Chickens

So, I'm thinking of getting some chicks next month when they have them at the local feed store. A few months ago, I was playing with the idea of having a few chickens in our backyard. I mainly wanted them to be able to have some good, hormone free eggs. My ex neighbor had about five of them a few years back, and they laid so many eggs that she would give some of us neighbors the excess they couldn't eat. I remember how bright yellow/orange they were and how big they were. Back then I wasn't aware of what I know now about industrial chicken farms that inhumanely raise, hormone filled chickens. And, I knew that legally we could have up to eight I believe.
About a month ago, my neighbor a few doors down, put a chicken coop on his front yard for bulk pickup day. When I saw it, my eyes thought they saw some gold. lol...Well, I asked him if it was really for bulk pickup and when he said it was, I asked him for it. Of course, he said I could take it. I rolled it to the side of his  house, until tomorrow (Monday) when my hubby would be gone to work. He had already told me that I couldn't have chickens, because our place is too small, chickens are dirty, etc. So I wanted to ease on the subject again, lightly.lol...Well, the next day, I went to the local hardware store to buy some little wheels and screwed them on one side of the coop since it was too big for me to carry it or move it to our house across the street. When my hubby drove up, the coop was next to the driveway. He came in the house with that look on his face of disapproval. He asked me what that junk was doing on our property. I told him and he told me to get rid of it. It was not in the best condition; so I could see why he thought that. But, being the restorer and visionary that I am, I had a plan, that I didn't share with him. Well, I didn't take it back to my neighbor. Instead, the next day, I bought some plywood, screws and repaired what needed repair and I painted it with some white paint I had left over. It came out really nice; and my hubby was impressed. He didn't tell me anything about it anymore. I thought I would save it for next year when we would have a pickup to take it to our future homestead. But then I got to thinking of practicing with a few chickens to get a feel for what I'm in for when I'll have the space for 50 or 100 or more chickens and roosters. I bought some books on chickens and how to raise them, which one lay  more eggs, etc. I was thinking about chickens so much, I even had a dream about them...lol..imagine that. Well let me tell you though, I have two main reasons to get some chickens. I have a compost pile that needs the chicken manure and I really want to eat some good, nutritious, hormone free eggs. Those are the two main reasons and after reading those chicken books, it sounds like they'll be a lot of fun to raise. My biggest challenge will be to introduce them to the three dogs. The little chihuahua I don't think will be a problem, but the pit bull and pit bull/lab mix, might. I plan to section them off though, just in case they absolutely go ballistic and want to devour the poor chicks.

While reading through one of the chicken books, they suggested I buy them at the local feed store, right around Easter. I made a call to the local feed store and sure enough, the person told me they would be delivered on March 12. I was just so excited that entire day. I'm just looking forward to that day like you wouldn't imagine. Well, I plan on buying 4 or 5 since when you buy them as chicks no one knows their gender, except God. So if I get a rooster or two, I'm going to sell it or give it away, since I don't want to deal with a rooster right now. My hubby finally agree to a few, since we live in a sub division and our backyard is not very big.  I plan on naming them: Pearl, Ruby and Mimi...Pearl for a white chicken, Ruby for a red one and Mimi for a multi-colored one.

I'll keep you posted and hopefully I'll know how to upload fotos of them by then. In the meantime, I welcome your thoughts on chickens. Have a blessed evening...