10 months later

10 months ago I did not know anything about chickens or hens.

I home school my sons and my youngest one has wanted more animals. We only had a couple of bunnies.

He wanted a couple of chickens. So the local feed store had a sign up "baby chicks now available" and he gloated... they have them in the store now. So I went and looked. They had so many breeds I got confused and overwhelmed... I thought what am I getting myself into.

I told him, lets go home and research. My oldest son said, "What about me don't I get any?"

So two days later we left the store with 4 chicks, 2 buff Orpingtons and 2 Ameraucana chicks.

2 Months later a friend gave me a gift of two Wyandotte day old chicks. I had a beginner flock of 6. At the end of August one of my Orpingtons went broody... so I had to learn about that... I got her 6 fertile eggs none of which hatched... so I bought her 3 one day old chicks from a feed store 30 miles from me. I watched how she took care of them. 2 months ago I made in impulse buy and got an Olive Egger. So I am up to 10 hens. One of my friends who got a dozen fertile eggs and got 10 roosters and 2 hens from the eggs asked me if I have any hens I can spare and I could not think of one I did not want. I wonder how did that happen, I did not even know that chickens would be therapeutic and here I am officially a back yard chicken farmer. I am so glad my sons wanted the chickens... now we can all enjoy them.