Gah!

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I keep reading. In spite of being overloaded, underfunded, and out-of-commission, I keep being reminded that I have more to do. Though I really want rabbits, the difficulties of raising them versus raising chickens makes chickens a first choice. Though I like doing my own thing my own way, logic persists and I do try to follow it. In this case, there is a reason chickens are raised much more often than rabbits. Beside the chicken versus rabbit meat is the notion of eggs. Only Easter Bunnies lay eggs. I would prefer eggs more than once a year! Okay, so whimsy plays a part in my life, sue me.

What would it take to get a chicken operation going for me? Let me list what I currently know or suspect. First, I do have a chicken hutch. It is large enough to handle about a dozen hens and a rooster, assuming I allow them to free range. That assumption is good. However, I do not wish to have them free range in too large of an area. The fenced area of my land, about an acre, is fenced in well enough to maintain a small herd of small horses and a llama and goats before them. That may be too large of an area though. There are many wire gate parts with which I might construct a run, or at least enough to start one. I do have to repair the roof of the hutch, first, however.

Oh, I also need to empty the coop. There are old minor farm and construction items in it. And there are old supplies, useless now, in the area outside and near the coop that I would initially use as a run. All of that stuff, and more, has to be removed. I am not sure whether it would be best to call for a construction type dumpster, reserving it for a week, or whether there is a better alternative. I have not figured out how to officially get rid of branches and leaves yet, actually! So many things to do and think about and yet I am not even sure where to start or who to ask, officially or unofficially. Wow how time flies.

I also have to consider whether the chicken or the egg should come first. Well, hatchling anyway. And before that, what breed would be best suited to the area. Some of this could be tended by reading, some through conversations with the locals who already raise chickens. Once these things are in play, I have to think about feed and care. I have read it often enough, that buying heritage chickens helps with care as these animals are less prone to sickness. There is quite a lot to consider already.

And then, the real issue. Daily care. No, I would not actually have to do something every day, assuming I am willing to build or buy infrastructure and spend more on feed using an automatic food and water system. And yet, I am not sure that is the right way to do things. Beyond that, any time I might choose to leave for even a few days I would need to have someone take over the chores. Almost like the chicken or egg question comes the livestock or social outreach question. Which should come first. Then, how to go about it. I have been a poor neighbor, so far. I simply... How do you explain that you do nothing and earn more than many people around you? How do you explain two decades of dysfunction? How do you get involved without becoming a burden? Yes, questions.

Still, I keep running into chicken stories. I keep seeing advice here and there. I keep thinking about fresh eggs, chicken meat that I know is good (and actually fresh), and being more sure about my longer term survival in worsening conditions. Watching the silly birds live their incredible little lives, make their funny noises, and knowing bugs are being tended would just be icing on that cake. The chicken or the egg, again, though. It all comes down to that first step.