Hi! My name is Annie and I’d love to tell you a little bit about myself, my family and how we got into raising backyard chickens. My husband and I have been married for 15 years and have 3 kids. I remember when our first son was born. There is just no time in a person’s life like experiencing that first baby. I remember looking at him and thinking how fiercely I loved him and how I wanted him to experience all that life had.

Now fast forward to our life currently. We have 3 kids and have the same feelings about all of them. My husband and I are not old, but we’re getting older! We have always cared about what goes into our bodies and that of our kids. But don’t get me wrong, we like treats too! That is kind of what triggered us into thinking we’d like to have a couple of chickens.  We have a plethora of pets including labs, a bird, a cat and a lizard. We have raised chickens, goats, ducks and rabbits. We love to garden and even did Organic Community Supported Agriculture for a couple years. That was a LOT of work! Now we just garden for fun.

We have had an assortment of chickens throughout the years, but my favorites are the ones we currently have! My ten “girls” have become part of the family, and we look forward to watching them grow. Also, nothing compares to farm-fresh eggs! We got our flock in October. This is not the “usual” time to buy baby chicks where we’re from. However, with the proper set up, our girls are thriving!

If you’re considering raising backyard chickens, you maybe have some of the same questions I did before we made the jump into this exciting world. I remember feeling like I really didn’t need one more thing to keep alive. Ha! Our kids are all close together in age and adding more “babies” albeit them being chickens, was a bit overwhelming to think about.

I worried about our environment and the many predators we have around. How much do we feed them? Do they really come back every night on their own? Do chickens like to play? What about winter? And, then of course, do we really need a rooster? But guess what? Raising chickens isn’t hard. We have learned many things about these wonderful birds. They are so much fun and will quickly become part of your family. In my opinion, my time spent out in our coop is some of the best spent time in my day.

Join me on this journey. We will talk about all sorts of things regarding chickens. And guess what? I’m just a regular mom like many of you. I chase my kids, help my husband, and we lead a pretty active lifestyle. So, even though I’m not a “professional chicken lady” I have access to some pretty incredible people who are, and they will help us answer any questions if they arise.

Raising chickens will enhance your life in ways you didn’t even know possible…it did mine!