Chicken Retirement Home

Our dear friend Brian gifted us with a rooster and three 11-year-old hens. Salatin, the rooster, and two of the hens integrated well into our flock of 240 hens. But one of the hens, Hazel, was getting picked on constantly. She wasn’t eating enough and she had trouble getting into the egg mobile at night. She was losing weight and feathers and starting to look really sad. We decided to move her to her own paddock to get some peace during her last days on earth.

That was over a month ago and Hazel is loving her private retirement paddock. We watched her eat a big grasshopper the other day. Her feathers have grown back and she is walking much better. It is an awesome responsibility and honor to care for her and the 240 other souls. We know that happy chickens lay tastier and more nutritious eggs. The love we give the chickens is repaid 100 times over by the eggs and joy we get back.

We are trying to build an egg business and someday we may have a meat chicken business. Becca is not ready to think about what happens to the chickens when they stop laying eggs. Running a sanctuary for 200+ elderly chickens would be fun, but it’s not a viable business model.

We want to build a sustainable farm that regenerates the soil, our community and ourselves. The chickens are a big part of the complex system of the farm. We will treat them with respect and love at each stage of their lives. They may not live as long as Hazel, but they will have the best life we can give them. For now, we will enjoy watching Hazel nap in the sunshine during the last sunny days of summer.