would try and snatch it! But she was quick and would grab it and run to some other spot. By the time I left, she was STILL running around with her prize and hadn’t had a moment alone with it! It was funny to watch.

One of the leghorn roosters came and tried his best to get me. I felt a little tap and turned to see him miss a good strike. Then I was ready for him. Fran got spurred a couple weeks ago by one of the leghorn roos! She had a good mark and bruise from him! I suspect that a little roo-thinning might be happening sooner than later… there’s a good 4 or 5 of them and they are all picking on the hens and each other a good deal. The one pretty Buff is the king of the roos, and he’s pretty nice to those that bring him treats for his harem!

Fran and Wes are starting to clean up their gardens and flowerbeds and you can see all the lillies and other flowers working hard to make an appearance! I love hearing all the things they have planned because it lets me know that someday, I’ll be able to talk the same way about my own little acreage. They installed a little gate on their big kitchen garden and Wes hopes to trot the hens over there soon to do a little weeding and fertilizing and some hen-o-tilling for them! You know they will love that! I hope I can come visit when they do that. It will be fun to watch them all running about in there. It’s a nice big space, and Fran was telling me all the goodies they are going to be planting in there! Can’t wait to see it all growing!

Well, I know where to go when I need a chicken fix! I want to get out to see Jen and her flock too! I wish she lived a little closer!!! I love her little Bantams. Soon I need to give her a call and go out and get some eggs from her too and visit some! I just know we’ll have lots to talk about!

Oh I just love the warm weather that is just around the bend!!!!