Soooo jealous. My neighbors have chickens, and they walk around my place. Nothing like fresh eggs. Nothing. And it never gets not-exciting to go into the coop late morning and see the new eggs.

But man, they sleep where they poop. Not the brightest bulbs on the planet.

Very pretty eggs!

Lucky! Wish I had chickens. I bet those eggs make a delicious omelet : ) They look pretty in the bowl with your gorgeous granite & cabinetry.

Pretty kitchen too!

aww, lucky you! They are pretty

We have a neighbor with chickens (and goats and horses) and they sell eggs on the honor system. But DH nixed it because they are right on the side of the road, often loose, and peck at the road. He is not sure what the heck they eat!

Love it!!! I didn't know you had chickens, lucky!

Your counter tops look so beautiful and the shot sets off your lovely sink so well:)

We have had ducks once, and chickens twice. DH ends up looking after them and as we like to let them loose around the yard during the day, predators (hawks, foxes and fisher cats) unfortunately end up attacking them.

Still.... many happy memories. Here are two from a few years back, when they were fashion accessories de rigueur...

DD in the winter. (For those of you who don't know, when you set a chicken down in the snow, they do not move).

DS in the old living room.

mtnrd - shame on DH!

Mtn, we have 16 laying hens, 5 pullets (about 6 to 8 weeks from laying) and a cockerel. They spend most of the day in a large run about 40' X 40' that has 2 pine trees in it for shade. They free range for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours each day. Our property is large enough that they don't get close to the road. They eat layer pellets and bugs during the time they are in their run and coop. When they free range they are voracious bug and worm stalkers. We also give them cracked corn and every night they come running for their nightly treat of Cheerios. We donate the eggs that we don't eat to members of our church, friends, and family but I like the idea of selling on the honor system too.

Thanks Annie, Laurie, and Errant. I love how the eggs look on my counter. Some day I will have a few Easter Eggers. They lay various shades of blue to green eggs.

Tib, I agree. When I retire I want to design a removable tray for under their roost. It will make cleaning the coop easier for DH.

My neighbors sell their eggs on the honor system. Love that.

I keep scratch in my house to throw for them. Before their rooster got whacked by a coyote, my throwing scratch became a problem. He wouldn't let me out of my house. He definitely bit the hand that fed him. Didn't like that mean old bird. I paid that coyote $50 to off ol' Chuck. Don't tell Chuck's owners.

A most beautiful sight.

OB2B, thank you for the pictures! Your little ones are darling. I love the snow princess and her feathered companion and your son with his feathered friend.

My girls will sneak into the house if I'm not quick to close the door and our Sweetie Girl would jump onto my lap when she got inside.

We have had chickens for six years and haven't lost any even though we have fox, hawks, raccoons, and other wildlife. We credit that to our late, bad to the bone, Brewster the rooster. He would stand guard and if he saw a danger he would scurry the girls under the coop and stand guard in front of them. Alas poor Brewster went to freezer camp because he attacked DH many times and his demise came after he attacked me. We are hoping our cockerel will be a good protector for the girls but not aggressive towards us.

I don't know anything about cockerels but can attest to how fierce one's rooster can be. Last time, we selected six chicks, of which DS and DD each got to name and 'own' two. DH and I had the last two. I named mine after my beloved childhood (girl) Airedale Terrier dog, Suska. It wasn't until a neighborhood party, when a guest identified my chicken as 'the rooster' that we understood its recent behavior... Love your name 'Brewster the Rooster' and smile to remember that I could tell a few jokes about that rooster's barnyard behaviour:) "Shhh, they're about to land....."

Lol OB. Brewster was a very happy but worn out old bird trying to keep 17 hens (we lost one that became ill) happy. They are finally getting feathers back on the top of their heads.

We bought all Welsummers this time. The females are easy to tell from the males for a few weeks after hatch. We only wanted a cockerel but we needed to brood more than one so we decided 5 more hens would be manageable. Buddy and his girls are in the nursery coop and run until they are big enough to integrate with the others. Then we will open the door between the two runs and close the nursery coop back up again.

Lol Tib, that was funny. Roosters are mean old birds but they are wonderful protectors. I sure hope Buddy is more mellow than Brewster and your neighbor's Chuck. I don't want to send another roo to freezer camp.

Thanks for sharing this, Holly-Kay! Your kitchen is always so lovely to see.

Both my grandparents raised chickens, and I was raised eating their eggs. After my husband and I married, they'd still send us home with fresh eggs (once by plane--you can't say no to one of my grandmothers...). My DH did a side-by-side taste test between a farm fried egg, and a store-bought fried egg. There was no comparison! Enjoy yours... what a special treat.

I love the picture of your fresh eggs. They look so beautiful in your space, which begs the question, "Is it the kitchen or the eggs?"

I will have a spot in my new kitchen for a print. Though I think it should be more colorful, I keep going back to a painting of fresh eggs. They make me smile. Lucky you having the real deal!

Thank you Peony, I do love my kitchen.

Our chickens have been such a blessing. I love to keep a bowl of fresh eggs on the counter before refrigerating them at night.

Holly-Kay, what a gorgeous photo! I also did not know you kept chickens. The photos from you and OB2B made me smile!

As well as the bounty of eggs and the fun of raising chickens, one can also 'decorate' their homes! This is my girls 'Poulet Chalet' complete with window treatments and flowers on the porch!

Makes me want to have chickens just so I have another house to decorate!
Diane

Oh Phoenix you have such a darling coop. My coop for the big girls is a cute green barn style with a rooster weather vane on top. The nursery coop is a hideous bright green. DH bought the nursery coop which was our first one on the sly. It serves it's purpose but it is yucko. After we got our first three we started adding more and needed larger digs for the girls but we kept the old one for our new chickens. The runs connect but there is a wire door between the two so they can see each other but not get to one another.

I bought cute hen and rooster plates to put inside the coop but it gets so dusty I never hung them.

holly-kay, The very first time your new Roo acts aggressive, Stand very tall and chase him with a broom or anything you have handy. You might need to take a swat at him and you WILL have to be serious. Two or three times will cure him. You will probably have to guard any visitors until you have done the swat treatment on him when he displays to them. Be watchful and catch him in the act.

Lov, Brewster was incorrigible. We tried to nip his bad behavior in the bud from the get go. We started with the broom and that did no good. My DH several times had to hit him with a sturdy limb. We couldn't turn our backs on him. Each year his aggression got worse. When DH was away on his last trip Brewster came right after me even though I had a broom and was swatting him he kept coming after me. I truly thought I was going to be severely injured. I hope Buddy doesn't have as big of a mean streak.

AMCK, I think your egg print would be wonderful for your kitchen. I would love to see it. I have a water color of a hen with 3 chicks, by a local artist on a small wall in my kitchen. It's very special because I am mother of three.

I was feeling so envious of all of you with access to fresh eggs and after viewing that bowl of deliciousness. I have a friend who provides me with her organically raised eggs much of the year, but she just processed her extra chickens for the freezer and the eggs are not as bountiful. I was feeling really sorry for myself having to buy store bought (organic, but not home raised).

Then, last night, I was at a different friend's house and she offered me two dozen of her sister's home raised organic eggs. I almost kissed her. They are a mix of brown with some araucana pastels. Breakfast was especially delicious this morning! You all are very lucky for their little gifts to you.

How pretty! I've wanted chickens (hens) for the last several years, but dh is against it.

When we first moved here, our next door neighbors had chickens, and a rooster. That thing started crowing at 2 or 3 A.M. Every. single. day. I guess he wasn't quite mean enough though. Another neighbor's dog got into their yard and killed every one.

We have neighborhood restrictions against chickens, but since it's already been broken and accepted by the neighbors, the county told me it wouldn't be enforced. So maybe. Someday.

I'd love to see a basket of brown and araucana eggs. Sounds like it would make a great design seed.

Holly-Kay, your kitchen is absolutely luscious. It is elegant and so warm, just like you! I love what amck said, "They look so beautiful in your space, which begs the question, 'Is it the kitchen or the eggs?'"

I had no idea you kept chickens! Fascinating! My friend who lives in Chicago keeps them, too, but my suburban friends are not able to because it's against the rules! Crazy.

I didn't know that roosters could be so aggressive and cause injury! Wow!

OldBat, those are precious pics!

Phoenix, that is a beautiful chalet!