Rabbits!

As if chickens and worms were not enough we just added rabbits to our backyard fun!  Mr. S has been wanting to get rabbits for a couple of years now.  Thanks to a great find on craigslist (stacking cages) and a friend (who's friend raises rabbits) the timing was right to get some.

The oldest four each got to pick one.  They were all beautiful and very cuddly.  These little guys are about 3 weeks old right now and will get quite a bit bigger.

Yes, we know that rabbits tend to multiply like...well, rabbits.  These are meat rabbits and we will be breeding them for that purpose.  The kids are loving on these since they are the mommies and daddies that need to be tame and calm.  This is a fun project for daddy and the boys that we can all enjoy.

 

Worms

I guess getting chickens gave us the push we needed to get some other things going around here.  We've been thinking about a worm composting bin for a while and the boys finally got everything together for one last week.  As soon as they got it all done I ordered worms.  There was much excitement when they arrived.

We dumped most of them into the bin and watched them wiggle down in to munch on our food scraps that were hidden in there.

Everyone got the chance to hold them if they wanted.

 

Miss E threw some in her garden and we took a bunch directly to the chickens who were VERY happy to eat them up.


What will we end up with next?  Just wait and see!

Chickens!

Our kids have been wanting Chickens for a LONG time.  They've been reading up on how to care for them and clearing a spot in the yard for them.  The last couple of weeks we kicked our preparations into high gear when we acquired a hen house from friends who are moving.

A friend has raised some great hens from eggs, and they just started laying.  She was willing to sell a few to us.  We just picked them up last week and have been thrilled to be enjoying eggs from them right away.

The kids are enjoying letting them out of the hen house in the morning, feeding them, checking for eggs and locking them up in the evening.  When we first brought them home they were a bit shy as they adjusted, but they are getting used to us and our new home.  The kids are enjoying getting to interact with the hens a bit more now that they are settling in.

 

*We are getting 3-4 eggs a day right now though that number may go up to 4-5.  These hens do not provide all the eggs we need, but they supplement us nicely and are a great experience for all of us.  We also love knowing that the eggs we are eating are from healthy happy hens.  The eggs from our chickens (and every other home raised chicken egg we've had) have BRIGHT yellow/orange yolks, as compared to the dull yellow from store bought.