The Book Lady With A Chicken Problem

 JANUARY 2024 READS Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan 5/5 Stars 2/5 Spice Level How did I sleep on this book for so long?  I had seen it everywhere...BookTok, Walmart shelves, FB posts, etc and still thought that it would be too young for me.  Boy was I wrong!  I demolished this book in less than two days.  Granted it was a holiday weekend but I couldn't put it down.  Mia's writing sucks you in.  The story will make you cry but it does have a happy ending.  And once you read Archer's story, you have to read Travis' story as well.  Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score 3.5/5 Stars 3/5 Spice Level I have struggled with this one.  I love Lucy's writing usually.  I bought this book off Book Outlet in the fall of last year and have picked it up stopped it about 3 times.  Don't get me wrong, the story is cute.  And Lucy always creates MMC that you fall in love with. However, even though many people claim that this is one of their fave Lucy books, it just wasn't one of mi

I married into a football loving family. This girl could care less. Believe me, I’ve tried. Sure, I like the Chiefs…I guess…I’m from Missouri, that is what you are supposed to do. Especially because that means Travis Kelce. So I’m Team Chiefs. Add in TayTay and I’m definitely in. One thing I have learned marrying into a football loving family is that people are super loyal to their favorite team.  In the chicken world, we have teams too. But it’s breeds. Y’all have your favorite football teams. We chicken owners have our favorite chicken breeds. And everyone is different.  Me. I’m Team Speckled Sussex. Speckled Sussex isn’t well known if you aren’t a chicken owner. Just known by their beautiful colors. Not like Rhode Island Red, Barred Rock, White Leghorn. But by god once you see a Speckled Sussex you will remember it. They are stunning. Absolutely gorgeous birds.  I got my first chickens from my momma and Orschelns so I had the common breeds you would find at Chick Days…Easter Eggers,

I begged, fought, pleaded, bargained with my husband for ten years for chickens. He never really had a concrete reason for saying no. He would hem and haw about this and that with reasons that made no sense until I gave up for awhile.  Then I would get back on the chicken kick and we would repeat the process.  When I finally fell in love with Chick Norris and decided, I am not taking no for an answer any longer...I am getting chickens come hell or high water, I asked my husband why he always said no. He finally gave it to me straight. "I don't want to see you upset when you lose one. And I know you will be very upset when that happens." See my husband knows what an animal lover I am. He also knows that I sometimes struggle with mental health and things that might not bother people very much, bother me quite a bit.  We didn't lose our first chicken until summer of 2021.  I took losing my polish hen Dorotta hard but being my first chicken loss, I thought I did well.  An

Growing up I was always the girl who loved the cold and snow.  I loathed being hot. Ask my momma, I threw a fit anytime I had to be outside in the heat and not in a swimming pool.  However, the older I get and the more animals I have, the more I hate the cold.  Snow I can handle, I can handle a bit of ice.  The negative temps I cannot handle at all. I hate this weather for my girls.  Taking care of poultry, well all farm animals for that matter, in the winter can be tricky.  It is a lot of hard work.  A lot of preparation that usually starts in the fall. We are in the middle of a horrible cold snap here in Mid Missouri.  Our third bad cold snap since I have owned chickens.  Here is our winter routine and how we have made it through some very cold weather in Missouri. And knock on wood, not lost anyone to the cold. ***Disclaimer: I will add, I am not a veterinarian, I do not pretend to be.  I am just a small flock farmer who uses her research and experience to get us through the day to

Chicken Math...what a silly term.  Unless you have chickens. Then you have or will be hit with Chicken Math. I am horrible at math, always have been.  God bless my momma, she got me through all my math classes in school. The only math I excel at is Chicken Math.  I will try to explain it as best I can. We will start with using myself as an example:   I was only going to have a small pack.  3-4 chickens. End of 2020 we had 6.  End of 2021 we had 15.  End of 2022 we had 25. End of 2023 we had 30 hens, 1 rooster, and 3 ducks. Since 2020 I have expanded a lot. We have lost a few along the way.  And in my eyes if you lose one, you replace it with at least two or three more. My hubby absolutely hates that part of chicken math.   You know around Halloween when your kids get their candy and have those teeny tiny candy bars?  You pop a small Twix or Milky Way in your mouth (don't judge those are my favorite) and you just keep eating them?  Because one was good, why not another?  Then anothe

If you are friends with me, are on my social media, a family member, or live locally, you have probably heard of our girl Chick Norris. She became a bit famous on my Facebook in her short life. Like I said in my previous blog post, she is the reason I have my Chick Packs.  I fell in love with a little yellow differently abled chick with a tiny velociraptor claw at my parents' house and knew I had to give her a good life.  I didn't know that in giving her a good life in her short time on earth (most people would have culled her), she was also giving me a good life too. Chick Norris, aka Chicky Bug, ChickaNorris, Badass, CN (as my momma called her), my A1 Egg Layer, our Garage Guard Chicken was a Cinnamon Queen who became the heart and soul of the Heishman Hen Farm. Who am I kidding...she was the QUEEN of our farm and I was her lowly servant. Even as a chick she was very sweet and personable. She loved to be cuddled and curl up in my lap or up by my neck. She even loved to have h