I love my chickens. My original goal this spring was to get a
couple of baby peeps to raise and keep my flock going. Well, after a lot of thinking I decided not
to do that this year. Right now I’m
super busy and I don’t really have the extra time available to devote to more
pets. But, the real thing that has impacted
my decision the most is the cost of feed right now. Chicken feed, all pet foods and supplies
truly, has gone up so much in price that it makes it cost prohibitive to have
pets.
I still miss my Edith
Currently I have
three senior girls that lay sporadically and I’m okay with that. I don’t just keep chickens for the eggs that they
produce. They are my girls and they will
get to live out their lives being spoiled and loved, that is just how I am. Perhaps next year I’ll be ready to acquire a
couple of peeps, but for now I’m putting all future chicken plans on hold.
I'm sorry that feed has gone up so much. Seems like any baby chick would be lucky to end up in your flock. So nice that your "Golden Girls" are living their best lives! You're right--they are more than just a source of eggs. <3 <3
ReplyDeleteThey're my babies. :)
DeleteAfter having chickens for over 20 yrs I got rid of my 3 remaining hens a few weeks ago. I found a new home where they weren’t going to end up in a soup pot lol. Between the cost of feed and the terrible mouse problem I’ve had for 3 years it was just time to be done. I still look at the coop and pen and miss seeing them, but I don’t miss the work involved in keeping them in the winter.
ReplyDeleteDiane
It is definitely a lot more work in the winter time, that's for sure. Sorry to hear about the mice. Ewwww.
DeleteA couple years ago my Dh killed over 75 of them over a few weeks. I kept telling him there were mice out there, but he thought I was exaggerating. I wasn’t lol. Not being able to use poison makes it hard to control. Now he’s got poison out there. He’s found several dead, and trapped 10- much better than 75+!! I just hate those things.
DeleteDiane
After she had a stroke, my mother's remaining chickens went to live with my sister out in the country. My mother had very limited success integrating baby chicks in with the hens. The older ones would peck mercilessly at the little ones, bloody-ing their heads. She had to keep them separated for a long time. Chickens can be savage! (:
ReplyDeleteIntegrating new hens into an existing flock is quite a process. I've had a lot of good success, but it is a time consuming process that I just don't have the time to devote to this year.
DeleteHonestly, I feel like that about my garden. But I'm not quite at the point to give it up. So I will plant another this year. Maybe I'll decide at the end of summer that I want to still garden and give up some other thing. I figure everything is in play and I'm not committed to keeping it all in my life.
ReplyDelete