Golden Egg

Update from the Garlick Press Ranch

Cost of seven adorable baby chicks last April...$25

Number of hours to complete the bright red coop...Elevendy Billion

Opening the side door


to find the girls had laid their first egg...priceless!


From all the excitement around our house, you would think it was a golden egg.

 Just ask the chickens biggest fan Libby!

Oh it's priceless alright!

FYI...We are almost positive Red laid the first egg.
More FYI...You should have seen her strut her stuff and cackle after laying that egg.
Still More FYI...The egg weighed almost exactly the same amount as Red did when we brought her home just a few months ago.

LOVE...LOVE...our chickens!

Omelettes anyone?

Bye Bye Birdie

"Errr, errr, Errr, err Errrrrrr!"

The hens all flocked together in the coop this week and came to a decision. He...who we once thought was a she...had to go. Penguin had been voted off the island! And Dean and I agreed! Over the past couple of weeks Penguin had been developing a Cock-a-doodle-doo-ish noise. Which sounded more like..."Errr, errr, Errr, err Errrrrrr!"

Oh, don't you dare sympathize with that cute rooster Penguin and let him deceive you too... "Errr, errr, Errr, err Errrrrrr" gets very annoying at 5:30 EVERY SINGLE MORNING!

Just ask the neighbors...

I'm surprised that the neighbors haven't made Penguin into chicken noodle soup, chicken pot pie, or "Errr, errr, Errr, err Errrrrrr" chicken nuggets.

 "Watch who you're calling annoying...Errr, errr, Errr, err Errrrrrr...you're taking me where?"

From one male to another, some parting words of advice for Penguin.  And one last photo, "Errr, errr, Errr, err Errrrrrr" as Dean imitates Penguin...or is it Penguin imitating Dean?

Loaded up in a dog kennel and it's off to a farm in Thatcher Idaho for you my dear Penguin.

Imagine if you will, driving for an hour with a rooster "Errr, errr, Errr, err Errrrrrr" in the back seat of your car for over an hour.

After what seemed like a day and a half "Errr, errr, Errr, err Errrrrr" we arrived in Thatcher just as the sun was setting on this handsome little farming community.

All it took was a single phone call to one of Dean's favorite childhood friends. "I already have 24 chickens Dean, sure I'll take Penguin then I'll have 25." JanaLe is truly as kind and genuinely happy as she always appears. Within minutes of our arrival she had invited us in to her sweet home which smelled deliciously of love and baking bread. We indulged ourselves on warm fresh homemade rolls.  

Dean and JanaLe reminisced about old times growing up, laughed and caught up on the years of details they had missed of one other's lives. She threw her arms in the air with delight after learning the charming story of Olivia and Henry. And then it was time to visit the coop. JanaLe lives on a real working farm. Along with cattle and alfalfa, they grow over 10,000 bushels of wheat every year. And of course there are the 24 chickens...make that 25.

JanaLe's youngest son Craig gave us a tour of his chicken coop and they laughed hilariously when we showed them a photo of ours. City folk...raising chickens...good grief!



 Peacefully settled in for the night...we were disturbing the chicken's evening.

 Well hello there Mister beautiful rooster on the left...what gorgeous hens you are roosting with tonight.

We gathered a few fresh eggs from the nesting boxes; naturally JanaLe sent them home with us.

Fresh omelets would definitely be on the menu following tomorrow's planned hike into the mountains.

Finding a nearby cage used on the farm to train dogs to track raccoons, we settled Errr, errr, Errr, err Errrrrrr Penguin in for the evening in his new home. After a night to acclimate, JanaLe would release Penguin in the morning to become part of the flock.

Good night fair Thatcher chickens, take good care of my Penguin will you? And I'm sorry about all the Errr, errr, Errr, err Errrrrrr that you'll hear in the morning.

If you are ever passing through Thatcher, stop in and tell Janalee hello. She will most likely make you lunch, send you home with farm fresh eggs, homemade rolls, and generally make your day a bit brighter just by being there.

"Errr, errr, Errr, err Errrrrrr"...oh and say hi to Penguin too!

 

All Cooped Up In The City

Once upon a time there lived a Chick who grew up in the country. After falling in love, she married herself a handsome Prince who carried her off to the big city...and then to another city... not quite as big. The Chick was indeed a city girl who loved red shoes and all was good!

One fine day, The Chick and her Prince met a Fabulous Family who had a charming chicken coop filled with dazzling fowl. This mesmerized the Chick and her Prince so much that they decided to raise chickens themselves. In exchange, they convinced the Fabulous Family to keep bees.

Plans were soon hatched and The Prince contracted with The Teenager to be an apprentice coop builder. Because power tools were involved, The Teenager happily accepted!

Attention to detail was exhibited throughout the project. A bell was installed so Olivia and Henry may announce the discovery of freshly hatched eggs with a ringing throughout the land.

 Dangling water and food pails were filled and ready for use.

Hanging in a big city hardware store, The Fabulous Mom of The Fabulous Family discovered this giant perfect snowflake.

 A shopkeepers bill jingles softy as the red door is opened and closed.

A painted heart for the original "red one" because she is always on the minds of The Chick and The Prince. And because she would absolutely love this crazy, and whacked out idea of raising chicks in the city.

The Prince designed 4 nesting boxes where the hens will lay their eggs. The door swings open from the outside, so fresh eggs can be collected quickly and efficiently!

Approximately 100 trips to the local Home Depot were traveled during the construction process. The Prince refused to keep track of the cost of the coop...let's just say it put a dent in the royal coffers.

The Chick and The Prince have determined that raising hens requires lots of food and supplies. A secure cupboard was constructed to store it all!

The Prince made a proclamation that the only rooster allowed will be the one perched high on the roof of the coop.

Finally... after many rain delays...the Prince called for the moving in of the chickens.

General Tsao took command of the move and became the first hen to try out a nesting box.

The girls were giddy as they cackled about...discussing "cheep" decorating plans and exploring all the space their new coop contains.

Penguin was the first brave one to navigate the royal chicken ramp using those chicken feet and razor sharp toenails.

 A birds eye view of the chickens settling into their new palace.

The Chick got such a kick out of this photo...look at all those chicken footprints in the sand!

During the move, a spy was discovered on the grounds of the royal coop... lurking on the perimeter.

And another spy...this one was not so much lurking but staring.

As the sun sinks low in the sky that evening a giant sigh of relief came from The Prince. The chickens were nestled safe and happy in the new coop, The Chick was happy for another day and there was peace throughout the kingdom.

THE END

The morale of this story is...You can take The Chick out of the country but you can't take the country out of The Chick!