Our three little henlettes (we hope they’re hens anyway…)
Priscilla (2.5 weeks), Shelly (1.5 weeks) and Sylvie (1.5 weeks)
Priscilla is a Plymouth Barred Rock. She’s named after Priscilla Mullins Alden who came to Plymouth on the Mayflower (my 9th ggrandmother).
Shelly is a Buff Orpington. Joseph named her. I have no idea why he picked Shelly. Maybe it’s a girl in his class that he has a crush on.
Sylvie is a Silver Wyandotte. I don’t think I need to explain her name. She’s gonna be a beaut. Look at that face. She’s the whole reason I bought when I did. I was going to hold out for a Rhode Island Red instead of the Buff, but I really wanted a Silver Wyandotte, so….
About a month ago I saw this segment on Central Texas Gardener:
I thought, “hmmmm…” so I started researching. Backyard chickens are taking the nation by storm. How can you lose? Fresh eggs and the best manure your garden can ask for! In this day of green and sustainable living, cities across the country are changing their laws to allow people to have a few hens in urban neighborhoods.
I looked up the fowl ordinance for Harker Heights. The rule is you have to be 250 feet from your neighbors house, but you can ask for an exception for 75 feet and over. So that’s what I did. We’re lucky in that we’re on a 1/2 acre lot. I forwarded the link for the video and the ordinances for several surrounding cities (most are 8 hens/ 50ft) to our City Manager, Mayor and City Council Members. I got permission to have three hens!
Dan was harder to convince than the city. lol. He came around. He always does. He had to admit they’re pretty entertaining. Throw a feather in with them and they’re hilarious.
Right now they are in the laundry room in a mega huge Rubbermaid bin. We need to get crackin’ on the hen house and coop. In about six months we’ll have fresh eggs for breakfast and more manure than my compost pile will hold.