I have 27 chicks. For those who have never raised meat birds before, here is a brief tutorial.
The chickens you buy at the grocery store are a type called "Cornish-x." These are a hybrid- a designer breed made to grow very, VERY fast, with lots of tender meat, most of it breast meat. In fact, from the day these birds hatch they do very little more than eat and sleep and grow, and they are ready to be butchered at the tender age of SIX WEEKS. If they go to 8 or 9 weeks, you get bigger meat birds. If you wait longer than that they are prone to dying of heart attacks or having severe leg problems because they literally grow to be too large and heavy to support themselves. We call them "mutant chicks." This is the type of chick I have.
Our chicks are currently housed in a pen in the garage. They are safe there from
marauding raccoons, foxes and any number of critters that (like humans) enjoy eating chicken. The chicks have lots of fresh water, plenty of good food, and I clean their pen every day. I also let them outside when I am home to keep an eye on them... they are still small enough to be good prey for large birds from crows to eagles. And we have both! When I let them out there is a free-for-all of running, flapping and scratching in the dirt. They chase bugs and eat grass and look very happy.
I like this shot... one fat little chick running for the heck of it... a lot of flap on big yellow feet.
I have been an animal lover my entire life. If someone had told me a few years ago that I would be raising animals to EAT, I would have said something like, "NO FREAKING WAY." Then I met a friend who raises cows and chickens with the sole intent of sending them to "freezer camp." She said something to me that made me
evaluate how I feel about the food I eat. It went something like this, "I know the animals I raise have happy lives, with fresh air, sunshine, space to move about and plenty of food and water. They never know pain or suffering or fear. It is more than I can say for the animals that provide the meat I would buy at the store." Her words rang true to me.
If you have never seen the movie Food, Inc., I recommend you do so. The way our food animals are raised in this country is... well... sad.
So. I have 27 chicks. Eating, sleeping, growing and being happy chickens. I am giving them the very best life I can. It is an interesting experience to be more in touch with the food chain. This experiment is one I give deep thought to, and I treat the animals I raise with gratitude.
Daughter Rachel brought home a very sweet, ultra tame bunny last winter. She lived in a cage and was bored, bored. I looked into having a nice hutch made for her, but knew it would not offer enough room for her to really be a rabbit. So I took a risk and started letting her hang out in our big (almost an acre) fenced yard. There are places she could escape if she tried. She could dig out. A hawk could get her... but meanwhile she is the happiest of bunnies. She leaps and twists and digs and kicks and eats grass and weeds to her little hearts content. My theory? A life that is rich and full but perhaps shorter is better than a life in prison. 
