Our Flock

We have chickens.  Not for meat, just eggs.  We like their antics as they travel around the acreage picking bugs.  The chickens are totally free range and I can honestly say I have never tasted better eggs.  We have had some losses due to the local wildlife, this prompts us to build a pen to keep them in when we are not home to keep an eye on things.  We have never lost a chicken when the dogs or we have been out working.  But for the ease of their care and when others may watch the farm for us we will build a chicken yard for them.  One thing we have noticed is when we have raised our chickens from chicks they are more tolerant of us.  They let us pet them, hold them, carry them. Chickens we have received full grown from others are more skittish and run when we come near.  We love the diversity of our flock, the different color eggs, the character they lend the farm.  People say they are just animals, they don't have feelings.  That may be true to a degree. We do know they have a good life.  They are not trapped in a cage, limited to a small piece of land eating whatever we toss on the ground.  They live a full life as chickens were meant to be, just as our dogs run free on the farm as they were meant to be.