The Girls of Greenleaf

This week we welcomed the Girls of Greenleaf to the Eastside Crossing Farm. We live in a time where you can order chickens and they arrive in the mail. The post office was a little shocked to receive a package that clucks, but the girls made it safely all the way from Iowa. I was in Dahlonega for the day so Elle, our animal guru, squealed at the opportunity to go pick up the ladies. 

The residents helped to get the coop built and it was serious girl power! Julia and Rebecca broke out the drill and figured out the instructions that contained no words. We purchased a small coop as well as some electrical fencing to protect the ladies from predators such as raccoons and stray cats. 

Elle was a bit scared to pick up the chickens because she had never held one so Kyle, our construction manager, had to come to the rescue to get the girls in their new home. We kept them in the coop for a full day before letting them explore the outside. They now know where their home is and will stay close and put themselves to bed once the sun goes down. 

Everyone is completely smitten with the ladies and we can't wait to start getting fresh eggs. The girls will lay cream, blue, and turquoise colored eggs! 

Farm Fail #2!!

I had the idea to put the coop under the trees to help protect them from hawks, but did not think about our beautiful harvest sign being a perfect spot for a raccoon to climb and jump in. That smart little trash panda scaled the sign ninja style, opened the nesting box, and snagged one of our babies. Raising chickens can be a sad venture, but we are grateful it was only one. With the help of the residents, we moved the coop away from anything those little scoundrels can climb.