I can not imagine having backyard chickens with out some Silkies! The silkie breed of chickens have fluffy plumage and are so soft to the touch, some say it even feels like satin or silk. Guess that's probably how they came up with their name.( Wikipedia ) We have had silkies in the past and they make for great pets, they do lay eggs, they are on the smaller side. They are just adorable and friendly! 

The other breed that we enjoy is the Cochin Chicken, a larger chicken than the silkie but what a friendly breed this flock can be, they love to follow you around the yard they produce eggs, and can become close to the owner again another good breed for a pet chicken. These are also the ones that take the dust baths and are such fun to watch! 

Keeping chickens entertained seems simple enough but there are a lot of great ideas out there to help make your backyard into a fun and active place for your chickens. I found this image on Google Images and thought it was way to cute not to share. 

Another great idea for the back yard. Providing a perching place for them is another great way to keep them entertained 

Next up, the nesting boxes! After searching through many pictures on Google images I found two that are what I was thinking about going with this year. The bucket nesting boxes on the left is more of the look I am going for, also I believe having more of a cover over the top will help keep the boxes a little more clean from droppings. 🥚                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                        These white plastic pails are from an image on Google, however, this idea was seen at a friend of ours many years ago. I always thought it was a great idea. They were also using a kennel for a coop and these buckets were attached to the door. Not sure how they attached them, just remember thinking I like this idea!!🥚

     🐾Maddie is our little Morkie and she has the dreadful tear stains already starting so I wanted to share a little "pawformation" information for our friends with paws!!🐾We have started applying coconut oil to the area and it is really helping, I will try to search for a before picture. This picture is about one week after her first treatment and I think she's looking pretty cute!

I have been thinking a lot about chickens in the garden. I researched some pros for having chickens in the garden and found that they not only give you fresh eggs they also keep your yard free of nasty bugs. There is the droppings to think about but again if they are in the garden their droppings will add much needed nitrogen for a more healthy soil. Chickens that we have had in the past were also great little scrap eaters, meaning when you have some kitchen scraps they will gladly gobble them up for you. Taking care of chickens is not a really difficult job, but it is a good way to teach children responsibility.  They also provide great outdoor entertainment, our chickens had free run of the entire back yard. They would often follow us where ever we were especially if we were weeding I think they thought we were looking for a treat, when we would find a worm or grub they were very excited to come over and get it for us. Another favorite was to watch them take a dust bath, they would find a sandy spot in the yard then roll and fluff their feathers to get the sand all over. They would also come when called and enjoyed a little snack of bread or corn, Well I think I have talked myself right back into getting chickens, I truly do miss the little flock that  we had! We will need to find a better way of protecting our little flock, there seems to be a raccoon, weasel, or mink we are not sure what it was because we never saw the nasty varmint  we were just grief stricken to see what had happened to our beloved little flock.

A quick update on the doll, I have a long way to go but thought I would add a picture of what it's looking like right now, Today I was able to finish the nails, the dry matte finish and start to add some of the weighing material. I also added the eyes because I know looking at a doll with no eyes seems a little bit freaky to some. Now I will be able to start the rooting process for adding a little hair.

 Adding a few drops of Melaleuca to your diffuser will help to freshen and purify the air, adding a few drops to a water spray bottle will give you a cleaner to spray on surfaces to help protect from environmental threats