My chickens freedom is important to me. I know that sounds crazy but it truly really is. The idea of free ranging my chickens and allowing them to peck at bugs, scratch up dirt, go for walks makes me happy.
I especially love it when I'm out in my garden watering my plants that I have entertainment to watch. There is always a little squabble going on or the ducks are in their pool playing in it just makes the world feel right. Being with my chickens has been an enjoyable time for me.
But it wasn't always like that. You see where I have my chickens is right next to my garden and we had a little battle of the wills over it. At first I thought maybe there is so much greenery for them to munch they will leave the garden alone. The joke was on me when one morning I came outside to find ALL my lettuce munched down to their stalks, the peppers leaves all chewed off and there was nothing left of my Kale. At first I wanted to get mad but then I stopped myself and decided I'm not going to get mad I'm going to get even. I decided I would take their munching spots back and put it behind a wire fence. I put chicken wire all around my beds and I won the battle. I betcha their was some squawking going on behind my back.
This summer I got to watch eggs hatch into chicks and my chicks grow into chickens. My kids got to experience the whole life cycle and each one of the chickens got a name. Its been an amazing time minus the garden glitch. One of the things I truly am enjoying that by free ranging my chickens they are becoming very personable almost like pets. I suck at being a farmer because I have a feeling none of these chickens will ever be on my supper table unless they are invited into the house and given their very own seat.
I am so glad that I gave up my suburban life and became a homesteader so I too can experience the many wonders of life on a farm. Would love to hear from others who enjoy their chickens as much as I do.
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I love this! Thanks for sharing. I used to have chickens but we moved cities and the new house isn't suitable for chickens. I hope soon to be able to move and get chickens again.
My first chickens I had were my favourite. I got them off a rescue site where they were going to be killed. They were truely like my pets, with an added bonus of giving us free eggs. They were great at being held and they were free to come and go as they pleased. Unfortunately the neighbors dog killed all 3 when I was at work one day. I was absolutely devastated!
We got new chickens, some more rescue ones but these ones were not as friendly. They didn't like being touched and would scream bloody murder if I got too close. They were still fun though and would help in the garden. They too ate all my lettuces and spinach! The sheep got my broccoli! After that I was like you and put a fence around my vegetables!
Thanks for sharing about your chickens. Brings back some good memories.
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Hello @jolly-homestead, you used the #homesteadslackers tag, but we cannot find you listed on our SteemitHomesteaders.Slack.com membership list. What is your slack username in the community so we can accurately link you?
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Thanks!
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That's nice. My aunt would always fence them because of hawks and racoons😑😑😑
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fortunately for us we have alot of tree cover which helps protect them
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It's been a few years now since ive had chickens to care for but I can completely relate to your joy for them.
I was lucky enough to get to keep 1 of the "chicks" we watched hatch from an egg in third grade. We were able to watch it in am incubator and we were even in class when a few of them were hatched, which was very exciting and a valuable learning experience for an 8 year old.
From that point on, my family began nearly 5 years raising chickens while me and my younger sisters even sold eggs for periods of time to make money we ended up spending on bubblegum and baseball cards but still a very cool experience. So glad I happened to stumble across this tonight as it really took me down memory lane. I'll be following you for more, thanks again for taking me back to childhood for a brief moment :)
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Free range birds are so fun to watch. You can just see them having fun.
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When we get chickens I want to free range them but not sure how yet. We have hawks and racoons and such so I will have to figure that out. Good looking flock!
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Nice flock.
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We're in our first season with our first chickens and first ducks, and I can't imagine any other way of raising them. I love having them annoyingly/endearingly underfoot, I love watching them chase crickets and dust bathe, and the ducks' constant BWAP BWAPing in the background just feels like being home, now. I was raised suburban as well, and there is NOTHING that would make me want to go back to that life. :)
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Wow you are a real entrepreneur of the country. The tiny chicken and ducks seems so happy and i love the kitchen garden!! You are an anspiration to so many people
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I think it is so cool and such an awesome opportunity for your children to be able to witness these things. Home education right there in a nutshell. Your kids will learn more about farming and animals just by being outside probably more than they would learn from reading a book. Hands on is one of life's best teachers. I don't think it's crazy that you want your chickens to have free range, I can understand that. Your garden looks massive! I thought it was pretty funny about your chicken war...I'm sure they had a thing or two to say about it Haa! Thank you for sharing with us. Posts like these just make me more ready to have or own land and chickens one day. 😊
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Awe, I love hearing this! It warms my heart to hear others loving and caring for animals. I can't blame you for not wanting to eat them lol...they are so lovely!
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I hope I will love them as much as you love yours. As I hope to have chickens in the near future when our house is done. (it is a block inside city limits so I got to get a variance but have been told it shouldn't be a problem because of how much land we have)
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They were great.
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