Our Faithful Flock

  It’s been a while since I’ve posted because life has been extremely busy lately. And let me just say… integrating chicks into an established flock is not for the faint of heart. We raised the chicks separately and waited until they were about eight weeks old before trying to integrate them with the main flock. It did not go well. We tried all the things people suggested — putting baby powder on them at night so they would “smell the same,” placing them on the roost after the older hens were already settled, supervising interactions… but the pecking order is real, and it can be vicious. One day I came home to find one of our babies dead. A few days later, I watched our security camera footage and saw some of the older chickens grab one of the chicks and literally throw it around the run. It was heartbreaking. We knew we had to do something quickly, so my husband built a new coop that is much sturdier. We temporarily converted the old coop into a safe space for the younger ...

 It’s been a while since I’ve shared an update—life has been full and busy in the best way. I’m still very much in the rhythm of baking sourdough, experimenting with different inclusions and flavors. There’s something so rewarding about tweaking each loaf and seeing (and tasting!) the results. Outside, the chickens are keeping me just as busy. We recently added eight new chicks to our flock, and I’m especially excited about building a collection of beautifully colored eggs. At school we had an incubator running and set 18 eggs—10 successfully hatched. While not all made it, the experience was incredibly fun and meaningful for the students. Watching chicks hatch never gets old. Those chicks have now gone to their new homes.   Our current flock at home is growing in both number and variety. Right now, we have 4 Isa Browns and two Olive Eggers—one lays a slightly pinkish egg, and the other produces a light green. We’ve also added four Cream Legbars, which should give us those lov...