Empty Nest Syndrome

The girls got moved into their new chicken coop two weeks ago, now. The kids think it is great that the hens have their own little house and yard. Here soon I need to decide which ones to keep and which ones will be going to new homes. It is tempting to keep them all - they are so interesting to watch! In a few more months, they'll be allowed to roam the entire backyard.

First afternoon in the newly-finished coop.



I have been watching craigslist for weeks now and came across a breed I thought I'd have to order from a breeder across the country - Wheaten Marans!! Hubby agreed that I could get two - so it was time to get the brooder back out! I've read that you should be able to sex them at this age by looking at their wings: definite black = boy; fawn/tan = girl. For now, it looks like I have one of each. I'm so excited to have them - the hens are such beautiful birds.

Food, Inc.

I watched this documentary with my husband last night. It was very eye-opening. I've already been leaning towards eating more locally grown foods, along with getting the chickens, rabbits, and having a garden of our own and this video has only made me more determined. It's hard to believe what big corporations are getting away with: suing farmers whose crops have been pollinated by their patented crops, suing farmers for helping other farmers save seeds that are not patented, etc. It's been obvious for some time that they (and the politicians who seem to work for them) are also trying to do away with small, local farmers by passing ridiculously stringent laws. I've read that Food, Inc. is very one-sided, though I can't see how. They were interviewing real people that work/have worked for these companies.

I'm so glad that my husband watched this with me; in fact it was his idea. He is now one hundred percent on board with the chickens, rabbits, and garden. He himself stated that our kids are no longer going to eat McDonald's when we're out and about and he's started looking at the labels on all of the processed foods in our cupboards. Though he's in great shape (for now), he's always been a junk food junkie and the kids have been following in his foot steps. It's going to take a lot of planning and effort on my part to lessen our dependence on processed and non-locally (is that a word?) grown food - being an active duty Air Force mom doesn't leave a lot of time for anything that isn't absolutely necessary.

There is a farmer's market about an hour from here that I will start visiting this summer. A friend of mine is going to start raising hogs, hopefully this year. We don't really have enough land for a cow, maybe we'll get goats after all. It's going to take a while for us to make all the changes we need to make - it seems pretty daunting right now. Wish us luck (and check out the newest blog that I'm following! SAHMville