Welcome to BackYard Farming!

Well, we did it!  After months of talking, planning, discussing, reading, building and preparing......we purchased 5 Red Star chicks this afternoon!  They are happily peeping away in their cage.  They will stay in the cage for 18 weeks while their feathers grow, then we can put them outside in their brand, spanking new chicken coop that my dearest husband, Daddy and grandfather, Papa John built.  I'm excited and a bit nervous!

Hope we can handle 5 more things to take care of when I already feel so overwhelmed with life!  But I already see the benefits and know this will be a good thing.  Our children are thrilled and are learning so much!  They can't wait to name their chicken.  Lots of names have been flying around.  I liked the names from the book Make Way For Ducklings {Jack, Lack, Kack, Mack Nack, Quack, Ouack and Pack} but the boys want to name their chickens after the Cars 2 characters {yes, we are a bit obsessed!} Holly Shiftwell, Carla and Sally.  I think Pops, Hubbie and Papa John need a chicken named after each of them for all their hard work on the chicken coop!  We will see....   Even Millie is excited and hangs on to the cage, crooks her head, stares at them excitedly and then kicks her legs like she's jumping in her saucer!

 I plan to spend a lot of schooling time on chickens the rest of the school year and have Hubbie teach them how to care for them.

Next on the agenda for our backyard "farm", a large garden!  And I'd love to have a goat {channeling my inner Lillian Sandburg} and some guineas, but Hubbie is thinking the goat may be pushing our neighbors a bit far!  We'll see!  Maybe we'll do a dog next!  :o)