06/07/2026
Saying goodbye is easily the hardest part of homesteading. 💔 Today, I said goodbye and made the heavy choice to re-home my entire flock of 13 laying hens. With a large bear targeting our new neighbor's chickens the other day, and not having the time during our move to build a new properly fortified bear-proof coop quick enough, their safety had to come first. I raised this flock from chicks. For years and multiple generations, they’ve been a huge part of my heart and daily routine. They have been an important part of our family and our community. My kids have grown up with them as pets and it was an extremely hard decision. True animal husbandry means putting your animals protection above your own comfort, and I couldn't risk a tragedy or something bad happening to them with our move. The beautiful silver lining? The wonderful new owner plans to keep their lineage going and agreed to let me have some of their baby chicks when I'm settled and ready to restart. For now, the backyard is quiet and it feels very weird. But this gives us time to build another ultimate, predator-proof setup like we had before which will be amazing for the next generation at our new home. 🐔🌲🐻
