@armadillocreek is holding a fun little contest asking us to share something we do/have on our homestead that we do to thrive. Check out the contest!

The thing I have that helps me thrive... but not only thrive ON my homestead, but helps me personally thrive by getting me out of the house multiple times a day, are my chickens. I love going out daily, okay, multiple times a day to observe and watch them. I also have the most photos of them! I thought this would be great for me to participate in!

Chickens

Some random #funfarmfacts about chickens! I've gained this knowledge over the last year of experience and more in research and learning from others.

• You do not need a rooster for a hen to lay eggs. Hens will lay eggs with or without a rooster.
• Chickens can eat on average approximately 1/4 - 1/3 pounds of feed per day. This varies greatly on the size of the chicken and whether or not you choose to free range.
• Roosters aren't the only ones who make noise. Hens can be pretty noisy too! They sing the egg song either when they've laid an egg, saw another hen lay an egg, or when they just plain feel like making me run outside.

• The egg song is a similar song to the there's a mother fucking coyote standing by me song.
• Chickens on average, start laying at anywhere between 18 and 30 weeks of age. Sometimes they can take longer, and some breeds can take less time.
• It takes 21 days of incubation for a chick to hatch from a fertilized egg. This can happen naturally by a hen or pullet, or in an incubator.

• There's a bajillion chicken diseases that can wipe out a flock, and I constantly stress out about each and every single one of them.
• Chickens are NOT vegetarians. They will eat the crap out of some meat if given the opportunity. This includes insects, live mice, raw meat, and other chickens. They are ruthless!
• Chicken's combs turn light in color and shrink to a smaller size during the time they are take breaks from laying eggs.

• It takes about 26 hours for a chicken to fully develop an egg ready to lay. That means that they do not always lay every day. They also need approximately 14 hours of light per day to lay reliably and will stop laying when they molt, or when they're broody. They certainly are complex creatures.

• Bonus - Eggs are ALWAYS so EGGciting to collect!!

I love having chickens. Even though, they do kind of stress me out with the possibilities of sicknesses they can get, I am always worried about them... I cannot imagine now having any sort of homestead without them. Caring for chickens is rewarding in so many ways (and if we're being honest, not so rewarding in other ways... read: jerk roosters), not only being able to collect eggs or harvest meat (which we haven't done yet), but caring for animals and watching them thrive - there's nothing that compares.

Check out my most recent Steemit Posts.

• What Happened to Farmstead?
• January Week 1
• January Week 2 - Part 1
• January Week 2 - Part 2

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• @rhondak, she runs a much needed and severely underfunded Dog Rescue in the Appalachian Mountains. She uses the funds she earns on Steemit to save lives.