Newest Abode residents are not easily ruffled.

Recent visitors to the Abode have needed to drive carefully, as they are greeted by a flock of chickens making themselves very much at home on the lawns and driveways, engaging inthe time-honored chicken imperative of crossing the road. Eleven Buff Orpington hens, “The girls,” as they are called, are the first part of a project begun by resident Liz McIlvaine. She expects to increase the flock in the coming years to provide the Abode both with free range eggs and natural fertilizer for the farm. The chickens are at liberty to wander around the Abode during the day. At night they are housed in the greenhouse, away from the cold and predators.

Liz got the chicks on June 1^st, when they were one day old. Six months later, they have just started laying. The Abode orders 30 dozen eggs per week. Filling this order will eventually become the work for 80 to 90 chickens. Liz chose the Buff Orpingtons (an English breed) because they are winter hardy, and mild mannered. In fact, they are downright gregarious, frequently clustering around and briefly following following passersby.

The introduction of chickens into the Abode community is a first step in the integration of animals with the operation of the farm.

And if the sky should fall, we’ll surely be warned.