A Goose And Two Goats Walk Into A Bar...

Good intro huh? :) So the coons have prevailed and all my chickens are now raccoon poop. Bummer for sure! Now all I have is my goats (which are doing great!) and my goose. Still not sure if Gooses is a boy or a girl but "he" now thinks he's a goat. I feel bad because he must be lonely but if thinking you're a goat keeps you from being eaten by raccoons then who gives a damn right?!?

I have gone back and forth on whether or not to get more chickens, finally deciding to repopulate. I want to be able to have chickens for several reasons but mainly I like watching them be chickens. I also like watching my goats be goats. It all calms and relaxes me! What can I say? I have an affinity for animals.

So in an effort to thwart those damn raccoons I began researching enclosed coops because I will have my chickens! I'll let them free range during the afternoon/evenings while I'm home. But holy-moly-cow those pre-fab coops are REALLY expensive. I mean we're talking the cheapest one is close to $350 plus shipping. I then thought I'd make one and quickly on the heels of that thought came a reality check that I simply don't have the tools needed to construct such a structure. However, I knew what I had in mind from searching Google images.

After some thought I realized I know a soon to be unemployed, soon to be college student (who always need money) who will have some time on his hands. Enough time to construct a coop like this. So my brother is going to take a few pictures I found him online and make me a coop for my chickens. Oh yeah, I totally ordered new chicks as soon as he confirmed he'd be willing to do it. :)

I had to do some searching around the online hatcheries because most have a minimum order of 15 or 25 chicks. Now I know I have a 100% mortality rate on this place but I don't need that many chicks! So I looked around and stumbled upon Cackle Hatchery which has some amazing specials for small orders. They call them "City/Town Small Order Specials" and you can pick your chick's variety and sex or just have an assortment sent to you. I've never used this company so I will report in on the procedure and quality.

I ordered five Silver Laced Wyandotte hens. And I think they are some of the prettiest chickens out there. My mom likes her Buff Orphingtons and Black Austrolorps because they are friendly, but I think if you handle the chicks enough when you get them they will grow up friendly. A perfect case of nature versus nurture!

I am determined to successfully have at least three hens to get my eggs from, eat bugs and be a friend to Gooses! Coons be damned! :)