Operation CHICKEN!

My family has launched a new adventure: raising chickens!!

On Black Friday we went to Homestead Heritage farm ministries for their annual festival. It's our preferred post-Thanksgiving outing and something I look forward all year long. I especially love seeing the animals because they feed my fantasy of running a tiny hobby farm! This year, our little H-Bomb couldn't tear himself away from the chicken house. He picked up a baby chick and it nestled into his hands like he was the mama chicken! Before you knew it, we had bought ourselves two chicks and a bag of feed. I immediately set out to read everything I could about chicken rearing. (Yes, I realize that a reasonable person would have researched first and bought chicks second.) Sunday, we went back to get two more babies so that we would be sure to have at least two survive to adulthood.

Two of our chicks are Buff Orpingtons; their names are Popcorn and Omelette. The other two are Barred Rocks, call names Rockette and Pebbles.

For now, all four girls are living in a gerbil cage in the house. Soon they'll move into a temporary winter home in the garage. Meanwhile, we're going to build a small chicken coop for them in the backyard. More on that (and pictures as they grow) later!