[FONT=comic sans ms,sand]Not much to share on the Chicken front as of yet. As time goes on this page will grow. I am new to the world of chickens and still in the planning and building stages.
Before I go into that let me introduce you to my world. We live on a small plot where we are making our life on just shy of 3 acres in rural Illinois. Currently in our humble home are my Fiancée and myself and our 2 Australian Shepherds, Sydney and Bodgie. It is an old dairy barn property; the dairy has been decommissioned and turned into a very large garage/ workshop. When we moved in, the previous owners had very little to no landscaping. Just a lot of cedars and mulberries. The first thing we tackled was a garden and some landscaping. We are surrounded by great neighbors (out here even 2-3 miles away you get called a neighbor) who have been nothing but helpful in keeping afloat. Earlier this year our horse Honey passed away, leaving the pasture at waist high grass within weeks. A little more than my John Deere 180 wanted to tackle. Then one night it was all laying over freshly cut by the neighbors tractor and sickle bar. We acquired a LOT of firewood when an acquaintance cleared trees to build a new home. There were no shortages on offers to use log splitters knowing I didn't have one yet. When our lawn mower took a dive, before I got the Deere, friends came by to help us tend the yard for an entire day of mowing, weed eating and branch trimming. I guess what I am driving at here is we couldn't be happier being back in the country life.
We have for a while now kicked around the idea of getting Chickens. Everyone says it is easy, but it is a lot of info to take in all at once. I have been working kinks out of coop designs, feeder designs, run designs, it seems to never end. My plans are for a small flock of organic free range birds. I am always looking for more ways to become self reliant and keep things simple (natural). We plan to start with a small flock of egg layers and eventually add in meat birds. To start I think I like the idea of having Wyandotte’s and Salmon Faverolles. Along with them will be 2-3 Guineas (aka alarms). I will be posting pictures as our little patch of happiness progresses.[/FONT]
Before I go into that let me introduce you to my world. We live on a small plot where we are making our life on just shy of 3 acres in rural Illinois. Currently in our humble home are my Fiancée and myself and our 2 Australian Shepherds, Sydney and Bodgie. It is an old dairy barn property; the dairy has been decommissioned and turned into a very large garage/ workshop. When we moved in, the previous owners had very little to no landscaping. Just a lot of cedars and mulberries. The first thing we tackled was a garden and some landscaping. We are surrounded by great neighbors (out here even 2-3 miles away you get called a neighbor) who have been nothing but helpful in keeping afloat. Earlier this year our horse Honey passed away, leaving the pasture at waist high grass within weeks. A little more than my John Deere 180 wanted to tackle. Then one night it was all laying over freshly cut by the neighbors tractor and sickle bar. We acquired a LOT of firewood when an acquaintance cleared trees to build a new home. There were no shortages on offers to use log splitters knowing I didn't have one yet. When our lawn mower took a dive, before I got the Deere, friends came by to help us tend the yard for an entire day of mowing, weed eating and branch trimming. I guess what I am driving at here is we couldn't be happier being back in the country life.
We have for a while now kicked around the idea of getting Chickens. Everyone says it is easy, but it is a lot of info to take in all at once. I have been working kinks out of coop designs, feeder designs, run designs, it seems to never end. My plans are for a small flock of organic free range birds. I am always looking for more ways to become self reliant and keep things simple (natural). We plan to start with a small flock of egg layers and eventually add in meat birds. To start I think I like the idea of having Wyandotte’s and Salmon Faverolles. Along with them will be 2-3 Guineas (aka alarms). I will be posting pictures as our little patch of happiness progresses.[/FONT]