The State of New Hampshire is now enforcing a law that you buy 12, chicks or ducks or a combination of the two. I can’t seem to find a reason, beyond it’s a law from 1985 stating an individual has to buy at least 12 chickens, rabbits, ducklings or goslings less than 4 weeks old. Well, I don’t think you can buy bunnies under 4 weeks old, but I’m new to this farm thing. Besides, my bunnies were 5 weeks old.
Damn you crazy people and your just buying one chick for Easter and now all the rest of us, the chicken farmers, reluctant and otherwise, have to buy them by the dozen. What if I don’t want another dozen chickens? What if I want or need only three? Sadly last year’s chicks didn’t make if a full year, due to too much free ranging, dogs and the usual critters crawling into the coop. This year we needed the twelve to restock, but what about next year? What if we only would like to add a couple? Will we have to hit the black market? Will the Chicken Swaps go underground?
And what if the Chicken Swap does go underground? Will be have meet in the parking lots of less reputable establishments, all wearing dark glasses and trench coats to buy, sell and trade our less than a dozen fowl and furry friends? Will the quality of the chicks go down? Will the local farmer loss out on chicken sales do to internet sales? What will be do?
As a reluctant chicken, duck, bunny and soon to be goat, farmer, I’d like to keep it simple. But that never seems to happen! With my family and their need to continuously add to the household, I imagine picking up a dozen birds every spring will most likely be the norm and I have no reason to feel this tension about acquiring my birds next spring. I just hope I won’t need a license for my hobby farm! That would send me over the edge, again.
Damn you crazy people and your just buying one chick for Easter and now all the rest of us, the chicken farmers, reluctant and otherwise, have to buy them by the dozen. What if I don’t want another dozen chickens? What if I want or need only three? Sadly last year’s chicks didn’t make if a full year, due to too much free ranging, dogs and the usual critters crawling into the coop. This year we needed the twelve to restock, but what about next year? What if we only would like to add a couple? Will we have to hit the black market? Will the Chicken Swaps go underground?
And what if the Chicken Swap does go underground? Will be have meet in the parking lots of less reputable establishments, all wearing dark glasses and trench coats to buy, sell and trade our less than a dozen fowl and furry friends? Will the quality of the chicks go down? Will the local farmer loss out on chicken sales do to internet sales? What will be do?
As a reluctant chicken, duck, bunny and soon to be goat, farmer, I’d like to keep it simple. But that never seems to happen! With my family and their need to continuously add to the household, I imagine picking up a dozen birds every spring will most likely be the norm and I have no reason to feel this tension about acquiring my birds next spring. I just hope I won’t need a license for my hobby farm! That would send me over the edge, again.
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