Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Buff Orpington is Not A Subway Station in London

It's almost Spring in St Tammany and we got to spend 3 hours in the garden yesterday. The sun was spectacularly warm and we got in the strawberries and onions. I started to dig out a huge sago palm which is planted (firmly, I might add) in the wrong place along with a friend. They are both coming out, with their little pups, to make room for a herb garden outside the backdoor.
But it was proving to be more difficult with what appears to be a substantial taproot so we might have to employ the tractor to heave it out. I was coming to this conclusion when John asked if I wanted to run errands with him. Great timing for a hasty retreat.

We ended up at the local Seed n Feed and popped in to get more scratch for the chickens. Oh BTW, pretty certain what we have is NOT a freak of nature but a rooster. He still does not crow but he barks like a dog. What an interesting farm this is turning out to be.
SO while John was bringing the truck to the back, I wandered in and found Biddies!!!!! Oh Boy!!! There were Barred Rocks, something I can't remember, the Americaunas were all gone (big surprise there) and 3 Buff Orpingtons.

Now these were the breed recommended by a chicken and quilt friend who even offered several to us but we declined her kind offer because hers were grown and we were leery about introducing 2 sets of grown hens into one small coop.

I have still wanted to have a few because they are really beautiful and hers are so sweet-natured. And I wanted to the next chickens we got to be some that were small so I could hold them and get them friendly to me so I can pick them up and administer to them whatever they need regarding health-care. I can't get close enough to the other 5 (soon to be 4).

3 Buffs, just sitting there, all alone in the world. Unwanted (except by ME). Unloved (I could love them something awful).
I wore him down. John bought them for me. Our $10.00 experiment. They are sitting in the brood box in the guest bathroom. I hope our guests this week won't mind sharing the space.......


You haven't lived until you've had a chick peck grub from your palm. Try 3.


Then one decides that sitting on your hand is just peachy.

And really, it is!

3 comments:

Rachel said...

OH MY GOD IT'S SO CUUUUUTE
i want to hold it.

katykey said...

I agree. They are SO unbearably cute! When you say 5 to be 4 do you mean the FON/Rooster is going to be relocated? No one in your hood will hear a "barking" rooster!

And on the Sago Palm note: the only thing that could move ours was Katrina! Its roots were embedded with one of the Loblolly pines that keeled over onto the neighbors yard/house (oops!) and we had to dislodge it with a pressure washer!

Cats and Quilts said...

KT you have a point about the barking bit and as to the , ahmmm "removal", let's say we found someone in Folsom who rescues fowl.
I can't wait for a hurricane. John has a tractor. Good thing, too.

"HEy JOHN!!! Crank 'er up! Yank it out!"