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Our suburban agrarian experiment continues. We ended up getting our chickens: 3 two-week old chicks from a local breeder. We only wanted eggs, and don't want to annoy the neighbors, so the plan was for an all-girl flock. The chicken lady turned them over, examined them, and swore she was "99% certain" that they were to be hens. It seems that chick sexing is a delicate art best left in the hands of Japanese men, since we woke to a cock-a-doodle-doo 4 months later (last week). So now, we've got at least one rooster (possibly two) looking for new homes. ( That was a fun freecycle post to write!) In the meantime, I decided I must have some bantam (miniature) chickens. They just came home last night. We got a little ameracauna who's settled in nicely with our flock, as well as a chicken called a silkie. Imagine a kitten crossed with a chicken and you've got the idea. Very soft, fur-like feathers, incredibly docile, lap chicken, about 9 inches from beak to tail. Molly's in love!! Unfortunately, it's acting really unhealthy at the moment, and has this huge lump on its neck, so I'm only giving it a 50% chance of survival. Molly is out of town at the moment, and I'm frantically scrambling to source a replacement, just in case....
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Spring is here and it's the time a (once-)young woman's heart turns to diggin' in the dirt. Already, my perennial herb garden has increased by two lavender plants, lemon balm, feverfew, and summer savory. I'm really motivated to help Molly understand where food comes from. So far, Mo and I started flats of vegetable and herb seeds for transplanting later this spring. The plan is to create a perimeter vegetable garden around our backyard, maximizing garden space, without sacrificing play space. Edible landscaping is the theme for the front -- sunflowers, blueberry bushes, fig, and peach trees are on the way. Even more exciting, I found out that there's no zoning regulation preventing me from having chickens in my suburban backyard. (God bless living in an agricultural county!) And for some strange reason, my husband doesn't object to the plan. I've talked to several people familiar with raising chickens, and so far everyone says it's a fun hobby. A rooster-free flock is advised, as the males are notoriously noisy and horny and will relentlessly annoy your neighbors and your hens. I'm so excited at the prospect of a good supply fresh organic eggs from happy chickens. We're planning on a flock of 3 chickens. Not sure what kind yet. There's a local source of baby chicks nearby, but they don't have a huge selection of breeds. I can order online and get some really cool-looking chickens, but shipping is much more expensive and it takes longer. I have to admit that I am quite enamored of the idea of going to the post office to pick up my box of live chickens, though. Fun times...
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kmgwinegal's journal
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