Humble Beginnings

”Be sure you know the conditions of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds.” -Proverbs 27:23 (NIV)

Our story has a very simple and humble start, all thanks to our 9 year old son.

For whatever reason, in October of 2012, our son started talking about wanting to raise chickens. My wife and I were skeptical from the start. To appease him, we agreed that if he saved enough money for chickens, coop, and feed, we would allow him to raise chickens. We thought that was the end of the discussion and the last we would hear about chickens.

9 year old boys are full of surprises!

Back in February, the whole family stopped in at Tractor Supply for a few odds and ends. My wife and I had no idea that we were walking in during the heart of ‘Chick Days.’ You could hear the ‘peeps’ as soon as we walked in the door, by that point it was already too late. Stephen all but dragged us to the back of the store, and there they were, large feed tubs filled with chicks. Stephen was mesmerized and our promise from October came back to get us.

The drive home was filled with talk of chickens, and the biggest surprise came when Carla and I discovered that he had, indeed, saved enough money to start his ‘chicken farm.’

So, in early March we returned to TSC and purchased 6 light brahma chicks. Using a borrowed washtub as a brooder, we were on our way. I began working on the design for a chicken coop and everything just started falling into place.

We soon discovered that we had four roosters and two pullets. That just would not work, so we ordered three more, sexed pullets, and the company sent four! Stephen thought it was his birthday!

Now, here we are, with ten chickens and we all fell in love with them.

This foray into raising chickens was the spark we needed to make the decision to pursue a more sustainable lifestyle. We have so many hopes, dreams, and ideas now! I’ve been told we have goats and turkeys in our future….