Enjoying Eachother's Company

It was a beautiful autumn day yesterday so we decided to enjoy it outside with eachother!  We had started our school day at 7am so we were done before lunch and got to enjoy the crisp air all afternoon.  I am one blessed mom to have kids that know how to enjoy eachother!

Ellie wants to be part of the fun too! 

Nate is a great big brother.  He's going to make a wonderful dad one day!

 It is beginnng to look like Fall around here!!

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth.  Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them!  Psalm 127:3-5

Eating the Fruits of the Boy's Labor

What an exciting day we had a few days ago...well, it was exciting for us!  There are so many skills to learn as new homesteaders.  One is the raising and butchering of our own livestock.  Mom has butchered some chickens, dad has done it as well, but this time Nathan and Ben wanted to "man up" and do the actual killing.  The first time seems to be the hardest, but they were successful!  I will spare you the grotesque pictures of the killing and de-feathering and gutting, but here is a great shot of our dinner a few nights ago, thanks to the boys!!

So it has come full circle...they raised the birds, processed the birds and ate the birds.  What a great night around the family table, eating the fruits of their labor!

Thursday's Broiler Biography

Time flies when you're taking care of chicks!  Hard to believe it's already Thursday again!  There has been definite growth in these little guys.  They are still little yellow fluff balls, but a lot more active.  They love to sleep on top of each other...it's so cute!  When they hear us coming they start "peeping" all at once.  It's like a little song for us!

 

Here is a good picture of the obvious difference in size between the broiler and our barred rocks, both hatched the same day...and they are being fed the same exact feed!!

We have been decreasing the temperature of the brooder slowly to harden them off before putting them out to pasture...that way they're not in complete shock from the cold grass that is full of dew in the mornings!  Probably sometime in the next two weeks that will be done.  What a neat experience to have the kids raise their own food...nothing like it!

Chicks have arrived!

THEY'RE HERE!! We received a phone call this morning from the post office informing us a package of rambunctious chicks was waiting for us to come and get them!  How cute are they?

The black with white spots are our barred rock hens for egg laying.  The pale yellow ones are our cornish rock cross for meat...aka, the broiler.  We got 25 of each.

Graycie's just a bit excited!

Starting with today, every THURSDAY for the next 8 weeks we will post a photo of one of these cuties, our cornish rock cross, or broilers.  They are bred to grow extremely fast and we want to document it!  Check back next Thursday to see what this little one looks like in a week!!