What's Another 35 Chickens?- Why we do what we do

In the words of Mr. Potato Head in the movie Toy Story, "HE'S AT IT AGAIN!!!!" You may remember an article I posted a few months ago in the dead of winter, Moving Chickens- A tale from Tuscany, where we describe the nuances of moving chickens around in the winter to keep them safe and sound. The other day I had a flashback to that day and the one that followed, Loco Diablo el Pollo, and told myself that I really didn't want to do that again. (The headache stemmed from trying to manage baby chicks through the cold of winter.)

Another dynamic that developed over the past few weeks as some of our Black Sexlink clutch started laying was really trying to figure out who is laying and who is not. As it stands now, two or three could stop laying altogether and we would never know it. Some level of knowledge was desired. We decided that if we wanted 12 layers for ourselves, then what we needed were 3 white layers, 3 tinted layers, 3 light brown layers, and 3 dark brown layers.

The suggestion was made to Carrie that if we were going to raise another clutch of chicks, this was the time to do it, as it's a bazillion degrees out, which little chicks like, and they would be hardy enough for winter when it got here.

So the wheels got turning and we discussed this decision with the kids in case they wanted to put an order in for a particular pet chicken that they wanted. Kristen took us up on the deal, Will decided to pass. One of the kids, and I don't remember who, asked why we're doing this again. We already had more than enough chickens. Why order 35 more?

In short the answer is this... This has turned into a hobby of sorts for us. We've gotten so much pleasure out of watching our chickens grow and watching their antics. There are days when it's been a headache, sure, but the joy outweighs the pain by ten fold. Additionally, there's a good feeling when I open my fridge and see food in it which traveled 50 ft. total to be there. We believe in the local food/clean food movement. By raising chickens and selling them to others, we enable them to participate in this movement and we've made some friends with like minded beliefs along the way. I'll take a friend like that any day! -Jason

FYI - The chicks should arrive next Thursday - 8/04. Will post soon thereafter with some pictures!