We have grown by 12! In addition to 2 adults, 4 kids, 1 cat, 2 sheep, we now have 12 baby chicks! The kids have had so much fun holding and naming their very own little chicks. They are very serious about whose chicks are whose and not confusing them, so I had to mark each of their feet with a different color permanent marker to avoid any confusion.
We decided to try several different breeds so we can decide which ones we like the best. We got 4 Buff Orpintons, and 2 each of Barred Rocks, Ameraucana's, Silver-Laced Wyandotte's, and Production Reds. They are so cute! Owen begged me to let his little chickies sleep with him, but i drew the line, although he didn't completely understand why. When i told him they don't sleep all night long and will cheep when awake, he changed his mind.
Kenneth is building me a thing called a chicken tractor that will allow the chickens to be completely enclosed and safe while still being free range. It is about 20 feet long (15 feet of it is the chicken run) and 5 feet high at the end with the hen house. It will have 4 wheels on it that will allow us to move it to new pieces of land so they can forage in a new spot every so often. We have also built a wooden brooder box for the chicks to stay in until they are big enough to go in the tractor. It's not completely finished yet so they are temporarily in a cardboard box. I'll try to post some pics when they are finished.
We are also on the look-out for a couple of inexpensive lab/retriever or similar dogs that will protect sheep and kids, leave chickens alone, and chace off the racoons, opposums, deer, and snakes that are so numerous in our area. Let us know if you hear of anything available in the B/CS area!
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