Now that I live in a condo taking care of my mom, I cannot have chickens.  Fortunately, my daughter took six of my chickens and now has the “chicken bug.”.   Bonnie lives about two hours away so I still get to share in her joy.

She and Brooke ordered 23 chicks thru the mail and kept them in her second bathroom until they were a couple months old since it was so cold outside.  My husband and I went to their home and helped them build a duplex chicken house.

Putting up fencing, building coops, and learning how to care for and protect your chickens can be a lot of work but the rewards far outweigh the efforts.  You get exercise caring for the chickens and the eggs are so much healthier for you than store bought eggs.  They really are pretty good pets because you don’t have to walk them or take them to the vet.  You can leave them for days if you leave plenty of food and water out for them.   If it is warm outside, you can get someone to collect the eggs or just throw them away or feed them to the dogs.   If it is cold outside, the eggs will be fine.

I got so tickled when my daughter said, “I had no idea I would enjoy chickens so much.”. They are addictive.  I started out with a handful of baby chicks and had as many as 120 at one time.  I loved having baby chicks hatching out.

Update:  Bonnie is getting plenty of eggs now and since they are fertilized, she let a broody Silkie hatch out two eggs which were Buff Orphington/Barred Rock most likely.   The addiction continues.