:chickens today::

 

We went into Tractor Supply and mostly impulsively bought six little adorable yellow chicks last year in early March.  I read ever website I could find about them.

I managed to not kill any.

Then two weeks later they had all different colored chicks and I decided that I needed some more.  Six more chicks joined the team.

We customized a 12/12 horse stall in my barn to be a chicken coop.  Link here to see it.

Then I let ignored the coop and let  the girls free range the farm all summer.  After a month of this I did have one chicken missing one morning, never to be heard from again.

After two months of this free ranging I had a few problems.  Four of the pretty little colorful supposed to be hens were not hens.  They were gorgeous but mean roosters.  They were beginning to attach the kids and I.  The number one rule at my house if you are an animal is, you attack a kid that wasn’t asking for it and you go.  So the roosters went.  Link here for that story.

The other problem with my free birds (HAHAHAHA, I just used free bird in a sentence) is that they crapped every where.  ALL over.  This is totally unacceptable to my husband.  Good thing that coop was big and ready.  They have been in the coop since.  I don’t love it.  I want them free.  But we are going to make them an outdoor run this summer so they can get some outside time.

Now here I am with seven pretty ladies.  They lay about 3-6 eggs for us every day.

One time we got seven and the kids thought it was amazing.  I have no idea why.

We collect eggs every night when we feed the other animals.  It is by far the favorite kid job on the farm.

I have enjoyed the chickens way more than I thought I would.  They are fairly low maintained and they give me way more eggs that I can handle. Which I give to friends and family.