All moved in with chicks on the way!!

We got the keys to our new house shortly after my last post and immediately started moving in. Chris had to do nearly everything himself because I was still on crutches at the time - it was pretty tough on him. Luckily we have some really great friends. We're mostly settled in now, I'm off the crutches, and when it stops raining we'll be starting on outside projects. First thing, hen house and chicken run - our chicks will be arriving the second week of February. Most hatcheries have a minimum order of 25 - we ordered 5 each of Buff Orpington, Black Australorp, Cuckoo Maran, Speckled Sussex, and Easter Eggers, all pullets. We'll keep all the chicks for a month or so then start selling them to friends. I plan to keep 2 of each breed until they start laying in case one decides he'd rather crow than lay eggs. I will post pictures when they arrive!

Edited to add a photo of the soon-to-be hen house!!

Still waiting...

On the house, that is. We supposedly only need one more signature and should be signing ourselves this week. I surely hope so. We were supposed to be in the new house before Christmas but honestly, we needed the extra time. We are getting quite antsy though!

Speaking of Christmas, I received some great gifts from the DH. A breadmaker and a KitchenAide mixer. The breadmaker will really help out - I hate feeding my family bread loaded with preservatives and other chemicals. I've also never really gotten kneading down right so I'm really happy with it. The mixer will help me to make so many more things from scratch as well. I'm looking forward to really breaking them in.

I contacted someone on Craigslist about some chicks they have for sale. They are asking more than hatcheries do, so I'm hopeful that they have truly purebred birds. I would prefer to buy local due to the small number of hens we need. I have planned for 4, one Easter Egger, one Buff Orpington, one Black Australorps, and one Cuckoo Marans. Starting with a variety will give us more of an idea about what we need - it'll also make things a little more interesting. There is a nice little place in the back yard where the coop and chicken yard will go - this will be one of Chris' first projects.

I have been re-thinking our rabbits and for now have nearly decided to go with a breed of Angora for meat as well as fiber. We will be building pens for the does and youngsters in our little red barn. There is someone locally that sells a few breeds - I plan to check him/her out sometime in the next week. Rabbits are a ways out yet, I'm afraid.

I don't think we'll be ready for bees this year but we'll have to see. Chris is going to build me two of those top bar hives. We aren't too worried about production, more about pollination and bee health so top bar hives seem to be the way to go. I haven't yet figured out where we're going to put them - more pondering to do.

Trees - we'll be looking at fruit trees this week. I want apples and peaches at the least. We have pomegranate and walnut trees already on the property - both need pruning badly. I wonder if the walnut trees have a disease as many of the branches are dead. Guess we'll be finding out.

Chris has met our soon-to-be neighbors and said they seem like nice folks. I hope to meet them myself very soon.

Well, it's about time to get this house ready for my amazing husband's return from work. Fried pork chops for dinner tonight :)