BTW — I'm a Chicken Tender

I haven’t carved out a piece of my blog yet for my avian friends due to many reasons: it is my first rodeo and to be honest, I wasn’t sure we’d make it to this point!

First of all, hi, this homesteading thing is new to me. To catch new readers up to speed, I’m from the suburbs, and us suburban folk go to the nearest grocery store to buy our eggs. Although now we still live in city limits, we have the space and naturally I wanted to try my hand at raising some chickens! So I did what any responsible adult with no chicken experience would do — order 8 sexed assorted brown egg layers online. Yep. Online. They came in a box to our local post office and were happy and healthy!

Confession: I really did no research beforehand. Of course, I knew the basics and had the supplies, but I was seriously going day-by-day searching stages of life, health tips and chick poop concerns on Google. Guess what? It worked!

Other the lack of my prior knowledge, the chicken rearing process was mostly uneventful. I had really healthy birds and it was so fun getting to watch them grow up and their personalities emerge. Side note: If you like entertainment and dust, baby chicks might be the pet for you. 😅

We’ve only had one loss so far, Martina McFried, and I like to say she’s on walkabout since she disappeared without a trace or commotion.

We also received a surprise bonus rooster, formerly Dolly Carton, now Max (lovingly named by the neighbor girls). Not sure if Max has a permanent place in this flock, but he’s pretty to look at.

As of now, we have the 7 out of the original 8 chickens, and I tell everyone I LOVE them and want a dozen more. I think with some Olive Eggers and Barred Rocks and my flock will be complete! At least that’s what I’m telling Matt right now. 😉

As our laying endeavor grows, we will absolutely be looking at new coop options. With the price of lumber now, we’re trying to hold back but are looking forward to adding more boxes and space for the girls to run.

Now for the exciting news…

🥚 19 weeks later, we are in the laying business! 🥚

I’m pleased to announce I’ve found our FIRST egg this morning, found NOT in the nesting box, but that’s not the point! I have yet to determine the culprit, but I have a few guesses.

I’m still on cloud 9 about my discovery this morning and will continue to keep everyone updated about new discoveries and our first scramble on social media. Got great fresh egg ideas? Send ‘em all my way!

XO

Caroline

Loretta Layin’, Meg Thee Chicken, Cardi Beak, Bitty, Reba McEnfryer, Tanya Clucker and Max