So it's Saturday night, and I'm sitting in my car at Terry's Corner blogging about Chicks. Chicks as in baby Chickens, not the type I should be pursuing RIGHT NOW. Thursday the first order of chicks came in to the Country Store and I came in prepared to buy 10 so I would get the discount on a feeder,waterer, and starter food. I decided on 7 Rhode Island Reds and 3 Buff Orphingtons (Golden). They are egg-laying chickens, only to be eaten after several years, and then probably only in a stew. These little chicks are just a few days old now. They are living in newspaper-lined and staw-strewn cardboard box with a heat lamp to keep them warm. It will take quite a while before they begin laying eggs, but until then I have my neighbor Tammi, who has been providing me with fresh free-range eggs from her chickens. Talk about local, she lives just across the street! Tammi and I both want to build our own chicken tractors, and move our chickens around the property, eating bugs, and fertilizing as they go, but I might just opt for a traditional coop with access to the main fenced pasture area. If I do end up getting a cow or two, that would be great, as the chickens could help spread the cow pies and eat the flies. On another note, today I mowed my "lawn". When you have an area about 30 times the size of the average american lawn, then I don't know if it's really called lawn-mowing anymore, its just mowing. And I did alot of mowing today. The grass is growing so fast, I was surprised at how fast the basket filled up with grass. Instead of "wasting" all those grass clippings on the compost pile, I gave every bagful to the pigs, and they LOVED THE GRASS. Watching a pig eat huge mouthfuls of grass clippings puts a smile on my face. Is that normal? I wouldn't care. It was a funny site to behold. Speaking of the pigs: "Spot" the black and white one is one happy hog! And her brother "Pig", is growing like crazy! Until next time: Happy Farming!
LIL CHiiiiiiCKS saaaaaa very cute!!! I bet they are already twice as big. Have you decided if your gonna do the tractor thing or build a coop? We just got 4 ducks (Unforuntely down to 3 now :( at my school, they are very very cute too! You should get a duck too :) Don't let Livie chase the cluckers!
ReplyDeleteThey are full grown now...I would like to have a couple ducks, but they require seperate housing. Maybe next year? And Livvie DOES chase the "cluckers"! She is a very bad dog (BD!) That was her pasture to run in, but now it's the chicken/cow pasture, and Livvie doesn't really get along with everybody else, so I've been having to put her over in the yard at OOAL when she can't be free to roam. I guess I'll have to install the invisible dog fencing around my whole property (ARGH!) or build a new dog pen (ARGH!)...I guess it would be better to have a seperate dog pen, since she's probably just run through the "invisible fence" anyways.
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