The title of this blog may have caught your attention. No we haven't added a child to our clan yet, but we did grow our extended family by 4! We are now the proud owners of Camilla, Carla, Becky and Boo Boo Chicken. As named by the grand kids.
I wish I could say that Chauncey and I have these four girls in our yard here in Paris, but unfortunately a by-law doesn't allow chickens in town. I actually checked into this when we moved here nearly six years ago as I wanted chickens even back then. These four ladies reside at my parents house.
We had chickens on our farm when I was growing up, but it took a lot of convincing to get Grammy and Poppy to agree to raising and caring for our new family members. They definitely didn't want them, but I will admit it I played the "Grand Kid Card". I told them Mckenna, Julia and Everly really wanted the chickens and how happy they would be when they saw them in their yard. It worked!
An interesting fact that you may not know is that laying hens are very hard to find right now. I tried to order them in early spring, during the beginning stages of the pandemic from our local Co-op/Feed Store and they told me it would be a minimum of a 6 week wait. Apparently everyone wants laying hens! It makes sense, people want more control over their food sources and if the grocery stores ever did close at least you'll have eggs.
We picked up our hens in mid May and they have been spoiled every since! My Mom buys them fresh produce and cuts it up for them every single day. I thought she was giving them left over scrapes, but not for her girls, it's fresh fruit and veggies only! They have brought so much joy to Mckenna and her cousins. They love them and I think it's such a great lesson for them to understand the work that goes into food production, even if it's on a small scale.
If you are able to have chickens in your yard, I highly recommend them. We provide them love, cuddles and lots of treats and they provide us with fresh eggs daily, it's a win win!
Comments