#but ill need to buy the lumber to build the coop ($400 by my best estimate) and a plucking machine in the fall (another $500)

[gar-a-ash]

Introducing dog food X3 and 'I needed to buy six chicks per policy' X3. It's hilarious seeing the largest commercial bird (turkeys) next to the smallest commercial bird (bantams). They are handling the brooder together well, though! Reese wants to sniff the beepers and is mad I won't let him, and Tassie wants to crunch them so bad.

They are in a separate room that is locked away so none of the household pets can get at them, and in a few weeks they'll be outside to pasture just in time to make room for my mail order of chicks to arrive. Plan is the three turkeys, egg laying hens and dual purpose ducks next month, and then later in June we'll start about ten broilers or so. My brother also wants me to raise broilers for him, so that'll be about twenty broilers total, but we're fencing a 60x60 area so they'll have plenty of room to free range. Mostly doing this to save a bit of money feeding the dogs (and ourselves), but also because I like ducks and wanted some. If I was going to get some ducks, might as well go all the way, right?

This week is supposed to be warm so I'm hoping we can get the fence up so long as I can kick this sinus infection, but if I can't this week than the week after will still be plenty of time. And then over the summer I'll be working on getting this ancient trailer rebuilt into a mobile coop, which is what our birds will be wintering in. Busy year for us, alongside pursuing titles on the dogs!