A while back, Ryan and I started talking about the idea of transitioning into a homestead lifestyle. In the beginning, it was just a fantasy that we had which included chickens, goats, and a huge garden and we would occasionally bring it up but didn't see it happening any time soon as we are renters with two dogs. As time passed, our conversations got 1 week old Rhode Island Red chick deeper and we quickly realized that we both were getting pretty serious.

Then, we flooded.

Again.

Like we do every year, no matter where we live.

Stressed out and tired, we went through the motions: move all of the furniture then take turns using the Shop Vac to clean water and keeping Bella busy and out of the way. This time, though, among all the chaos, I was preparing for my first Art Sales experience. So in addition to getting the house back in order, we were also preparing for a trip to Kansas City, MO for First Fridays where I had a boo th set up to sell prints of my work and meet with potential clients and chat about what I do.

The day before we left, our landlords stopped by to check on us and see how the house was doing. Somewhere in the conversation, their chickens got brought up and she was showing me pictures of their hens playing and resting in their yard and their set up where they sleep and eat. I offhandedly mentioned that we wished we could have chickens as well and that we couldn't wait to buy a house so we could get them. Right there, not only did she give us permission to get chickens but she also offered to help with any questions we may have!

So that was it! Cell phone photo of Bella with our chicks

The next weekend, for Mother's Day, Ryan and I took Bella with us to pick out our chicks and their coop. We selected four Rhode Island Reds and one Hoover Black and headed back home!

They spent the first month and a half nestled in my office upstairs in their brooder but once our summer nights warmed up, we started putting them outside. Everything was going great until one day in late June when our Hoover, Dixie (Dixie Chick - get it!?), jumped the fence and fatally met the neighbors dogs. I was devastated.

A week after Dixie died, I took to a local Backyard Chickens group on Facebook seeking a new member for my flock. That's where I found our newest members, Nimbus and Booger. They were rescue chickens that had been saved by a member's daughter because they were being attacked by their flock. Booger, an Olive Egger, had lost most of her feathers and Nimbus, a Silver Lace Wyandotte, walked with Nimbus, Silver Lace Wyandotte a pretty severe limp. Bella and I made the trip to pick them up and immediately fell in love!

The poor rescues had a difficult time assimilating into the current flock and, at first, dealt with total rejection. I was worried but everything I had read about introducing new members to your existing flock told me that time would ease the stress and they would eventually join.

The time it took was a little more than we expected (July 17 - September 28, to be exact) but it finally happened. It wasn't organic, though, and took a lot of changing to get them in to the flock. First of all, we had two roosters. They were decently aggressive and wouldn't let the rescues into or near the flock at all. When we finally realized they were roosters, we found them a home and everything seemed to settle down. At last, one night I had had it with the rescues in the garage and forced them into the coop. The next morning, I awoke to screeches coming from the cop and came out to the Reds viciously attacking Nimbus. When I got to her, her face was bleeding and I felt awful. I decided to order them their own coop and give up on my one-flock dream. Booger, changed to Hei Hei; our Olive Egger

To my surprise, that evening, the rescues cooped up with the Reds at the end of the day and the next morning there was no fighting.

So at this point, I have one flock and I am also currently waiting for a new coop to arrive for absolutely no reason now.

And I couldn't be happier with our chickie babies, as I affectionately call them.

Rhode Island Red Rooster

Olive Egger dust bath

Rhode Island Red Rooster

Hei Hei, Olive Egger