OK. The goal here is to bring this place back to its equestrian roots. The girls have been taking riding lessons for years, and the time is near. However, these city girls do not know a thing about hard work.
Just changing the litter box is a fight every single time. And, the old “Pleeeeeease can we get a dog? Pleeeeeease? I promise I’ll pick up all the poop” argument to cajole me into adopting a dog, has become just a fond memory. Guess who picks it up now? (Including about 50 lbs of it this spring, left from the winter…).
So, horses? Horse stalls full of horse poop? I have a good idea who the kids think will be taking care of that. But they are wrong.
So, we’ll be taking baby steps. We’ll start with chickens and see where that takes us. It’s pretty darn exciting though, I must admit.
Our day-old chicks (only three of them) arrive tomorrow in a box. Now, I want to take a moment and say that we have some ethical concerns about this that we learned about – after we had already placed our order.
Like all factory for-profit organizations that include the handling and processing of animals, humane treatment is apparently not always a prerequisite. These chicks are in some cases removed from their eggs by a machine and tossed into the “keep” or “don’t keep” piles, and if you care to know what happens then (and you should, because it’s important to know what your food choices are supporting so you can become better informed and make better choices, take a minute to read this recent news article.
Anyway, our chicks arrive tomorrow (and they’re not coming from the facility mentioned in that article, incidentally). Rob is busy with the chicken coop plans in the barn (this image from Houzz is our inspiration. Nice, right?), and in the meantime, the chicks will be put into a box to stay safe and warm.
No, they won’t be in my house….what makes you think I would ever bring livestock into my house? Cute little fuzzy wee delicate precious wee chicks that are vulnerable to all sorts of predators….let’s just not talk about that.
I’ll keep you posted.
RuralRoots 