I woke up Sunday morning and the realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
Just what the heck had I done yesterday?
Ever had one of those moments?
Saturday I visited the local feed store and ordered chicks for this year. Now, I've raised six to adulthood and they are quite health girls. I love them dearly as the many blog posts illustrate.
But, after a year of setbacks and lots of medical bills that keep coming, I decided this year to be proactive in getting us back on the right track. For my part, that means lots of canning and making this small hobby farm start to give back.
That means, the random woods that have grown behind my house that was once an open field is going to be cut down periodically for firewood. I think I can definitely speak for my family and absolutely for the cats that we all missed the woodstove this year. Luckily the winter was fairly mild.
It means, lots of preserving and canning this year. I started our tomatoes and tomatillos this weekend as that is my main crop I can. I intend on canning lots of the following: tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, enchilada sauce, salsa and chili sauce (a new fav!)
It means that it's now the time to get serious
and raise our own flock for the freezer.
It's not going to be easy, because they are as cute as a bug in a rug, but after watching Food, Inc it's important that we know where our food comes from. Our food is our birthright, it should not be allowed to be controlled by corporations or one specific corporation.
But I digress...I woke up Sunday and realized I had ordered eight chickens. I was going to have a flock of 20 birds total! What was I thinking? Twenty birds? In the end it ended up 21 because there was this lone buff orpington that had been sent with the chicken order and I couldn't leave her there by her lonesome... In the end we had 8 cornish rocks and the lone buff orphington. The Easter eggers will be here in May...they are the ones that lay the different color eggs.
So this is our year of living a bit more basic and becoming more self-sufficient. This is the year of the food on our table coming right outside the door. It's going to be a lot of work but I think the payoffs are great.
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| Chick days! |
Just what the heck had I done yesterday?
Ever had one of those moments?
Saturday I visited the local feed store and ordered chicks for this year. Now, I've raised six to adulthood and they are quite health girls. I love them dearly as the many blog posts illustrate.
That means, the random woods that have grown behind my house that was once an open field is going to be cut down periodically for firewood. I think I can definitely speak for my family and absolutely for the cats that we all missed the woodstove this year. Luckily the winter was fairly mild.
It means that it's now the time to get seriousand raise our own flock for the freezer.
It's not going to be easy, because they are as cute as a bug in a rug, but after watching Food, Inc it's important that we know where our food comes from. Our food is our birthright, it should not be allowed to be controlled by corporations or one specific corporation.
 |
| Aren't they adorable? |
But I digress...I woke up Sunday and realized I had ordered eight chickens. I was going to have a flock of 20 birds total! What was I thinking? Twenty birds? In the end it ended up 21 because there was this lone buff orpington that had been sent with the chicken order and I couldn't leave her there by her lonesome... In the end we had 8 cornish rocks and the lone buff orphington. The Easter eggers will be here in May...they are the ones that lay the different color eggs.
So this is our year of living a bit more basic and becoming more self-sufficient. This is the year of the food on our table coming right outside the door. It's going to be a lot of work but I think the payoffs are great.
I do know what you mean about 'loving' your chickens - especially when you've raised them from chicks (or hatched from eggs)! Good luck raising your first batch of meat birds!
ReplyDeleteI also was influenced by Food Inc. but I have not yet raised meat birds, but I plan to, when we are able to house them. I was also influenced by some SAD videos online about how the NON-layer commercially hatched chicks are treated on their way to becoming "poultry meal' in dog food! I can't stand to see the word Tyson anymore ... and find it telling when a place like KFC advertises -with pride- that they use that brand... so I don't go their either!
I do know what you mean about 'loving' your chickens - especially when you've raised them from chicks (or hatched from eggs)! Good luck raising your first batch of meat birds!
ReplyDeleteI also was influenced by Food Inc. but I have not yet raised meat birds, but I plan to, when we are able to house them. I was also influenced by some SAD videos online about how the NON-layer commercially hatched chicks are treated on their way to becoming "poultry meal' in dog food! I can't stand to see the word Tyson anymore ... and find it telling when a place like KFC advertises -with pride- that they use that brand... so I don't go their either!