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Our First Chickens

We have wanted to have chickens for eggs and meat for a very long time now.  Back in WI, we were quite sure we couldn't have them in our within-city-limit backyard (although we were pretty sure we could get away with it.)  Well, we now have a chicken coop on the side of our barn, so we've been plotting and planning on getting chickens as soon as we possibly could.  Well, a few times, I found them for free either on Craigslist or a homeschool list, but I've always been one person late.  I just can't bring myself to buy a laying hen for $7-$10 each, so I've been patiently waiting for my opportunity.

Mr. Right told me to look on Craigslist this morning for something else, and low and behold!  Bingo!  We got some!
Aren't they gorgeous?  Of course, there are some downfalls to getting 2 year old hens and a rooster that is 1 year old, but, we also have a chance at getting eggs right away.  We won't have to wait as long as the chicks take to get to laying, either.  Usually, they will lay for about 3-5 years, so hopefully, these have a few more years on them.  Of course if not, we can always have chicken dinner!

The only cost to us was the drive out to pick them up and then of course, we will need the feed and some hay for their nests.  Everything else we needed to raise chickens were already in the coop.  Now we just hope they'll be warm enough and protected from predators.  The coop seems secure to us, so I guess time will tell.

We got five hens and a rooster.  The two orange ones are Rhode Island Reds as well as the rooster.  The whites are Leghorns and the black one is an Araucana.   Funny how our 8 year old claims the rooster as his own!  He is already named King.  Not sure what the rest will be, but we'll keep you posted with our new adventure in Chicken Farming!

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