The circle of life...well, sort of.

While I haven't gone public about the fact that we decided to purchase some chicks and keep 1 of the chicks we hatched, it's been going on for some time now. I feel a bit sneeky to tell you the truth, but truly, we didn't know if we were going to keep them or not. Each little progression left us wanting to keep them, then thinking we wouldn't. I didn't want to upset my neighbor for no reason - after all, to her camping means the Holiday Inn.

After a lot of research, and I mean A LOT of research, I had decided I wanted Delaware hens. And that was my problem. Too much research, and it all seemed to blend together. Sadly, I neglected to note that docile and quiet are not the same thing. So, what I'm trying to say here is that Delaware hens are LOUD! Big time sqwakers! Probably if we lived on a farm or something it wouldn't be that bad, but here in the beige bubble, we are all in each other's backyards.

So here's how it all went down. I decided to sell the Delawares. The day before she picked them up, somebody laid an egg. We didn't know who. We found out who 20 minutes after they got to their new home. And the next day, all 3 laid eggs. We were slightly bummed, but mostly glad to be rid of the sqwakers!

So, our beloved Jo Jo is our remaining hen. We waited, and we waited knowing it wouldn't be long. Then, on Tuesday morning, she was not out in her run, but still in the coop. We kept hearing her rustle around in there but didn't know what was up. I went to check on her and she was way in the back, crouched down. I said, "I bet this is going to be the day!". Sure enough, 10 minutes later she was out in her run and I went to check the coop.

There is was - a perfect light brown egg. It was beautiful! And I woke the kids up with the egg in my hand. They were pretty excited (except for my boy who was clinging to the hope that Jo Jo would in fact turn out to be a rooster). So we did the only thing a person can do with a freshly laid egg...we cooked it and ate it. I'll have to eat a few more eggs to truly describe the difference between a home grown chicken's eggs and the grocery store, but it is so far superior, it makes the store bought ones taste like water.

Jo Jo entered our home as an egg, hatched in the incubator, was raised with our family and now is providing us eggs for food. I know you are thinking "....duh..." but it's pretty cool to me. So far we've had an egg a day. Our plan is to get a couple more for her to have some company. I know she is a bit lonely, but we let her forage in the backyard and she can eat all the little bugs she wants. She's relaxed, quiet (except for a single BAWK if something is wrong).

We love her!