Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Chickens??- UPDATED

I got sent home from work yesterday and am home again today.  I'm still coughing and am running a temp- which is a no-no when you work at a hospital.  The children were all home yesterday and J16 has caught my malady and is home today as well.  sigh...
But, J16 and I spent the afternoon yesterday on the couch looking at chickens and chicken coop designs.  The idea of getting chicks regardless of V's opinion was growing in my head.  J16 and I decided that we would be competent to build a coop and run on our own if he won't help us.  But, miracles never cease!
Last night at dinner, I asked him point blank what is wrong with chickens.  Well, he hemmed and hawed a bit but ultimately indicated that as long as they don't poop all over the rafters and heater in the shop and were pooping where they were supposed to poop that he has no objections to them.  WOOT!!  So, more chicken coop planning is on the table for today. One of the local feed stores sells chicks every spring, several varieties so we can get a mix which is what we want.  Of  course, they are straight run so there is no knowing what sex we would be getting.  I will have to explain clearly to the children that if we end up with an overabundance of roosters that they will have to be 'thinned'.  We are hoping to get 5 or 6 hens.
In house/construction news, the cabinets have arrived at the warehouse.  The counters have shipped and should be in by the end of the week. As soon as everything is there, it will all be delivered.  Hoorah!  I was starting to get worried that things would arrive late.  But, now things are falling into place.
And I'm thinking that the lumber and doors from the old cabinets could be useful in building a chicken coop....
Ah, the homestead grows......

WOO HOO!!  Update that title to CHICKENS!!  We got the official go ahead from V to order some chicks.  We may actually order them online since we can request more breeds and have them sexed so we don't end up with all roosters.  But we want at least one rooster- the barnyard wouldn't be complete without one.

10 comments:

  1. I'm so jealous! What fun project. Get to feeling better.

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  2. I was looking at a chicken catalog yesterday and thinking about what breeds to get also. That will be great if you are able to reuse some of the wood from your kitchen reno for a coop! I'm glad your husband is on board now too :)

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  3. I was going to order some from a hatchery but am thinking I will just wait until TSC gets theirs and buy from them. That way I only have to buy a few at a time(6), plus they always have a pullet bin.

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  4. That is, the URBAN homestead grows. :)

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  5. yay for chickens! It will be fun seeing what you come up with for the coop!

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  6. Hurray!! The chickens won!! Hugs and kisses for V for being a good sport!! Can't wait to see your kitchen!! How exciting!! You are just having all kinds of good things going on there!!! ...debbie

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  7. Sorry to hear that you are sick too! I can't wait to get over this cold! We are also planning on building a chicken coop also!

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  8. yay for chickens! I love my little egg flock- i feel so bad for them this winter 'cooped' up. I cant wait for spring to see them out in the grass again. We have 9 hens and get maybe 4 dozen eggs per week- i hav been selling to my co-workers for $3 per dozen and 're-cooping' (sorry!) my feed costs that way! You will love how they fight over the kitchen scraps!

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  9. oh yah think about 'my pet chicken . com' You can order hens only and get one of this and one of that if you want

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  10. Thanks for the good wishes.
    Kris- we've looked at My Pet Chicken. We are actually most likely be going to order from Meyer Hatchery. They will ship small quatities as well and seem to have more options. We may actually go with their 'Rainbow assortment' where they get to choose the specific breeds of chickens based on what they've got at the moment but they choose hens that lay a variety of colored of eggs. And of course, the kids want a rooster...
    Judy

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