(So Sweet)
I´ve always loved gardening and for years have had the notion that I´d like to have a small suburban "farm" with a sustantial vegetable garden and a few sweet chickens.
A number of years ago I purchased a wonderful book called "The Encyclopedia of Country Living", by: Carla Emery. It is full of practical advice and invaluable information for people living in the country, city or anywhere in between, who desire the homesteading lifestyle. I have found the book to be a worthy investment, as it shares a wealth of information, more than I will probably ever use.
Though, in the past, I have kept flower and vegetable gardens, I have never kept chickens, something that I find rather endearing. Chickens are the most common farm animal and relatively inexpensive to keep. A hen does not need a rooster in order to lay eggs, which is nice when living in suburban areas, those rooster will get to crowing at four o´clock in the morning and the neighbors may not be too happy! How satisfying it would be to walk out into my own backyard, reach into the chicken coup and pull out fresh eggs. There is something magical about that.
Besides their eggs, chickens have other benefits; they keep the lawn mowed, if you allow them to free range, their manure is rich in nutrients, and they keep the slugs and other bugs at bay. I´ve also read that they can make very nice pets for children.
(Aren´t they darling?)I may never have the oppotunity to keep chickens , but I enjoy dreaming of the possiblity.
9 comments:
The gardens... vegetable and flower sound wonderful.
When Fred and I were vacationing in New Zealand we had the opportunity to visit a working farm there.
It was wonderful!! I loved the experience.
I hope you do get to have your farm one day.....dreams do come true!!!
when I was little...I vaguely remember living in the "rancho" located on the outskirts of Calipatria the big metropolitan city (LOL)...and one of the memories I very fuzzily remember is, I was about 2 maybe 3 yrs. old...walking amongst the chickies and picking one up and getting "pecked" by perhaps the mamma? not so sweet....:)
colleen you always have positive thought about everything. we raised chicken in our backyard when we were growing up. we don't have a backyard like here....more like an alley...and my parents would make a "house" for the chicken. i didn't like cleaning up their mess. i would not touch them either because i was afraid they would bite me. thanks for sharing this blog. i should have appreciate my chicken... :-)
You know Ling, I was almost sure that you had chickens in your backyard growing up. Jorge had a few farm animals while he was growing up also, chickens, a donkey and a pig!
oh wow! i dont know if i could handle all that though... i'm a city girl! i'd probably die if i had to move to a farm! a visit might be nice, but i dunno if i could handle anything permanent :)
Hey Lala, I´m a city girl too, remember? That´s why I say suburban farming. I would like a piece of land just big enough for a decent garden and few chickens, maybe a goat, for it´s milk. (And a couple of horses, a few cows) hehe, just kidding...
i dunno... sounds like more chores
:)
Lala, so THAT´S what your afraid of,huhuh...more chores.
make that 2 lala :P lol
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