The Story Behind TS Poultry - Where it all started
Two people, four chicks, and no idea!
After a lengthy wait for an allotment, we finally got the call we'd waited so long for - a plot had become available! Not knowing what to expect we agreed to a viewing, upon seeing this huge, overgrown space filled with veg beds, a greenhouse & an apple tree, we accepted it instantly! Standing in the plot taking it all in, we started to make plans. As you can probably guess, our first (and most important) plan was to figure where animals were going to be housed. I had my heart set on ducks & my wife had her heart set on chickens, so we compromised and we started with chickens! (As the saying goes - happy wife, happy life!)
Accidental chicken keepers
Since we'd never kept hens before we wanted to get ourselves prepared, we had already decided an old shed would make the perfect coop, and the icing on the cake was that it had a huge space next to it for a run! Now that was decided, we moved on to planning a visit with a local breeder to get information regarding breeds, housing, care etc. Well, that's where it all went somewhat pear shaped! After a little look around at their breeds and setups, we accidentally left with 4 chicks, a heat plate, a small bag of crumb and absolutely no idea what we were doing! Getting home the panic set in - what can we house them in whilst they're indoors?! Thankfully, after some rummaging around we found a small dog cage - phew! But it wasn't long before they'd outgrown the cage and needed an extension.. multiple cardboard boxes later and we managed to box off a huge area for them to remain in until they went outdoors. With Whinnie, Mary, Beryl & Linda settling in brilliantly, we started to get the hang of this whole chicken keeping thing and it wasn't as scary as we initially thought - we were living the dream! They spent their days eating, dust bathing and using us as a climbing frame - what isn't there to love about that? Fast forward a few weeks. They still looked so small but it was time, they were ready to spend their first night away from home and in their big girl coop - it can only be described as letting your child go for a sleep over for the first time! All night we were worrying - what if this, what if that - as soon as daylight hit, we couldn't get to them fast enough to see how they were. Not a single care in the world that they'd spent their night away from us. Dust bathing, flying on and off perches, generally loving life! Watching them grow from 24 hours old into these beautiful birds was amazing, we couldn't get enough of them with their silly antics. Each one having their own personality and quirky traits, they are the reason we are where we are today!
Moral of the story?
Don't overthink things - just go for it then figure a plan later! :) If we hadn't jumped in head first, I honestly don't think we'd be where we are today or have the level of knowledge we do.
Want to know more about our flock? Keep an eye on our blog for the full story on our ever expanding chickens, ducks, and quail! Look out for handy DIY poultry hacks, flock health tips, and much more in our blogs!
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