It is almost spring here on the ranch and you know what that means…..chick season!!  This is one of my favorite times of the year!  This year, on top of our usual hatchings, we will be raising for the first time ever, meat birds!  In our quest to live a more self sufficient lifestyle, raising meat birds was a no brainer.  We will be trying 2 breeds, Red Rangers and Plymouth Rocks.  My hope is that after this season, I will never have to buy chicks or meat bird hatching eggs ever again.  My plan is to keep 2 hens and 1 rooster from each breed to keep the cycle going.

In the meantime, we are busy working on yet another coop and run area for them.  For the most part they will be free ranging, but for those times when no one is home they need their own run area.  The coop is yet another recycled fruit/vegetable stand that a local grocery store gave me when they replaced them with new ones.  It measures 5 feet by 5 feet and 4 feet tall, perfect for a chicken coop after a few modifications!

We’ll keep you posted on our journey with meat birds.  Until then, Happy Hatching!