First

...and suddenly, we had a chicken! Really, it was about as sudden as that. After the fact, the decisions came more slowly -- realizing that the coop that came with the chicken wouldn't be large enough (we want to max out the six chickens we're allowed in our area), planning a new coop, building a new coop, stopping work on the coop every time a storm came through (thanks, Matthew...), finishing the coop. 

But here she is, our very first chicken. Her name is Cooley, so dubbed by her previous owner because she has such a calm disposition. 

Laddie is completely in love with her, and keeps trying to touch her. Which she, of course, loves. *cough* Fortunately for her sake, she's much faster than he is.

This was one of her first days with us, still in her former coop. 

I'm pretty sure she's a Blue Copper Maran -- I had NO idea just how many breeds of chicken there are! And some of them are quite stunning (I'm looking at you, laced Wyandottes!).

Cooley (or Coo Coo, as I generally call her) seems quite happy with us, and is so funny and curious about everything. Her little chicken noises are hilarious, and she loves yogurt. She'll eat out of our hands, especially if there are dried mealworms involved! I've even held her a couple times, though I'm not sure which of us is more nervous when I do that. Here she is having a refreshing "bath:"

Still no eggs, which has me a bit worried (she's probably at least two years old -- we didn't realize when we bought her that her prime egg laying days are likely past), but she also hasn't been getting enough protein and that can contribute to "no eggs." Now that she's on the proper food for laying chickens, I'm hoping we'll find some dark chocolate-colored eggs soon!

Five more, and we'll have a proper hen party.