Looks of Love Photography: A Feathery Adventure

For those new to Looks of Love, or even if you're not, you may not have known that I moved! After living in the DC area for the past 5 years (Alexandria to be precise), I knew that I needed to proceed on to the next chapter in my life. Growing up, my family and I lived in the country in Illinois. I grew up chasing fireflies, riding horses, raising chickens, and walking down gravel roads. My heart has been longing for the familiarity for a long time now. So, this year I put the wheels in motion, and moved down to the Charlottesville, VA area. I have since been working on putting the wheels in motion to continue creating a life for myself that I love. One huge step has been acquiring chickens. I went with a Barred Rock hen, as I read only good reviews, and they are suppose to be good for both eggs and meat. Side note: I am not planning on eating any of these little loves!

Originially, I had only wanted about 10 chicks. However, when I placed my order, the minimum was 15. Ok, no big deal. As I was checking out, I had the option of being sent a "bonus mystery chicken." Um, yes please! That sounded like even more fun!

While waiting for the chicks to arrive, my landlord Dave and I set to work building a mobile chicken tractor. We had both watched a few youtube videos, but in the end, we decided we would just wing it. Dave has been building and constructing structures for years, so I felt confident that my little ladies would have a secure and safe home to live in. We set to work for the next month every Tuesday, measuring, cutting, sawing, marking, nailing, stapling, etc. In the end, my little gals have a beautiful home with an open air bottom section to roam around in the grass, or they can walk the ladder upstairs where the nesting boxes sit, anxiously waiting for these loves to grow a little more.

My little peeps arrived via the post office, and my wonderful neighbor picked them up for me while I was at work. One had died in transit, but the others were all beautiful little balls of fluff. Squeee! Their first few weeks of life were spent in an empty horse stall that my other neighbor graciously let me use. Once they started getting their feathers, I moved them to the tractor. Lesson: Always check for dips in the ground where tiny chicks might escape. I lost 2 more within the first couple of days, but I still have 13 beautiful little loves that are growing bigger every day! Call me a proud chicken momma, but these little gals melt my heart. :-)