Clucking and crowing loudly, the flock of chickens at the PEAS Rattlesnake Farm let their protests be known early Tuesday morning.

Chicken whisperer Heather McKee interpreted their chorus as something like this: "Get us out of here; we have been cooped up for too long."

Locked up in their "eggmobile" for longer than they liked, the birds knew something was afoot. Oh, the squabbling that could be heard through the wooden roost on wheels.

"Oh, the barnyard chaos," McKee said, laughing at the ruckus. "They are used to getting moved once a month - but this is really a move."

With the help of Ethan Smith's tractor-driving skills, the eggmobile and all 130 of its residents were hauled off the farm and up Duncan Drive to the home of Dave Harmon and Amy Rubin.

Technically, these chickens didn't cross the road, they went up the road.

But why?

As it turns out, the PEAS farm is best at growing vegetables, and McKee, an AmeriCorps farm volunteer, is a gifted mother hen, so to speak.

As the months have unfolded since the chickens arrived at the farm last year, McKee and PEAS hatched a plan to let McKee take over the unique business of egg farming.

Now, McKee has officially bought the flock of heritage hens, along with its roosters and all the accessories that go with the birds - the eggmobile, feeders and the like.

The new business, now located on the Harmon-Rubin property, is called Heather's Heritage Hens, and McKee plans to launch an egg share business, supply eggs to a local egg delivery service, and sell chicks at the end of spring to others interested in owning egg-laying hens.

"I didn't think this would become my business," she admitted. "But I got pretty attached to the chickens.

"This whole thing started out as a partnership, which I was involved with, and when we designed the project we thought we would sell all of the birds," she said. "At the end of the season, though, we had sold about 100 and we had these 130."

With winter coming on, and no University of Montana farm students to help feed and the water the chickens, a decision was needed.

"This seems like the best plan, and I'm really excited about it," McKee said. "I couldn't do it without the support of Garden City Harvest, and I couldn't do it without Amy and Dave because they are letting me move the chickens on their property."

The highlight of the morning, Smith said, was watching the chickens come flooding out of the eggmobile after he parked the giant shed in the middle of a small pasture, prepared just for the flock.

"It's like clowns coming out of a car," he said. "It's amazing how many fit in that thing."

Harmon was also on hand to welcome his new neighbors.

He cracked a big smile as the brightly colored birds - hardy heritage breeds by the name of Wyandotte, Brahma, Dominique and Orpington - bravely explored their new territory.

"We think it's really cool to have them here," Harmon said. "Amy thinks it's really cool."

And then he confessed to what prompted the smile, and his laughter.

"I always wanted to do that to one of my friends," Harmon said mischievously. "You know, move their entire bed while they are asleep and have them wake up in a completely strange place."

To learn more about McKee's business or to buy fresh eggs from the flock, call her at (406) 214-1524.

Reporter Betsy Cohen can be reached at 523-5253 or at bcohen@missoulian.com.