raising chickens | step one

Bock! Bock!... I can't believe we finally did it, but we did. Today, I picked up the phone and placed our order for spring chicks at the local farmer's union. For years, my husband and I talked about raising chickens for eggs, but we never took it to the actual reality of doing it. Then this morning, we looked at each other and decided that we were ordering the chicks today. No more hemming and hawing over every possible pro and con. Come this May, we will adopt into our family six new friends. We'll have a Buff Orpington, a Black Australorps, a White Plymouth Rocks, an Araucanas, a Silver Laced Wyandotte, and finally a New Hampshire Red Rooster. I can't wait!

We're lucky to know several folks who have been raising hens for years, so we've been chatting with them for months and haven't heard a negative word yet when it comes to raising chickens. The boys are excited too. It will be invaluable for them to learn more about where the foods they eat come from. Now to design a coop!