Backyard chickens...

I know I've talked on here about my chickens, but I guess I've never had a full post about them, so I'd thought I'd talk about that today!

Not too long into this journey I started reading about people raising chickens. Eggs are an incredibly good source of protein and I love eggs.  However, I read that chickens raised in factory type conditions are often mistreated and their eggs are not as good for you, so many people are raising their own chickens.  

So I began doing a ton of research.  What I found out is that chickens raised in backyard conditions produce eggs that are MUCH lower in cholesterol and fat and also have MUCH higher levels of vitamins then the typical eggs you buy in the grocery store.  Ok, I was sold!  

So we embarked on an adventure in raising chickens.  First we bought baby chicks and began raising them in our basement while we worked on building a coop for them.  Here is one of our first babies:

We got the coop built:

And then we started getting eggs!  

Our girls produce brown eggs which are no different then the white eggs - the breed of chicken determines the egg color, nothing else.

Our chickens are free range - we open their door for them in the morning and they leave and go where ever they want.  Around dusk they turn themselves in for the night and we shut their door.  That means they wander around throughout the day eating whatever they can find - which means they instinctively eat the best nutrients for themselves and their eggs.

Here's a pic of them hanging out yesterday:

I know a lot of people that raise chickens just love them like a pet.  I can't say Marc and I feel that strongly about them, but they are fun to watch and are definitely their own little community.  And we certainly appreciate the healthy eggs they give us!!