When I step out on my porch in the morning I greet my dogs- hello, ladies, gentleman.  And then I call out, Good Morning Chickety Chickens!  and the crowd goes wild.  It's great.  Tails are wagging, chicks are clucking, even ducks put their two cents in.  If you want to be loved, get yourself some livestock....

We, and by that I mean I, with the help of my ever supportive husband, started a small flock of chickens.  I've had many adventures.  They were are educational.  Before this I only had cats- and a couple of dogs. If you have the room, chickens are a wonderful addition to your menagerie, but there are some things to know.  It's trickier than dogs and cats because most vets don't have any avian expertise.

Common practice is that chicken mortality is high, and there aren't many cures. There is only prevention.  So you learn  by screwing up.  I have inadvertently killed many chickens.  I loved them all. I raised them from chicks, kept them in my living room when they were tiny and cuddled them when they were ill.  They gave me eggs, and some hilarious diversion.  I've learned a lot- I was basically a city girl, and the world of animal husbandry is new to me.  I Googled most of it.  
Every other animal in the animal kingdom wants to have a chicken dinner, so there is that.  But I love them, and I currently keep about twenty chickens and 3 ducks on my Missouri Ozark homestead. 



My Hatchery Chicks, Spring 2012.