They're small. They're fluffy. They're pretty dang adorable, but they need a place to live and they grow up fast. I'm talking about baby chicks, and my family became the owners of 10 chicks this spring. We're not on a farm, but our city did pass an ordinance that allows us to raise chickens in our yard. Since we only have 10,000 things to do on any given day, we figured 10,010 isn't much more. Thus began our adventures with chickens...........
With 10 fluffy new family members the crew was pretty mesmerized. I, however, was a bit more realistic with all the work that was sure to come my way. We purchased a prefabricated coop from Cal Ranch and too it home for the chicks. We were fairly sure that the box was accurate when it read it could accommodate up to 8 full grown birds. That didn't turn out to be very accurate, and the chicks quickly turned to pullets and were ready for more space. Thus began the quick planning of coop construction. We checked out several books on raising chickens from the library, read blogs, listened to podcasts, and talked to neighbors with experience in raising chickens. While they aren't super demanding, they do require a fair amount of attention and care. Part of that attention and care is ensuring that they have adequate space to snack and play. We have a 1/4 acre lot so we were able to locate plenty of space for our new friends, and we began site prep. The kids wanted these birds and claimed they were willing to do the necessary work to prepare for them, care for them once they were home, and continue to provide for them throughout their lives. |