Eggs, cheese, dairy, meat ..

[MissB]

54. Yay! I'm lucky to live in an unincorporated part of my county

Which means I’m free from City-imposed limits.

My youngest brought home the baby chickens that his kindergarten class raised one spring. Two decades later, I still keep hens. Every few years I add a few. This past spring, I added 10, doubling the size of my flock. I let the old ladies live out their natural lives so I’ve lost a few of my aging flock this year, bringing my current total to 17.

Since DH retired, he’s taken to doing the morning chores while I take care of the deeper cleaning on the weekends. One of our older hens is blind, and he carries her out each morning and puts her in a separate portion of the pen for a few hours so she gets all the food and water she needs.

Our coop is large and fully covered. Nothing can get in or on the coop area. I used to let them out to free range but haven’t in more than a year because of bird flu concerns. Luckily we built a giant hen house and enclosed run for them so they get plenty of space and all the privacy they need/want. Bit I’m sure they miss being out in the bamboo stand next to their coop.

Meanwhile in the darkest part of winter, I’m still getting 3 eggs a day. Most of the year I’m handing out dozens of eggs a week to nearby relatives.