December 2012

Over a year ago James gave me some wonderful Christmas gifts that meant more to me than most of the gifts he had ever given me.  And while I do enjoy the personal gifts such as jewelry and all things pretty, I was able to use last year's gifts for much more than periodic dinners out with family and friends.  After the children were tucked into bed, on December 25, 2012,  I opened two meticulously wrapped gifts rectangular in shape and sounding like books.

Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow and
Backyard Chickens for Beginners by R.J. Ruppenthal

It is difficult to not tell the ending and spoil the experience raising chickens because the ending is truly only the beginning of more things to come in the realm of meeting challenges head on and basking in the joy of making dreams reality.

My intentions are to document our chicken raising experience from ordering and housing baby chicks in our backroom, caring for them, building a permanent structure outside, constructing a chicken tractor,  egg collecting, caring for injured and sick chickens, to winterizing their coop.  It is unrealistic to not include a bit of the personal growth and healing that weaves its way into family projects with all members on board.
The week following Christmas, I anxiously began devouring the two books James had gifted me.  It was a little dream I had, to raise chickens for eggs.  While I had tried connecting with former students and friends to get fresh eggs into our families diet, I never had much success.  James and I had halfheartedly talked about getting chickens but this time I was in it for real.  My heart and mind were cleared for chicken raising.  I grabbed a clear notebook and began jotting notes on my purpose in keeping chickens, breed types suited to our area and then the inevitable, where the chickens will reside.

As mentioned, most of my written information came from the above resources and I spent quite a bit of time searching the Backyardchickens Website but it was essential for me to talk and visit some friends who already had laying chickens.  When I visited friends, I asked every question I could think.  I learned so much from talking to them and having them show me their set up.  Of course, one of the benefits as well is that you can ask them what they would do differently the second time around and keep this in mind while planning your own set up.  Having worked with the chickens for almost a year now, two things that I remember my friend shared was that she would have made her coop easier to clean, in terms of removable roosting bars and that if you decide to let the chickens free range they will poop everywhere.

February 2013

 I had hemmed and hawed about traveling far from home to purchase the perfect breed and the best looking chicks to start our project the right way.  After reading and spending too much time watching YouTube videos of all the different breeds, I set aside the temptation to be extravagant.  I yielded to my friend's gentle and sensible suggestion, "you could always get them from Agway" and made the phone call.  I would like to order 6 Buff Orpingtons and 6 Barred Rocks.  The girls asked, "anything else?". If she had any idea how nervous I was just to dial the number to order the chicks she might not have asked me that question.  "No that will be it, thanks."  I hung up the phone and felt triumphant.

What to consider:

• How much time and money do we want to spend on project
• How many chicks are we going to keep
• Where are they going to live and for how long
• What do chicks need to live a happy healthy life

Supplies necessary for chicks arrival

For starters, supplies we needed for chicks arrival.

1. Brooder (Bought a plastic tote and then converted it into temporary brooder)
2. Heat Lamp with Bulb & extra bulb
3. Access to electricity and cord to hang heat lamp
4. Thermometer
5. Water and Feed Container
6. Water & Feed (Chick starter feed vs. feed for laying hens)
7. Bedding (We used paper towels then moved to newspaper)

Homemade Brooder with heat lamp