Why I want to raise Chickens : Happy Homesteading

I found this picture in one of my old photo albums given to me for safe keeping from my grandmother.  There were no names written on this picture, so I don’t know who this child is, but I noticed some lovely chickens and their roosting boxes in this picture. Their chickens look like they were able to wander around freely and the nesting boxes look interesting too.

History

I know life on the farm was really really hard work and many folks had to raise chickens for the fresh eggs. Some sold the eggs and others just made enough for themselves.

Interesting: did you know that there are heritage chicken breeds?  More than half of the 70 breeds of chickens found in the United States are in danger of disappearing, according to a recent census conducted by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) of Pittsboro, N.C.   Of particular concern are five breeds that were developed in North America: Javas, Buckeyes, Chanteclers, Delawares and Hollands. If you want to raise chickens as pets and layers consider raising a heritage breed!

I found a letter from my great uncle Emil Olson that he wrote to his sister and my Great Grandmother Lillie (who moved from Chappell, Nebraska to Pasco, WA in 1932).  You can tell in the letter they were close and loved each other very much. But the reason why I am going to share this letter is because it talks about the kinds of animals and how he raised chickens. He even mentions listening to the world series too (on old radios I bet)!  Here is a picture of him so you have a visual when reading his letter:

Here is his letter dated October 6, 1935:

{click on picture for close up of letter}

In the last paragraph if you can’t read the hand-writing it says:

“I culled our Leghorn pullets down to about 150 and they are sure starting to lay nice. We get 4-5 dozen per day. I sure like them and don’t think I will ever go back to the Reds again. “

In another letter written a month later (dated Nov 10, 1935) he writes:

“We are getting about 30 dozen case of eggs a week from our pullets and it sure helps as eggs are 28 cents per dozen now. “

So my Great Uncle Emil and his family would sell the eggs and earn money that way.  I think history is really neat.

WHY I WANT TO RAISE CHICKENS

When I was first considering all the different avenues of urban homesteading, I knew that my number one goal was to have fresh organic eggs from chickens.  Someday if I got enough land I would love to raise chickens to eat as well, but for now I am happy with getting fresh organic eggs. But I have to wait for June for that to happen as mine are little chicks right now.

I also feel like because my family from long ago raised chickens that maybe I should give it a try too. It will make me feel closer to them somehow, knowing a few of the things they went through.

And lastly, if times ever got to be tough or another depression occured, I would like to be at least a little bit self reliant to where I could have eggs for my family every day.

I AM NOW A CHICKEN FARMER 🙂

March 9th, our little chicks came home with us and our lives are forever changed! They are seriously the cutest little things ever. Here are our chicks and their names:

Roxie is probably my absolute favorite. She is so super sweet already and comes right to my hand when I place it in the bin. She is a Black Austroalorp and will lay a nice light brown color egg.

Molly is an Ameraucana. She is a really sweetheart too and will sleep nicely in our hands. Seems really gentle and not too jumpy or crazy. She will lay a colored egg like light green or maybe even pink!

Lacy is our Silver Laced Wyandotte and will grow up to be so very beautiful! My daughter thinks she is a rooster though because she is more aggressive and peeps loudly when held. I think she just has a louder personality than the others, but only time will tell. Silver Laced Wyandottes lay pale brown or tan eggs.

And this is Ginger, our Buff Orpington. I love the creamy color of Buff Orpingtons so I cannot wait for her to grow up.  Her personality so far has been really sweet, but still a little nervous when being held. Ginger will lay large brown eggs.

I am so in love with this bunch of chicks, I just want to stare at them all day long.

Overall, this has been a much better experience than I thought it was going to be.  Of course it’s only been a few days, so we will see what happens in the future. I still have a big chicken coop to make or buy plus I have to learn how to gather eggs, deal with broody hens and other fun adventures I am sure.