Chickens

For a few years now, Richie has been working with a local farmer. Working meaning, no pay, just in it for the learning experience. It was on and off for a while, but I'd say that the past year, it's been a very regular thing. Most Saturdays Richie wakes up early and works with Shane at Utah Natural Meats for a few hours. Sometimes he's feeding baby cows, washing eggs, rigging up the horses, feeding the animals, etc. Whatever needs to be done, Richie will get it done.
Well, a few months ago, Shane and Richie were talking about the demand for chicken. Shane said he can't keep them on the shelf, they get sold so quickly. Richie asked if he could help supply that demand, and Shane readily agreed. So we ordered 150 baby chicks and put them in our garage...naturally... They had to stay indoors for a while until it was warmer and they were bigger. What an odd, but fun thing, to walk by our garage and hear a chorus of cheeping continually. It was mostly fun until they got bigger and stinkier. Then I was chomping at the bit to GET THEM OUT!
Last weekend it was finally warm enough and the chickens were big enough to take them out to pasture. Shane graciously offered us land to raise the chickens on. In fact, he offered us as much land as we wanted to do whatever we wanted on. (A dream come true for Richie) We'll see if we get ambitious enough to really monetize that offer, but for now, baby steps.
The chickens loved exploring their new digs, the kids loved exploring the pasture,(Gwen has since called it, "A kid's paradise") and although we had a few hiccups, it felt very much like a dream come true. Now Richie stops by on his way home from work to feed and water them, and takes the kids when he can. We may do a few more sets this summer, we'll see. It's been a tremendous learning experience.