With a chick, chick here...

I think I may have gone completely crazy. We just added FOUR more animals to our brood. Yes, you read that right, FOUR. Now, not only do we have a dog, a pig, and two turtles, we also have four chickens.

Bah is an animal lover - through and through. She is the pig whisper, worm charmer, and bug catcher. She has been asking for baby chicks for a few weeks now, and I kept telling her we had enough to keep us busy and didn't need any more animals. Then, her cousins got baby chicks and she (in her own words) just "couldn't stop thinking about baby chicks!" So after Boots and I had a long talk, we decided that maybe chickens would fit in fine with our little zoo. His reasoning was that he likes giving the kids responsibility and teaching them about where their food comes from. They know better than that food comes from the grocery store, but since we are not raising cows or meat-pigs, they do not have first hand experience with food-to-table animals. Therefore, we figured chickens would be a good place to start.

As much as I love animals, I am new to animal husbandry. However, I am very excited to begin the process of caring for animals that will not only be companions but will also help sustain us. The girls are super-excited to be able to begin collecting eggs.

Since I am new to this, and we purchased the chicks on much more of a whim than the pig, I am not caught up on the research and am doing it more as I go. Luckily, though, my sister-in-law is just beginning her chicken adventure too and has a friend who is a chicken pro and can help us on our journey.

For now, the cute chicks are in an extra large storage bin with shavings, food, water, and a heat lamp. They will stay in there until their feathers come in. Then, they will move into a chicken coop. We have gathered a few ideas online, and Brett is confident that he can get one put together for us. Meanwhile, we are just enjoying some baby chick snuggles.

Getting them settled in their new home

The kids are clearly in love already. They have even made little signs to decorate the chick area.

Bubs and his chick, Brown

Bah and Goldie

Boo and Freckle-ina

Little chicks snuggled under the heat lamp

Festus had to check out the new noise-makers, too

Comments

Beet harvest 2016

Sugar beet harvest is a crazy time on our farm with early mornings and late nights. I am at school or at home with the kids for the majority of harvest, so Boots and our truckers were my official photographers. Tractor with Digger & Loaded Trailer Sugar beets are a root crop, so they grow underground. The harvesting process begins with the defoliating tractor which rips the leaves off of the root. Field of beets 1/2 defoliated and 1/2 not yet defoliated Tractor and defoliator Defoliated beet Next, the beet digger uses a two part system to pull the beets up and run them through scrub rollers. These rollers then push the beets back to the elevator chain belt and into the tank. There are also Ferris wheel style diggers that circulate the beets into the tank. Front view of Digger Back view of Digger Ferris wheel style digger When the digger is full, it unloads into a trailer pulled by a semi. We use cage trailers which tip to unload,...

Pumpkin Carving and Seeds

As long as I can remember, I have loved carving pumpkins. Carving pumpkins 1986 Well, truth be known, I just enjoyed digging my hands in the cool, squishy pumpkin goop. I was never one of those kids grossed out by or scared of the orange slime; I loved it! Even now as an adult, my favorite part of pumpkin carving is digging out the "guts." Luckily, all three of the kids also enjoy scooping out the insides. Sadly though, none of us are patient enough to carve the really beautiful, intricate pumpkins that I know some of you are capable of! We are more the jack o'lantern or simple animal style carvers. Each year, I get a spot set on the kitchen floor. I cut the tops off of the pumpkins, put them in the center of the floor with a bowl of water for the seeds, some spoons for digging, and some wet rags; then, I let the kids get to work. Halfway through they got hungry. Luckily, I had a put Chicken and Dumplings in the crock pot, and it was ready ...

Following Festus

Festus is definitely enjoying the warmer weather and being able to root around. We have *finally* built him a permanent outdoor enclosure, so he has a decent safe space in the yard where he can play and dig. Getting belly rubs from Bah He shares his pen with the chickens which is pretty entertaining. They get along quite well and keep him from getting lonely. It is funny that the chickens are terrified of the dog but are very friendly with the pig, especially because the dog and pig are currently about the same size. Inside of their pen is the chicken coop (which stays open for shade), a small covered lean-to, a swimming pool, and plenty of food and water. Festus still sleeps in his cage in the garage, but when I let him out each morning he runs straight to his pen (hoping to sneak into the chicken feed I think). Inside the coop Festus turned 6 months old on April 30th, and to celebrate we had watermelon. His currents stats are Weight: 20-25 pounds ...

Family Farm Fun

Search This Blog