Life on Misty Acres
  • About Us
    • Our Story
      • “These are going to be the best memories your kids will ever have.”
    • Our Favorite Things
  • Homesteading
    • Maple Syrup Making: How to Tap into this Valuable Resource
    • Farm
      • Chickens
      • Cows
      • Icelandic Sheep
      • Mini Horses
      • Quail
  • Homeschool
    • Why we homeschool
    • Curriculum
      • 2018-2019 (4th, 3rd, & K)
      • 2019-2020 Homeschool Curriculum Choices (5th, 4th, 1st, and 4K)
      • 2020-2021 Homeschool Curriculum Choices Group
    • Books & Art
  • Recipes
    • Recipes
    • Homemade Cleaners
      • Liquid Laundry Soap
      • My Simple 3 Ingredient Everyday Cleaning Spray
  • Preserving
    • Canning
    • Preserving Challenge Sheets
  • Garden
  • Search Icon

Life on Misty Acres

Living Closer to Home

Chickens

Chickens

Chickens…..the gateway animal?

You may have heard of chickens being referred to as the gateway animal. Well, I’m here to tell you it’s true. Chickens are an easy stepping stone into the farm animal world. When my wife first brought up the idea of raising some chickens I was caught completely off guard. I had raised some meat birds a couple of times growing up, but getting them for ourselves had never even crossed my mind. I remember my reaction being something to the effect of “What do you want to have chickens for?”. I sort of blew the idea off, but Lindsay kept bringing up the idea of getting a few egg layers for our own use. I also remember one of my arguments to Her was that “We don’t even eat many eggs!”, which was true. She kept hinting that she wanted them, and I kept thinking that it was stupid. The math didn’t make sense to me that I would buy chickens, build a coop, feed them, clean them, water them, and hire someone to watch them when we left town; when we probably only would use about 15 dozen eggs a year and we could buy them for $.99 on sale. My wife wanted me to spend hundreds of dollars to get about the $20 bucks worth of eggs we used each year, and that doesn’t even include our labor!  Even now, as I write this out, I’m amazed she talked me into it. She DID talk me into it though, she can be very persuasive…(I have got to remember that!). So, I agreed to getting a few hens, I think I went along with the idea figuring we could do it for a year or two and get it out of her system.

There is something you have to know about me though; when I decide to do something, there is no doing it half way, I am all in. We got some books and started researching online. We immersed ourselves in chickenology as only beginners can. I designed our first coop and built it with a lot of salvaged materials we got our hands on, and man was it ugly; but the chickens never complained (at least not to my face). We went down to a local store and purchased a few birds and kicked off our chicken adventure! We had planned to get about four birds, but after becoming “Internet Experts”, we bought 12 birds so we would have enough, in case of diseases or predators, we would have a few left for ourselves(we didn’t lose a single one).

I remember the first few nights after we brought the little chicks home we would just sit on a couple of stools and watch them. We were hooked! We went back to the store and bought four more. “What’s four more? They’re small.”and we had fun. We learned the ropes quick about what was really important. I have learned in life, when you first start something, you have no idea what you’re doing; you might think you know, but you don’t. The internet and books are great tools but nothing beats real life experience. We will share some of the “Dos and Don’ts” that we have learned from raising poultry some other time.

Getting those first chickens was really an eye opener,  we were already talking about adding ducks and maybe a goat was on the horizon. Chickens gave us the confidence to know we could raise livestock, and chickens showed us how much fun it can be. Chickens really are a gateway animal, they give you a little taste of farm life that leaves you craving for more. I know that chickens are not for everyone. Perhaps some who read this may have had them and are glad to be rid of them, but there are many homesteaders and hobby farmers that know exactly what I’m talking about. Let this be a warning to you, get chickens at your own risk; you do not know where you might end up. If someone told me that getting chickens would lead me down a series of life choices that would end with horse boarding for the Amish, miniature horse births, castrating bull calves, hatching quail eggs, and thinking of shearing sheep; I would never have believed it. The funny thing is, ten years ago that would have sounded awful to me and ridiculous; but now I love it, and can’t wait for what is next.

My encouragement at the end of this story would be for those of you who are thinking about getting a few hens… If you think it might be fun, but are overwhelmed and intimidated by it…..don’t be. It is not for everyone, but you can make it as simple or as complicated as you choose to. You can make caring for your chickens a part time job, or only 15 minutes a day, that is up to you. You don’t have to start big, you can start really small, and if you don’t like it, you can sell your birds and be done. So really what do you have to lose? Just remember chickens are the gateway animal.

– Daniel

Share
Pin
0 Shares
Join the Preserving Challenge
Subscribe To Our Newsletter

We'll send you free printables for planning and tracking your preserving!

This can be anything you preserve. Whether it be canning, freezing, dehydrating, pickling, root cellaring, etc. It all counts! Join in on the fun!

Invalid email address
Check your e-mail after you hit "Subscribe Now."
Thanks for subscribing! Please check your email for the free Put 'em Up Challenge printables.

Welcome to Life on Misty Acres!

Madsen Family picture
We hope you enjoy your visit! Daniel & Lindsay Madsen

Subscribe to our newsletter

Connect with us!

Instagram
Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
YouTube
YouTube
Set Youtube Channel ID
Pinterest
Pinterest
fb-share-icon

Search

Beautiful Feet Books

Recent Posts

  • The Best Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls October 18, 2024
  • Easiest Way to Know When to Start Seeds Indoors (Vegetables & Flowers) February 2, 2024
  • Honey Fermented Garlic is a Natural Remedy Powerhouse January 5, 2024
  • Favorite Canning and Persevering Books January 31, 2022
  • 8 Canning Tips I wish I Would Have Known Before Learning To Can January 4, 2022

Follow Us on Instagram

Kiwi Co. Subscription Boxes

Archives

  • October 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • April 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018

Categories

  • Baby (2)
  • Books (3)
  • Books & Art (2)
  • Canning (6)
  • Christmas Gift Guide (6)
  • Christmas Traditions (6)
  • Crafts (2)
  • Daniel (2)
  • Farm (5)
  • Ferments (1)
  • Garden (4)
  • Homemade Cleaners (2)
  • Homeschool (11)
  • Homesteading (10)
  • Life (4)
  • Lindsay (10)
  • Maple Syrup (4)
  • Medicinal (1)
  • Old-Fashioned Christmas (2)
  • Our Favorite Things (3)
  • Our Story (3)
  • Preserving (8)
  • Printables (2)
  • Put 'em Up Challenge (3)
  • Recipes (10)
  • Reviews (2)
  • Uncategorized (38)
  • winter (1)

Subscribe to us!

Contact Us

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie Policy (US)

Terms

  • Cookie Policy (US)
  • Disclosure Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

This site contains affiliate links where we may earn commissions when you click on certain links from our website.

We are enrolled in the Amazon Associates Program and other affiliate programs, which means that we may earn a commission if your purchase something from Amazon after clicking on our links. We only add affiliate links to items we use or feel will help you. We are not responsible for the actions of the sellers you purchase from.

All reviews of items are our own opinions.

© 2025   Copyright. Life on Misty Acres. All Rights Reserved.
Manage Cookie Consent
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional cookies Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}