Friday, November 13, 2009

More on satisfying projects...

So, I'm getting some chickens. 25 of them to be exact, because the hatchery has a minimum order. The plan is to keep them in the kitchen for a couple of weeks, then divide those we're keeping to move outside (just three of them), and move the rest to my country friend's place for the next 4-6 weeks until they're big enough to sell (craigslist, anyone?) or eat (umm.. we might pass on that one). We've had a house chicken before, what's another couple of dozen right?

As usual, I am jumping into this with both feet. But as usual, I am researching and learning as much as I can before said jumping. Keeping chickens is much easier than it may seem, and so much information about health, potential issues, housing, etc. is available online for free - no need to even buy a book. But I still bought this one. First things first, though: My chickens need a home.

I've googled a zillion chicken coops and drawn up a design that I'm happy with. Because money is an issue, the majority of materials we'll be using are recycled scraps gathered from friends and family. This is what it looks like right now:

A pile of old fence pieces and some random boards. I'll be taking more pictures as we build. Just hoping to get done and get those chickens settled (wherever they're settled) before I have a hide to tan.

4 comments:

candyn said...

So you are going to have 25 chickens in your kitchen for awhile? I hope your kitchen is bigger than mine!

I have chicken envy as so many bloggers I read have them. Fresh eggs would rock and I have good memories of a friend's farm and hen house and going out and getting the eggs when I was small. Seems a natural part of childhood that all kids should experience.

MOM #1 said...

I, like Mommylion, have chicken envy. As soon as we get a place where the deed restrictions aren't' so severe, I'm jumping all in with the chicken raising.

Keep us updated. Post photos.

christine said...

Chicken envy, lol! I have it too. I don't think I could eat the chickens after raising them (heck, I can't even open the package of chicken sitting in my fridge. eww...) but I have no problem with eggs. We recently got some farm fresh eggs from a friend, they are wonderful.

Oh, and I totally loathe the "for Dummies" name, but the books of theirs I have read have been pretty good.

Heather said...

Christine, I almost disregarded the book just for that reason. I find it.. I dunno, offensive or something. I'm not a dummy, I just don't know everything about this subject. And hello? I'm getting a book about it to *learn*, assholes. Dummies are content to stay that way, at least in my experience.

But it had all info I was looking for, without drowning in the details, in one book. So, they still get my money. **grumble**