Our hens

[marlingardener]

We have a small flock of hens that give us beautiful brown eggs. They are Black Australorps, a breed that can stand our heat. If you've ever kept chickens, you know how entertaining they are! Mensa candidates they aren't, but they are natural-born comediennes!

 

[Trellum]

Awww, you got a very beautiful family of hens right there!!!! They're so beautiful, I grew a pair of those when I was little, I actually raised a lot chickens and hens as a little girl! Lovely memories! Btw, they aren't as dumb as they might want you to think. I remember seeing this little red rooster (Chinese breed, can't remember name) making noises (like when they find something and call the female to eat it) whenever I gave them something and the female caught it first.

He pretended like he was eating something really tasty... he grabbed a little rock and exaggerated those noises, then the silly female left what I gave her just to check out what he was eating, lol. He then grabbed her piece! Cheeky little red rooster!

 

[zigs]

Love a good Chicken

 

[ACSAPA]

They're so cute. I love chickens. Do you ever let them out to run around or do they have to stay in their coop? They're a beautiful bunch of hens and it looks like you're taking excellent care of them.

 

[marlingardener]

Some of the hens are let out to free-range when I am out to supervise. If I let all of them out at once they try to hitchhike with passing vehicles and generally get into trouble. I've found that if about half the flock is let out the hens stay close to the outside coop. I guess the "flock mentality" keeps them close to home.
They get treats in the morning and evening, the coop is cleaned daily, and they seem to enjoy life to the fullest! They are just feathered pets . . . .

 

[Inatoy]

Oh, when I saw the title, "Our hens", I just had to peek. I raised chickens for several years. Then while my husband was having surgery at a VA hospital, I had to leave them over a couple of days. When I came home all thirtysix of them were dead. They were in their henhouse, with the door fastened. There was no blood, just dead chickens. I have no idea of what could have killed them.

 

[marlingardener]

Oh, how terribly sad to lose your hens. Please, don't let that deter you from having another small flock. The eggs are wonderful, but it is even better to have the entertainment that hens give!
Ours are in the Fort Knox of hen coops--with an 18" footing all around the inside and outside coop; double wiring on both coops; two three gallon waterers as well as a large hanging feeder; and a very vigilant "Mama hen" (me).
Neighbors stop by to get eggs and often have greens from their gardens for the ladies. One neighbor saved all the stems from their spinach for our girls. You can't get better than that!

 

[helagumamela]

Black hens! We also have a lot of hens, but they don't look like those. More like this one:

I finally convinced my dad to put the hens in cages because when they are allowed to be free, they destroy the plants. They love eating oregano leaves!

 

[R.R.]

Marlin, nice hens! I want to have a chicken coop soon, but we just moved and we're giving the fall garden a priority right now. Are you in Central Texas?

 

[marlingardener]

Yes, R.R., we are in central Texas. This has been the best gardening spring/summer we've ever had (adequate rain!) so your fall garden should be bountiful.

 

[R.R.]

Let's hope so!