PROJECT #1 REVEALED!!! (Chickens)

Our new chicken coup that Rob and I built (he did most of it though)

Our new chicks (6). We'll be using them for their eggs. There are twice as many vitamins in FRESH chicken eggs as well as 3 times the amount of Omega 3s. Did you know that the eggs you buy at the grocery store can be months old?!!! An egg laid in the late summer could be an egg you eat for Christmas breakfast!

So, if you've been following my blog for awhile, you know that I LOVE nature, the outdoors, animals, gardening, making things from scratch, composting, herbs, etc. To be completely honest, I've always dreamed of having a working farm up north (not where it's too cold...the Carolinas maybe), living the 'simple life' and letting my children roam free on acres of land, learning how to care for wildlife, grow food and be somewhat self-sufficient. I didn't actually know there was a name for it, but I guess it's called 'homesteading'. My dad and I joke around about someday, buying lots of land, splitting it and having a working farm. I shared before the list of things I want to learn how to do, but my list has grown...

- rain barrels

- growing a veggie garden (check)

- fruit trees (check)

- chickens (check)

- canning

- growing wheat...grinding it...making bread from it

- making homemade soap and candles

- making yogurt and cheese (tried yogurt once, but it didn't turn out too well)

- making homemade pasta (check), juices and vinegar

- horses

-cows

-goats

-sheep

- a pig or two

- composting (check)

- growing hay

- having land with a water source

- raising honey bees

- learning how to gather maple syrup

- sheep shearing

Okay, so do I sound cheesy? I don't care. I'm fascinated with hands-on learning. If you would have asked me back in high school if I liked learning, I would respond with a 'no'. I'm not a huge textbook person. Give me something kinesthetic to do and I'll research all I can on it and through trial and error, I'll learn from it. I think that our society today has really been at a disadvantage with everything being at our fingertips. Need food? Go to the grocery store. Need soap? Hit Walmart/Target.

I don't know what the Lord has in store for us in the future. Rob has a secure job that has supported us for almost 10 years and we're SO thankful for that. It would take an act of God for us to move, but all things are possible with Him. If you really know me, you know I'm a hard worker and not much grosses me out (besides severe medical stuff). It's just something I've though about for years. It's a dream. Will it happen? I have NO idea.

Anywho, this is our new chicken coup. Rob built if from some free wood crates I found in our neighborhood a few months ago. The two crates were laying by the trash bin and I politely knocked on my neighbor's door to ask if she still wanted her crates. She looked extatic that I wanted to haul them away for her. So, of coarse, I got home and asked Rob to go lift them in his truck and bring them home. I knew we could use them for our chicken coup I've been wanting to start. Rob wasn't keen on the idea at first, but I warmed him up to it. =) Plus, we made our coop for almost no cost and I found a lady not far from us who lives on a small farm. She had just enough chicks left for us and we picked them up after church today. They're so cute and it's neat how they each have their own personality, even though we've only been observing them for a day! We have yet to name them. I'm looking for cute chicken names. If you have any suggestions, please let me know and if we like the name, we'll keep it.

They breed of chicken we chose was the Rhode Island Red hen. Roosters are illegal in our state unless you have a license. If you've ever contimplated raising chickens, you should check out BACKYARD CHICKENS.com. They've got some great information. I've also been doing some homesteading research online and if you just Google 'homesteading blogs', there are many out there that have some great information, especially about chickens. As I find these great blogs, I'll try to post their link to my Blogs I Follow list on my sidebar. Living Off the Grid has a great list of homesteading blogs if you want to take a peek.

**The PROJECT #2 will be revealed later this week.

**I'm almost done with my cloth diaper blog post and I can't wait to share. =) (It's LONG.)

LET'S HEAR THOSE CHICKEN NAMES!!!