Kewpieteef
Chirping
Welcome to my wannabe homestead, also known as a backyard with chickens and a garden. I decided to show what it's like starting a garden & flock from scratch. Pullets are still growing, seeds are still being bought, and a lot of pre-planning is happening. My flock is on half an acre with an HOA that calls all the shots. We can have chickens, however, they can only be hens. Roosters are not allowed under any circumstances. Currently still waiting to hear from HOA on their rules and policies regarding other livestock animals, while there's no plan to have more than just chickens at the moment. It's still important to know the HOAs rules and policies because it could apply to me one day. With all of that out of the way, let's talk about the fun stuff!
I have four, 4 week old pullets. I did have a barred rock cockerel named Bernadette but I traded him for a pullet. I currently have a cinnamon queen "Luci", black sex link "MiMi", easter egger "Eleanor", and an olive egger "Love Bug". Once I have them all laying I'm already thinking about adding two more to my flock. This is my first time ever even having chickens, and I've learned a lot in just the 4 weeks of having them. I will admit I have been bitten by the chicken bug and I wouldn't have it any other way. Who knew tiny dinosaurs could be so enjoyable!
I'm currently talking with an Australian shepherd breeder and I'm excited to say by the end of next year we should have a puppy running around. What's even better is these puppies are raised on a farm and exposed to livestock early on in life they're exposed to multiple different kinds of poultry including free range chickens. Helping lowering the risk of a dog killing one, she said no puppies that she has sent to families with chickens have ever attacked one, as long as I stay consistent with training all should be good.
Some Backstory: I have only recently in the last 3ish years lived in the south, I'm originally from Las Vegas, NV. However, my father is from Indiana but he was brought up with a mix of midwestern and southern parenting. My grandpa was born in cultural Appalachia (Georgia Mountains) he trained and was a jockey for cart racing horses, during his travels from race to race he met my grandmother and they got married within 6 weeks. It was my father that moved to Las Vegas when I was only 2 and he instilled a lot of values and morals I have today. It all started with horses then barrel racing and I would dream that my father would buy a large property with a horse stable and arena, don't judge I was a kid. While I grew out of horses, it lead me to learning about hobby farming & homesteading which led me to backyard chickens. I have been lurking in the shadows of the community for years now. I lived in Texas for two years with my father and then he decided to buy a house on half acre lot in Oklahoma so I followed him and decided to finally give backyard chickens a shot. The name was actually his idea, yesterday I was ranting to him about why naming things has to be so difficult. He said "What about Feather Heaven Flock."
My flock are my pets I do not care if someone isn't laying or going to lay eggs. They will stay and live out their days just as the others would. The same goes for possible future additions to the wannabe homestead. Please be respectful of that, thank you.
Now time for a fun little q&a, I have been asked these questions by friends and family.
Why not just breed chickens? While I would love to breed and have a hatchery, the reality is for me that would be impossible with not only with the space I have but also because of HOAs no rooster rule. If I even want to add to my flock I have to buy adult hens or pullets. So as of right now no breeding. Now if in the future I get my own larger property with no rules about roosters and have much more experience/knowledge than I currently do, that'll be a different story.
Will you get into other poultry? Maybe, I would love to get involved with runner & call ducks, but can't make any kind of plans until I hear back from HOA.
What are some other animals you want? I have to be very careful with that while there are animals I would love to have. They wouldn't be practical with the amount of space I have to work with. With that said I also have to use the space I do have strategically. I think the only other animals I could/would have if HOA approved of it would be ducks and rabbits.
I feel like I have just written a novel! I could ramble for hours about my wannabe homestead! Anyhow, hope to see ya'll around and can't wait to share my progress and projects. Thank you for reading this far, I know it was a lot.
I have four, 4 week old pullets. I did have a barred rock cockerel named Bernadette but I traded him for a pullet. I currently have a cinnamon queen "Luci", black sex link "MiMi", easter egger "Eleanor", and an olive egger "Love Bug". Once I have them all laying I'm already thinking about adding two more to my flock. This is my first time ever even having chickens, and I've learned a lot in just the 4 weeks of having them. I will admit I have been bitten by the chicken bug and I wouldn't have it any other way. Who knew tiny dinosaurs could be so enjoyable!
I'm currently talking with an Australian shepherd breeder and I'm excited to say by the end of next year we should have a puppy running around. What's even better is these puppies are raised on a farm and exposed to livestock early on in life they're exposed to multiple different kinds of poultry including free range chickens. Helping lowering the risk of a dog killing one, she said no puppies that she has sent to families with chickens have ever attacked one, as long as I stay consistent with training all should be good.
Some Backstory: I have only recently in the last 3ish years lived in the south, I'm originally from Las Vegas, NV. However, my father is from Indiana but he was brought up with a mix of midwestern and southern parenting. My grandpa was born in cultural Appalachia (Georgia Mountains) he trained and was a jockey for cart racing horses, during his travels from race to race he met my grandmother and they got married within 6 weeks. It was my father that moved to Las Vegas when I was only 2 and he instilled a lot of values and morals I have today. It all started with horses then barrel racing and I would dream that my father would buy a large property with a horse stable and arena, don't judge I was a kid. While I grew out of horses, it lead me to learning about hobby farming & homesteading which led me to backyard chickens. I have been lurking in the shadows of the community for years now. I lived in Texas for two years with my father and then he decided to buy a house on half acre lot in Oklahoma so I followed him and decided to finally give backyard chickens a shot. The name was actually his idea, yesterday I was ranting to him about why naming things has to be so difficult. He said "What about Feather Heaven Flock."
My flock are my pets I do not care if someone isn't laying or going to lay eggs. They will stay and live out their days just as the others would. The same goes for possible future additions to the wannabe homestead. Please be respectful of that, thank you.
Now time for a fun little q&a, I have been asked these questions by friends and family.
Why not just breed chickens? While I would love to breed and have a hatchery, the reality is for me that would be impossible with not only with the space I have but also because of HOAs no rooster rule. If I even want to add to my flock I have to buy adult hens or pullets. So as of right now no breeding. Now if in the future I get my own larger property with no rules about roosters and have much more experience/knowledge than I currently do, that'll be a different story.
Will you get into other poultry? Maybe, I would love to get involved with runner & call ducks, but can't make any kind of plans until I hear back from HOA.
What are some other animals you want? I have to be very careful with that while there are animals I would love to have. They wouldn't be practical with the amount of space I have to work with. With that said I also have to use the space I do have strategically. I think the only other animals I could/would have if HOA approved of it would be ducks and rabbits.
I feel like I have just written a novel! I could ramble for hours about my wannabe homestead! Anyhow, hope to see ya'll around and can't wait to share my progress and projects. Thank you for reading this far, I know it was a lot.
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