Saturday, March 14, 2009

Paradise Gets Adopted By A Chicken

The last few days we've had a new visitor to the yard, this chicken in the photo below. She has been pecking around in the back yard where we just planted grass seed last week. It has been raining since she arrived and I know she is from out neighbor's 'farm' lot.

Last spring these neighbors cleared out 2.75 acres of forest to make a pasture and since then they have added these animals to their collection, 3 Mules (think they traded 2 horses for the mules), 4-5 goats now with several kids, 6-7 ducks, peacocks, turkeys and lots of chickens and roosters.
Last night I watched this hen go into the old shed we are going to tear down. So once it got dark I checked to see if she was in the shed. Yes she was and offered me this egg below for her rent for the night. This morning I went out in the rain and she was still there, not on the straw I brought in for her last night, behind it.

A little while ago I was outside in the rain sowing some white clover seeds onto the lawn or soon to be lawn. I checked the shed and she was either hiding real good on went back home. You might ask why would you sow white clover seeds onto the lawn? Well this place is a butterfly haven and clover is a host plant for several butterflies like Orange Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur and possibly Eastern Tailed-Blue. Clover is very drought tolerant and does not mind not getting mowed so much and the flowers do attract a lot of butterflies.

13 comments:

Susie said...

I love how she left you rent! Funny!

sweetbay said...

That is funny that she left rent. :)

Our neighbors have a zoo as well. At one time they had a couple of emus, which kept getting loose. The last time the emus escaped they came onto our farm. The horses were a bit alarmed, lol. The neighbors never did get the emus back that time.

sweetbay said...

PS I just realized that sounded a bit sinister, lol We didn't do anything to the emus. They just took off and Animal Control couldn't round them up.

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Fresh egg! And free! And unexpectedly! I am jealous!
It is interesting about a lawn and clever! Should I stop fighting clever on my lawn?!
P.S Do you believe Sweet Bay that they had nothing to do with the emus' disappearance? Hmm....

Randy Emmitt said...

Susie,
Yep just one egg for rent now she appears to have went back home.

Sweet Bay,
Emus could eat a garden up in an hour, what really happened??

Tatyana,

I don't know about Sweet Bay, I've heard that Emu are pretty good eating.

Lanny said...

That is a very nice looking Speckled Sussex, my oldest daughter used them as her first show chickens. They are of the English class, very polite and proper they are. Perhaps she'll come at tea time again soon.

Shawna Lee Coronado said...

Rent is always good!! LOL! Don't you just love it?!? I wish I could have chickens here on my small property. I'm afraid it will be trouble enough with the city when I decide to rip out my front lawn and fill it with a veggie garden. ;-)

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

She is so pretty, and what a generous guest she was!

Just Jenn said...

Eh, lawns are over rated anyway. ;^) Besides I'd rather look at a little field of flowers (and butterflies) over a boring expanse of green any day.

BTW your neighbor's chicken is very considerate. ;^) lol...

matinggeckos said...

Hi Randy,

Thanks for your comments on the jumping spiders.

I wonder hows the jumping spiders diversity in your area?

Cheers
Robin

Unknown said...

Loved reading about the chicken and the rent!! The clover sounds wonderful-- if it attracts all those butterflies!

Concrete Jungle said...

Please give us butterfly pictures when the clover is in full bloom!

CiNdEe's GaRdEn said...

You were so nice to let the hen spend the night there in your shed. I was very nice of her to offer you an egg!(-:
Aren't chickens fun! I love mine(-: We had a rooster one time that thought he was a dog. He did not want to hang out with the hens. He wanted to sleep in the garage on my washer at night. To bad he didn't leave an egg for me...instead of droppings(-:
CiNdEeS' GaRdEn