Cheep cheep cheep!

The past two days have been full of little cheep cheep cheeps! Our little chicks are currently living on our dining room table in a box. It is the safest place for them for now and we are enjoying being able to watch them and learn all about their little personalities. For those of you wondering what made the Snider's decide to raise chickens, let me explain a little bit more about how these became to be and how you can raise some of your own!

First of all we had some friends that decided to raise chicks for eggs...and our little girl was staying at their house and loved helping out with them and playing with them so much. So we thought to ourselves, "Let's do some research and see about having a few of our own! The fresh eggs would be great to have, and we can use the "mess" they make as fertilizer for the garden. It's a win win!" Well sadly our city has an ordiance against raising fowl in town :(
BUT wait! There was a loop hole! If we said that we were going to be raising them and showing them...then we could have them. Welll.....my sister, who is in 4-H, is hoping to get mom to let her show chickens and so we said we would keep them ;) lol...so that's our story and we are sticking to it. We ok'd it with our neighbors and we are good to go!
So here are some pointers on how to start some backyard chickens of your own:

• Research, research, research! Google is a great place to start. A few of my favorite sites are http://www.mypetchicken.com/, and http://www.backyardchickens.com/, and of course youtube. You want to find a breed that is going to produce the amount of eggs you want weekly, can handle your area's weather, and deals well with confinement. You also may want to find a breed that is docile, espeacially if you have children, or just don't want to be pecked yourself!
  
• Second of all check to make sure you city allows chicken! And what their requirements are. How many chickens are allowed? Can you build a coop for them? Do you have to show them? :)
  
• Next contact your local feed store or farm supply store. They are a great source and can help you get started. If you are looking for egg layers only, you want to make sure that you buy pullets! This is something we didn't double check...I just assumed the lady knew what I meant when I told her we wanted chickens in the backyard for eggs...and we are hoping we didn't end up with a rooster!
  
• When you pick up your chicks you will also need to buy the following supplies: Pine shavings (cost us $6.50), starter/grower feed (cost us $4.85 for a 5lb. bag), chick waterer ($4.75), and a baby chick feeder ($4.39). You will also need a heat lamp, which you can use again in their coop during the winter (we are currently just using a regular desk lamp, which is what the feed supply store recommended for 3 chicks). Plus our chicks were $2.50 apiece...some places sell them as cheap as 50 cents! Or if you find a farmer who wants to get rid of some, you can get them for free.

Alright...well I have a little one up from her nap...so that's all for today!

The next blog will include all the many ways you can construct a coop!

~Sarah