Tony was able to price out the parts for an eight foot by eight foot chicken tractor. It should run us roughly $160 plus tax. I already asked my parents if they want to go in on the cost of some birds... Mom put in $20. Not including the cost of the cage and the processing, I'm looking at an expected cost of $4.50 per bird to raise them for six weeks. If parents take 5 birds, I should still have 20 for us. They pay their processing costs at the slaughter place for their five birds, and we pay for ours and then we split the birds up once they've been processed. Not a bad plan. Now to find time to buy supplies and set it up... Unless Tony changes his mind. It does seem like a rather expensive venture, but if we raise meat birds every year for a few years, we should make the investment worth it. Besides, that means six weeks of an 8x8 chicken tractor, being moved every day, which should clear a good portion of that far field that I want to garden in, and it will fertilize the land as they mow it!
Tomorrow we have a busy day planned. We are having a fish fry with my parents and my mom and I are heading to our favorite greenhouse to buy the stuff we need for me to create her fairy garden for the summer. I designed it last year, but she's picked up more fairy garden supplies. Last weekend I doubled the fairy garden space to include a couple of the hostas along the deck border (at my mom's house), and I set up the terra cotta pot stack for the succulent fairy garden we never got to last year. I expect that a trip to the greenhouse for some succulents, moss roses, and perhaps some sphagnum/peat moss, and a stop at the dollar store for some more little glass pebbles should have us set for the summer. I love designing the fairy garden for my mom.
I had mentioned that the chickens wouldn't allow me to have a fairy garden, and one of the kids suggested we do a small fairy garden inside one of the fenced garden areas. What a brilliant idea! I may have to see about picking up some little fairies this summer.
If I can get the fairy garden project done tomorrow, I'll try to get some photos for tomorrow's blog post.
I noticed that I have been lacking on my Pet of the Week since we adopted our Toby just before Mother's Day. For this, I apologize. I will make an effort to get back to that starting this next week.