Sunday, February 6, 2011

adventures in poultry

I love these little girls. Although our ladies, when we get them, will be considerably older, I am struck by both their incredible cuteness and ability to grow into beings that will produce food for my family, right in my own backyard. I'm really looking forward to meeting them feeding them everyday and learning their personalities. It'd be nice to have a few new friends here at the SemiFarm to share our journey with.

A co-worker of mine, a sweet lady who is a total money-counting maverick, said her husband ordered some Leghorn pullets from Meyer Hatchery down in Polk, OH. She said they only really have room for half and asked if I'd like to buy the others from her. While I'd love to have them, we're still working on acquiring a coop. A friend of mine and her husband had also been planning to gift us some hens as a housewarming gift. I'm honored at all these offers of poultry~ and I'd really like to at some point be able to try raising my own chicks after the practice of some older (and hardier) birds. It'd be awesome to have some Wellsummers, Australorps and Ameraucanas in our flock some day, and, to be honest, I'd like Sebrights and Silkies someday too, simply because they are beautiful. I can almost smell the earthy scent of the straw and hear their soft cooing. It'll be brilliant fun and a lot of learning. I couldn't be more excited or ready.

Being able to add our first bit of protein production to the farm this year in addition to a bigger garden is really an exciting step in our self- sufficiency. Each baby step brings us that much closer to the farmers that probably farmed here years ago. It helps us preserve the knowledge of how to feed ourselves, teaches us about ourselves and abilities and lessens our ecological footprint.
The promise for adventure is huge, as is the learning curve, but the benefits will be too. All we need now is warm weather and a home for our new lady friends. We'll just have to take it one feathered step at a time.

1 comment:

  1. heather that was beautiful, you are going to be a very gifted writer, i should say you are now love what you write, love gma

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