How I did it: There has been such a sense of satisfaction that I have derived from this experience.  It has taken a long time, a lot of research and tons of work to get to this point.  There were a few times I almost marked this goal off as given up on.  I am very thankful that I persevered.  Working together as a family, watching Sarahbear helping Daddy, gave me so much joy.  The knowledge that we will be feeding our family meat that has not been pumped full of steroids or antibiotics gives us an enormous sense of accomplishment as parents.  We are about two months from having fresh eggs every day.  Every one that knows about our chickens has asked if they can buy eggs from us when they start.  It might just start making us money.  Even if it's just enough to cover their feed I'd be happy.

Lessons & tips: Read.  Read a lot.  There is information out there.  Find the right chicken for what you are wanting.  You can have chickens just about any where, including in town.  Check out the laws for your neighborhood.  You might just be surprised.  Also,  we talked to a lot of the local farmers and asked them for tips as to how to keep our chickens safe.  The first thing we did was buried 8"x16" pavers, with it going 16" deep,  all the way around the rim of our run.  That way, none of the predators could dig their way into the run.  We also put a second layer of smaller gauge chicken wire around the base of the run, over the 2"x4" wire we wrapped over the entire run, including the ceiling.  That will keep the skunks out of the coop.  They like to eat the breast and heads of chickens.

Resources: Grit magazine.  Mother Earth News.  Blogs from people who own their own chickens.

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Jan 13, 12:55PM PST | 1 comment | 11 cheers